The Public Diplomacy Section Grant: BiH Youth Leadership and Teacher Professional Development Program

The Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) invites proposal submissions from public and private non-profit organizations that are based and legally registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to implement the BiH component of the 2025-2026 Youth Leadership and Teacher Professional Development Program, pending the availability of Fiscal Year 2023/2024 Assistance to Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia (AEECA) funds. 

Mandatory Components:

1.    The Youth Leadership Program (YLP) should be organized for 18 high school students aged 15-19, and three teachers from three communities in BiH to reflect the country’s diversity and administrative divisions, for a total of 21 participants in one program.

2.    At the core of YLP is a substantive three-to-four-week program in the United States that takes place in at least two different cities during which time the BiH participants exchange information and experiences with peers in the United States. The United States-based program will be executed by a U.S. implementing partner. The BiH component of the program (“The program”) should incorporate a pre-departure orientation in Sarajevo and an eight-month period during which participants conduct a Community Action Project (CAP) in their hometowns.

3.    The program should include group discussions, experiential learning activities, and exercises that focus on the themes outlined below and include aspects of leadership, teambuilding, collective problem-solving skills, effective communication, appreciation of diversity, and management skills. Participants should gain both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. 

4.    The program activities and content should represent diverse BiH political and social viewpoints, as well as other aspects of diversity.  The program should advance the Embassy’s mission to promote mutual understanding between citizens of other countries and citizens of the United States. 

5.    The program should include a plan to guide and oversee follow-on engagement and project implementation once participants return home from the U.S. component of the project.