2019 Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Summit: Advancing Partnership For Sustainability in Phuket, Thailand

Launched in 2013, the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) is the U.S. Department of State’s signature program to strengthen leadership development and networking in Southeast Asia. Through a variety of programs and engagements, YSEALI seeks to build the leadership capabilities of youth in the region, strengthen ties between the United States and Southeast Asia, and nurture a community of leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Timor-Leste who work across borders to solve common issues.

2019 YSEALI Summit: Advancing Partnership For Sustainability

The 2019 YSEALI Summit (the Summit) will bring together a group of 150 YSEALI alumni from ASEAN member states and Timor-Leste.
Our framework - Using the 4S Method (i.e. Search, Skill, Sprint and Scale), the summit will engage participants in inspirational talks, experiential learning, skill-building workshops, social enterprise engagement, and community service. The startup stimulation process will provide participants with opportunities to connect, develop common solutions, and demonstrate their ideas along with their leadership skills in order to address complicated and pressing political, social and economic issues.

Summit Location – Phuket, Thailand
Phuket is the ideal location to host the summit due to its ongoing efforts to create a sustainable future. Globally renowned, Phuket embodies a rich cultural heritage and vast natural resources. Private sector initiatives, like the Phuket Hotels Association’s annual international forum the “Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism” support the region’s sustainability efforts. Phuket is also home to numerous social enterprises. In 2016, Thailand’s Interior Minister launched the country’s first social enterprise designed to help rural coastal communities raise their standard of living. Phuket was recognized as one of the ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable Cities (ESC) in 2017, because of its commitment to sustainable best practices and the rebuild after the 2004 tsunami.

Objective

Strengthening YSEALI alumni’s engagement and enhancing the U.S. – ASEAN relationship
Equipping YSEALI alumni with skills to work with local communities to solve regional and global problems
Creating ideas’ platforms for growing practical sustainability projects

Requirement:

Participants in the Summit must:
Be between 18 years of age and 35 years of age at the time of the beginning of the Summit, September 30, 2019
Be resident in and citizen of an ASEAN country (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), or Timor-Leste
Be alumni of one of the following YSEALI programs: YSEALI Academic Fellowship, YSEALI Professional Fellowship, YSEALI Generation Regional Workshop, YSEALI Seeds for the Future Grants Competition
Have never participated in any of the following YSEALI summits in the past five years (Rangoon, Kuala Lumpur, Luang Prabang, Manila, and Singapore)
Demonstrate outstanding accomplishments related to YSEALI’s four pillars: economic growth, sustainable development, education, and civic engagement
Have a record of achievement, and must show evidence of remarkable potential for professional advancement and significant impact in their chosen field
Be thoughtful, committed, respected, and inspirational leaders within their professional fields and within their larger community
Be mindful and respectful of differences in cultures, beliefs and backgrounds
Be conversant in English (TOEFL exam results are not required)
Be available and able to participate throughout the whole Summit, no exceptions