Alumni Initiatives: Engage, Lead and Innovate!
World Learning would like to inform you of two social innovation opportunities available to current Global UGRAD students and alumni: the US Department of State’s Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund and World Learning’s Advancing Leaders Fellowship. These two programs provide opportunities for alumni to implement community engagement projects in their home countries.
Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF)
Since mid-January, World Learning has been promoting the US Department of State’s Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund through Facebook and Twitter. The deadline to apply for this grant competition is February 24th. AEIF provides small grants to teams of past and current participants of US government-sponsored exchange programs to carry out public service projects that utilize skills and knowledge they have gained through their exchange experiences. To participate, alumni must be members of the International Exchange Alumni (IEA) global online community and form teams of at least five IEA community members. Proposed projects must embody one of the AEIF themes:
- Empowering Women and Girls, Social Inclusion of Vulnerable Population
- Entrepreneurship and Youth Employment
- Access to Education
- Climate Change and Environmental Protection
- Global Health Awareness
- Civic Participation
- Conflict Resolution.
In 2014, 66 grants of up to $25,000 were awarded to alumni teams to support their public service projects. To learn more, check out the video below:
Since 2012, 65 Global UGRAD alumni have participated in winning AEIF teams. If you are interested in learning about their experiences, you can contact them through the International Exchange Alumni directory.
2014 Winners
- China: Young Disability Ambassadors
- Cambodia: Entrepreneur Challenge
- Dominican Republic: Building Life Project of Girls
- Egypt: Debate for Life
- El Salvador: Teaching IT Skills to Get Jobs
- Ghana: Techie Skills
- Multi-Country Western Hemisphere (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, and Panama): I’m a Girl, I Build My Future
- Mongolia: Right Decision, Bright Future
- Oman: Assisting Autistic children
- Tunisia: Center of Civic Engagement
- Vietnam: Empower Junior Scientists
2013 Winners
- Costa Rica: Youth Ambassadors
- Dominican Republic High Schools & Climate Change
- El Salvador: Sivar Productions
- Laos: College Majors guidebook & Web
- Malaysia: Empowered to Teach!
- Mongolia: Empowering Rural Mongolia
- Panama: WONDERFUL ICT GIRLS CAN DO IT!
- Philippines: Project WIRED for PWD Sector
- Philippines: The Great ASEAN Eco-Debates
2012 Winners
- Burma: Intern to Learn
- Dominican Republic: Social Inclusion and Business Development (SIBD) of the community of San Luis.
- Thailand: Disaster Preparedness – Volunteering for Community Service
- Vietnam: Networking and Mentoring Program for Small and Medium Enterprises
Advancing Leaders Fellowship Program
In March 2015, World Learning will launch the Advancing Leaders Fellowship program. Alumni from all of World Learning’s programs will be invited to apply to this fellowship, which recognizes the ideas, talent, and vision of World Learning alumni by providing comprehensive training in social innovation, project management and leadership. The program offers selected high-achieving fellows grant money and a support network of mentors and peers so that they can implement an original social innovation project in their home communities.
Forty participants will be selected to engage in an three-month online training course on project design, project management and proposal writing from late June to late September 2015. In October 2015, participants who successfully complete the course and are awarded a grant based on their project’s proposal will be invited to an award event in the US in October 2015. At the award event they will meet their World Learning mentor who will provide guidance during the implementation phase of their social innovation project.
Three Global UGRAD alumni participated in the Advancing Leaders Fellowship program in 2014. Since 2012, 67 Global UGRAD alumni have participated in the Alumni Engagement Initiative’s online training course in grant management. Of those participants, 18 Global UGRAD alumni have received funding from the Alumni Engagement Initiative to implement their social innovation projects in their home communities.
2014 Advancing Leaders Fellowship Finalists
- Elena Mercedes Haro Lima, Guatemala, 2012-13 Alum: “A+ Sports: Aiming for success on and off the field”
- Choon Sian Choo, Malaysia, 2011-12 Alum: “Young Money Master: Nurturing Financially Smart Youth”
- Vuk Stojkovic, Serbia, 2009-10 Alum: “SMART-Smiling Art”
2014 Alumni Engagement Initiative supported by Newman’s Own Foundation Funded Projects
2013 Alumni Engagement Initiative Recipients:
- Mayra Alejandra Chavez Caceres, Guatemala, 2012-13 Alum
- Camila Carolina Acevedo Paz, El Salvador, 2011-12 Alum
- Cinthya Collado Huembes, Nicaragua, 2012-13 Alum
- Eneyda del Carmen Leiva Garcia, Nicaragua, 2012-13 Alum
- Dian Mayasari, Indonesia, 2009-10 Alum
- Estefania Aurora Guillen Pascacio, Panama, 2011-12 Alum
- Nanak Hikmatullah, Indonesia, 2011-12 Alum
- Nester Mendoza, Philippines, 2012-13 Alum
2012 Alumni Engagement Initiative Recipients:
- Shi Ee Chew, Malaysia, 2010-11 Alum
- Nathalie Rodnez, Haiti, 2011-12 Alum
- Jaime Montoya Guzman, El Salvador, 2009-10 Alum
- Rida Afrilyasanti, Indonesia, 2008-09 Alum
- Manoly Sisavanh, Laos, 2008-09 Alum
- Saw Htet Aung, Burma, 2009-10 Alum
- Simon Santamaria Garcia, Venezuela, 2010-11 Alum
- Marco Bustamante Yupanqui, Peru, 2011-12 Alum