“SYLEP 2.0” Open Cooperative Agreement 2022

The new Saudi Young Leaders Exchange Program (“SYLEP 2.0”) will leverage the success of previous iterations of SYLEP under an amended format that emphasizes in-country training for a cohort of emerging Saudi leaders, both before and after their exchange program to the United States. The SYLEP 2.0 cohort will be comprised of 20 emerging Saudi leaders (approximately 24 – 30 years old) who are active in the fields of (i) environmentalism/combatting climate change and (ii) social entrepreneurship. Note that the U.S. Embassy will be solely responsible for recruiting SYLEP 2.0 participants and for all aspects of their U.S. exchange program. The awardee under this cooperative agreement will be responsible for the program’s in-country component: organizing and implementing a series of in-person and virtual workshops that impart critical skills to the cohort and allow them to leverage their U.S. experience in developing community-based projects. SYLEP 2.0’s in-country component will consist of a series of virtual and in-person workshops for the cohort that will take place between February and June 2023. These sessions would be designed to build cohort cohesion; strengthen relations between the U.S. Embassy and participants; and impart the critical thinking, leadership, public speaking, project management, innovation, and dialogue skills necessary to become global leaders. It should include a strong American component via the participation of at least one visiting U.S. speaker/trainer and two virtual U.S. trainers. The SYLEP 2.0 cohorts would participate in an exchange program to the United States (separately organized and separately by the U.S. Embassy). Following their return to Saudi Arabia, the awardee would convene a session on brainstorming and developing capstone projects, and a final in-country workshop in fall 2023 for all participants to present capstone community projects deriving from their training and experiences in the United States in the form of a pitch competition.