2020 Asia Foundation Development Fellows Program Now Accepting Applications

San Francisco, August 19, 2019 — The Asia Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2020 Asia Foundation Development Fellows: Emerging Leadership for Asia’s Future program. The 2020 fellowship class will be the seventh cohort of this prestigious program, launched in 2014 to engage and empower a dynamic community of emerging leaders from across Asia. Applications will be accepted through Monday, October 14, 2019 (deadline extended from October 7), with selection results to be announced in January 2020.

The Development Fellows program reflects The Asia Foundation’s six-decade tradition of investing in the region’s most promising future leaders. Each year, the program brings together an accomplished group of emerging changemakers taking on the critical issues confounding the region such as corruption, ethnic conflicts, environmental challenges, and other urgent challenges.

An active and growing leadership community who share and amplify ideas, strategies, and networks across the region, the Development Fellows have included NGO and civil society leaders, government officials and policymakers, social entrepreneurs, journalists, environmentalists, and academics—each who are deeply committed to building an inclusive Asia.

“Our Development Fellows are entrepreneurial, creative, and willing to take risks. These are individuals with the unique combination of leadership skills, depth of substantive knowledge, and technical expertise that empowers them to solve problems in their respective societies and across Asia,” said Asia Foundation President David D. Arnold.

To learn more about the application process, read the program FAQ and application guidelines.

The 2020 program will consist of two intensive modules, including two weeks in Asia and another two weeks in the United States, allowing fellows to stay in their current occupations during the fellowship year. The program will commence in March with Part I of the Leadership Dialogue and Exchange in Laos. Leadership modules will be held in a retreat location to facilitate deep learning. A study tour will allow fellows to engage with development practitioners to understand the mechanics of change on the ground.

Immediately following the programming in Laos, Fellows will head to Singapore for the 2020 Forum on Leadership for Asia’s Future: At the Frontlines of Change, a biennial alumni gathering where they will meet and learn from Fellows in previous cohorts over three days to share development challenges, build and deepen networks of support, promote knowledge sharing, and highlight avenues for innovation and collaboration.

In September, the fellows will visit the San Francisco Bay Area and Washington, D.C. for Part II of the Leadership Dialogue and Exchange program. A flexible professional development award of US $5,000 will also be provided to each Fellow to use throughout the fellowship year.

The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, our work across the region addresses five overarching goals—strengthen governance, empower women, expand economic opportunity, increase environmental resilience, and promote regional cooperation.

Read more about the Foundation’s work

For media inquiries, please visit our News Room. Engage with us on FacebookTwitterLinkedIn, and Instagram.

Related locations: San Francisco
Related programs: Asia Foundation Development Fellows

Read our latest news, or insights from our blog.

Media contact

Eelynn Sim, Director, Strategy and Programs
[email protected]

The Latest Across Asia

Spark creativity, joy, and a love of reading