Description
The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy Jakarta of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for a cooperative agreement to develop and implement a Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Regional Workshop on the theme of Sustainable and Inclusive Cultural Tourism in a Post-COVID World. The six-day workshop (inclusive of arrival and departure days) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, will highlight how the cultural tourism sector can rebuild in a sustainable and inclusive way after COVID-19 disruptions to the tourism industry. The workshop will take place in July 2024. Please carefully follow all instructions below. Priority Region: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste. Program Objectives: YSEALI (yseali.state.gov) is the U.S. government’s signature initiative to engage emerging leaders in Southeast Asia. The program aims to create a network of young Southeast Asian leaders who work across national borders to solve common problems. 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 who work across borders to solve shared issues. YSEALI is open to young leaders ages 18-35 who are both citizens and residents of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries (Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) or Timor-Leste. Responding to priorities from youth in the ASEAN region, YSEALI programs focus on four themes (Civic Engagement, Economic Empowerment and Social Entrepreneurship, Education and Environmental Issues). One component of YSEALI are the annual Regional Workshops held across Southeast Asia on strategic topics. This regional workshop: Sustainable and Inclusive Cultural Tourism in a Post-COVID World will advance the YSEALI theme of Economic Development and Civic Engagement and U.S. Embassy Jakarta strategic goals by examining ways cultural tourism sector can recover from COVID-19 disruptions in environmentally sustainable ways and inclusive of those with disabilities and minority communities. Many ASEAN countries and Timor Leste rely heavily on cultural tourism for economic development and young people play an important role in the tourism sector. This workshop will highlight and build skills of participants in the latest trends in cultural preservation, museum development/curation, inclusive access, cultural story-telling, environmentally-conscious tourism, and cultural experience-based tourism. The workshop will showcase individuals and organizations taking innovative approaches to the recovery of the cultural tourism sector. The workshop should also feature soft skills sessions, grant-writing workshops, and seminars on successful economic development in the tourism sector. Additionally, the program should include cultural activities and site visits that highlight ASEAN culture and U.S.-ASEAN relations. The proposal should include workshop follow-on activities such as virtual collaborative work, projects funded through small seed grants, or ongoing mentorship. The follow-on activity should be included in the monitoring and evaluation plan. The proposal should include a pre and post workshop survey to measure the overall effectiveness of the workshop as well as any changes to the participants’ knowledge of the workshop topic. The concepts of leadership, giving back, and strengthening a Southeast Asian/ASEAN identity based on shared values and shared challenges should be integrated into the program. Workshop speakers/facilitators/mentors should be citizens of the United States, an ASEAN member country, or Timor-Leste. The recipient is expected to develop syllabus materials and an event program with participant and speaker biographies, as well as design banners, backdrops, and other printed materials. The recipient is expected to design a digital engagement strategy for workshop participants and social media audiences, including live video or live online engagement during the program. No new website specific to the event should be created or launched. Domain, hosting and build costs will not be covered. Participants and Audiences: The recipient will coordinate with U.S. Embassy Jakarta and with the U.S. embassies in ASEAN and Timor-Leste to recruit and select 60 participants. Participants will be between the ages of 18 – 35 and have experience working in the cultural tourism sector whether through paid employment, volunteer work, unpaid internships, or coursework, and who show promise in becoming socially active in effecting positive change in their communities. All participants must be proficient in written and spoken English. All programs must include participants from all ten ASEAN member countries and Timor-Leste. The workshop will be conducted in English. The recipient will be responsible for arranging and using cooperative agreement funds to cover all elements related to participant and staff travel including international and domestic flights, visas, travel to and from airports, visas, accommodations, per diem, meals during the program, insurance, etc.