U.S. Embassy Riyadh’s Office of Public Affairs is offering the Saudi Young Leaders Exchange Program (SYLEP) Grant to foster cultural exchange and leadership.

Program Office:                             Office of Public Affairs (PAS), U.S. Embassy Riyadh

Funding Opportunity Title:            Saudi Young Leaders Exchange Program (SYLEP)

Announcement Type:                     New – Cooperative Agreement

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 19.021

Date Open:                                       June 2, 2020

Deadline for Applications:              July 2, 2020

The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh is pleased to announce an open competition for the Saudi Young Leaders Exchange Program (SYLEP) through this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Service Code 26 USC 501 (c) (3) may submit proposals to support English-speaking undergraduate students and recent graduates from Saudi Arabia in an outreach program built around a three-week U.S.-based exchange program in Summer 2021. The program should explore themes of community engagement to promote peace and prosperity, leadership development, respect for diversity, tolerance of religious beliefs, and mutual cultural understanding. The program should begin planning and outreach in September 2020 and continue after the U.S.-based exchange with follow-on activities in the participants’ home communities, including through alumni activities focused on community projects that promote the targeted themes. Proposals should accommodate up to 50 participants who would travel to the United States in up to two cohorts from Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2021. 

Funding under this award will support the planning and implementation of U.S.-based programming, including a period of homestays with American families, and participant international travel. The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and the U.S. Consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran will recruit, screen, and select the participants and support program alumni, in coordination with the award recipient. Pending the availability of funds, it is U.S. Embassy Riyadh’s intent to award one cooperative agreement for up to $500,000 per year, which can be extended for up to two additional years, contingent upon the availability of funds, the successful completion of program goals, and the willingness of the U.S. Embassy Riyadh and the awardee to extend the award. 

Authority: Overall grant-making authority for this program is contained in the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, Public Law 87-256, as amended, also known as the Fulbright-Hays Act. The purpose of the Act is “to enable the Government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries…; to strengthen the ties which unite us with other nations by demonstrating the educational and cultural interests, developments, and achievements of the people of the United States and other nations…and thus to assist in the development of friendly, sympathetic, and peaceful relations between the United States and other countries of the world.”