Apply for Youth Ambassadors Africa Program 2025

Youth Ambassadors programs offer youth (typically between the ages of 15-18) and adult mentors the opportunity to examine civic engagement, leadership development, and pluralism through short term exchanges in the United States. YA-AF should offer participants from countries in sub-Saharan Africa the opportunity to engage in a variety of activities such as, but not limited to, workshops on civic education, community site visits related to the program themes, and homestays with American families.  Upon return home, participants should apply what they have learned to implement projects that serve their communities. Multiple opportunities for participants to interact meaningfully with their U.S. peers should be included.

Goals and Objectives 

• The program goals are to:
  • Prepare youth leaders to become responsible citizens and contributing members of their communities;
  • Empower participants to be actively engaged in addressing issues of concern in their communities upon their return home;
  • Build mutual understanding, tolerance, and respect through shared culture and values; and
  • Foster relationships among youth from different ethnic, religious, and national groups across sub-Saharan Africa and their U.S. counterparts.
• The objectives of the program are for participants to:
  • Demonstrate a better understanding of the elements of participatory democracy in action;
  • Deepen critical thinking, problem-solving, and empathetic leadership skills; and
  • Develop program planning and implementation skills to bring community project ideas to fruition.

Themes 

• The primary program themes are:
  • Civic Engagement (such as citizen participation, community service, participatory democracy, rule of law, volunteerism, etc.);
  • Leadership Development (such as ethical leadership, team building, public speaking, negotiation, goal setting, and project planning); and
  • Pluralism (including ethnicity, race, gender, religion, geographic location, socio-economic status, and disabilities).
  • For each exchange, applicant organizations must focus on these primary themes. Additional topics that help illustrate the abstract concepts of the primary themes are encouraged. These may include topics relevant to the African context, such as, but not limited to, entrepreneurship, environmental sustainability, and media literacy.

Funding Information

• Budget requests may not exceed $1,000,000. Applicants may provide separate sub-budgets for each program component, phase, location, or activity to provide clarification.

Eligibility Criteria

• The following organizations are eligible to apply:
  • U.S. Not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations
  • U.S. Public and private educational institutions.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.