The U.S. Embassy is offering this grant to implement the in-country components of the Saudi Young Leaders Exchange Program (SYLEP 2.0).

The Saudi Young Leaders Exchange Program (“SYLEP 2.0”) will bring together a cohort of rising Saudi leaders focused on community engagement, innovation, and social entrepreneurship, and provide them with intensive training in “soft skills,” including leadership, communications, relationship building, and resilience. The SYLEP 2.0 cohort will be comprised of 15 emerging Saudi leaders (approximately 22 – 28 years old) who are active in the fields of innovation and social entrepreneurship, with a motivation for improving their communities (Program theme: “Innovation for the Social Good”).This training will take place in person before and after a three-week study trip to the United States organized and implemented by the U.S. Embassy (note: this funding proposal should only address the program components before and after the U.S. trip, not the trip itself).

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 component in Saudi Arabia: 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 an in-person workshop for the cohort that will take place between February and June 2025. This weekend workshop should 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 two visiting U.S. speakers/trainers

The SYLEP 2.2 cohort will then participate in an exchange program to the United States (separately organized and separately managed by the U.S. Embassy). Following their return to Saudi Arabia, the awardee will hold a virtual session on brainstorming and developing capstone projects, and a final in-country workshop in fall 2025 for all participants to present capstone community projects deriving from their training and experiences in the United States. In addition, the in-person workshop would include a SYLEP reunion reception, where the SYLEP 2.0 cohort would network and enhance connections with the wider SYLEP alumni network. The U.S. embassy will manage the alumni guest list and formal speaker program at the reception.