English Access Scholarship Program (Uzbekistan)

The goal of the Access Program is to equip talented students who possess a minimal knowledge of English with effective communication and critical thinking skills through meaningful  interaction, cooperative learning strategies, and real-life contexts. Additionally, Access seeks to  prepare students for conversational English language skills with native and non-native speakers of English through a variety of experiential learning activities. Selected participants must be bright, economically disadvantaged students with a beginning level of English. Participants should commit to enroll in classes during the full two-year program. Students are expected to graduate with certificates of completion from the U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan at the end of their two-year program.

Goal 

• Improve educational and employment prospects for youth across Uzbekistan by equipping them with English language, digital literacy, critical thinking, and global citizenship skills.

Objectives 

• Objective 1: Increase English language verbal, reading, and writing skills of youth from  economically disadvantaged communities through in-class instruction and off-site civic engagement/volunteer activities.
• Objective 2: Strengthen understanding among youth of global citizenship (climate action, civic engagement), U.S. culture and values, in-demand leadership, and professional skills (collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication) through experiential learning activities.  For example: volunteerism, community service activities, and issues that impact their  local community.
• Objective 3: Improve the ability of students to critically analyze media content and identify disinformation and credible sources through media literacy training and simulated disinformation exercises.
• Objective 4: Acquire skills to navigate the digital landscape responsibly, safeguard their personal information, identify, and respond to potential threats, and create a safe and secure online presence.

Funding Information

• Length of performance period: 18 to 24 months
• Number of awards anticipated: 1-3 awards (dependent on amounts)
• Total available funding: $1,200,000
• Award Ceiling: $800,000
• Award Floor: $100,000

Project Audience(s)

• The Embassy encourages applications from institutions from the United States and all the regions of Uzbekistan.
• Primary audiences in Uzbekistan are learners of the from the ages of 13-15, with priority placed on diverse and underserved student populations.
• This diversity may include those with different ethnic or mother-tongue backgrounds, physical or mental disabilities, and displaced or repatriated persons.

Eligibility Criteria

• The U.S. Embassy Tashkent encourages applications from U.S. and Uzbekistan  registered not- for- profit, civil society/non-governmental organizations, and educational institutions with at least three years of programming experience in  administering educational programs and/or teaching English, preferably with similar projects.
• Please note: Applicants may submit proposals to manage one Access location, however, preference will be given to organizations willing to manage and implement several existing Access and Access Satellite Center locations across Uzbekistan.
• The selected implementer(s) must be willing to work with the existing Access and Access Satellite Center location(s) and venue(s) with the understanding that they would be responsible for recruiting participants and for ensuring those locations and venues meet  the standards of the program. Organizations with previous experience and a capacity of working with educational institutions on a national level will be given priority. This experience should be documented in the organization’s proposal.
• Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution will be considered ineligible for funding.

Ineligible

• This opportunity will not support:
  • Projects relating to partisan political activity;
  • Charitable or development activities;
  • Construction projects;
  • Projects that support specific religious activities;
  • Fund-raising campaigns;
  • Lobbying for specific legislation or programs
  • Scientific research or surveys;
  • Commercial projects;
  • Projects intended primarily for the growth or institutional development of the  organization;
  • Projects that duplicate existing projects; or
  • Illegal activities

For more information, visit Grants.gov.