New York, April 24, 2023 — The Asia Foundation will host the 2023 Lotus Leadership Awards on April 26 at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City. The eleventh Lotus Leadership Awards will honor Gloria Steinem, Google.org, HAkA, and the Aceh Women Forest Defenders Movement from Indonesia. The gala will feature special guest Seth Meyers, photographer Nigel Barker and singer-songwriter Katini Yamaoka.
The Asia Foundation and Lotus Circleexpand women’s and girls’ opportunities and advance gender equality. This year’s honorees have exhibited an enormous amount of bravery and innovation to create lasting changes in society. Gloria Steinem for inspiring global advocacy to advance women’s rights and climate justice; Google.org for their groundbreaking investments to support women’s economic empowerment; and HAkA and the Women Forest Defenders for their visionary leadership in environmental stewardship.
“Our premise is really simple: when you change the lives of women, you can affect an entire society. That’s the power of the multiplier effect,” said Lotus Leadership Awards co-chairs Sydnie Kohara and Elizabeth Keatinge Scheideler.
“We are particularly inspired by our work to strengthen the role and capacity of women environmental defenders to address the devastating environmental impact of extractive practices and loss in livelihoods. This year’s Lotus Leadership honorees are making lasting change, improving lives, and helping societies flourish. These are the very characteristics that define The Asia Foundation, and The Lotus Circle is thrilled to honor and collaborate with them.”
Funding from the Lotus Circle—a community of philanthropists committed to advancing women’s rights and opportunities in Asia and the Pacific—allows The Asia Foundation to seed and sustain innovative projects designed to advance women’s empowerment and gender equality in the region, including the Lotus Leadership Rapid Response Fund to address urgent needs. Proceeds from this evening will support work that makes a lasting impact on women’s and girls’ lives in the Asia-Pacific.
The Asia Foundation thanks our generous supporters: Visionary sponsor Regeneron and Champion sponsor Kirkland & Ellis. Register for the 2023 Lotus Leadership Awards and learn moreabout the Lotus Circle.
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 focuses on good governance, women’s empowerment and gender equality, inclusive economic growth, environment and climate action, and regional and international relations.
April 4, 2023 — The Asia Foundation, through its Future Skills Alliance (FSA), is collaborating with Visa to address the growing gender digital skills divide in Asia and the Pacific. The partnership aims to broaden participation in the digital economy among women who are either at the early stages of their careers, returning to work, or running their businesses.
Through this partnership, The Asia Foundation and Visa will work with local partners in India and Vietnam, including universities, business associations, microfinance institutions, and civic organizations, to deliver fit-for-purpose digital financial education, training, and mentoring programs for women.
As part of the Foundation’s digital skills initiatives under the Future Skills Alliance and funded with grants from Visa, these two programs will support over 5,000 early career and returning women professionals in India, and 25,000 women small business owners in Vietnam, over the next three years.
“The Asia Foundation is excited to partner with Visa on a growing suite of Future Skills Alliance programs across key markets in Asia, as we share the vision of narrowing the digital skills gap to ensure that no one gets left behind,” said Robin Bush, The Asia Foundation’s Future Skills Alliance co-lead.
“Visa believes that everyone, everywhere, should have opportunities to meaningfully participate in the digital economy,” said Nate Low, Senior Director for Inclusive Impact & Sustainability, Visa Asia Pacific. “We are proud to expand our partnership with The Asia Foundation and join the Future Skills Alliance to uplift the lives of women in Vietnam and India with digital and financial education opportunities.”
This announcement builds off a successful partnership that provided access to vital digital skills to more than 6,500 women-led businesses in Malaysia and Indonesia.
While digital advancement continues to drive economic growth in Asia-Pacific, the region’s huge talent and workforce potential largely remains untapped because women have limited participation in the digital economy.
In India, women aged 20-24 form the highest proportion of unemployed, willing-to-work, and active job seekers. With the job market heading to digitalization, this group faces the risk of getting left behind without access to digital skills education. The same applies to women who have left the workforce due to pregnancy, and/or care responsibilities and want to return. Through The Asia Foundation and Visa’s partnership, women facing these two career challenges will build financial, digital, and technology skills that are critical in helping them find work, grow their careers, and ensure the financial well-being of their families.
A similar digital skills gap exists in Vietnam, particularly in small and growing businesses (SGBs), which account for 96% of all businesses. While SGBs are recognized for their strategic capacity to contribute to the country’s economic growth, this group is also among the hardest hit by the pandemic and most in need of support in terms of capacity development and greater market access. Many of these SGBs are led by women with limited access to training and financing, let alone opportunities to expand their businesses and compete in the post-pandemic digital market.
The FSA is a broad coalition of partners from the public and private sectors working together to deliver future skills at scale to the region’s most marginalized. Drawing on a collective impact model, FSA creates a pathway for businesses to contribute to environmental, social, and governance efforts that transform access to and participation in the digital economy across the region.
Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable, and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at visa.com.
The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives and expanding opportunities across Asia and the Pacific. Informed by decades of experience and deep local expertise, our work across the region is focused on good governance, women’s empowerment and gender equality, inclusive economic growth, environment and climate action, and regional and international relations.
San Francisco, March 14, 2023 — Applications are now open for the 2023 William P. Fuller Fellowship in Peacebuilding. For the first time in the program’s history, The Asia Foundation has launched an open call for applications. Fuller Fellows are early or mid-career professionals with demonstrated potential for leadership in the peacebuilding field and who are actively working to promote peace through research, advocacy, policymaking, community practice, or other realms.
Following a period of redesign in 2023, The Asia Foundation will launch a revamped program and welcome a cohort of three fellows from Asia and the Pacific region. Emphasis is placed on network-building between fellows and the global peacebuilding community to support and elevate the fellows’ development and work.
The heart of the program will be a study tour and peacebuilding exchange in the San Francisco Bay Area and the East Coast of the United States from October 9 to October 21, 2023. Fellows will also participate in supplementary virtual seminars with The Asia Foundation’s Conflict & Fragility and Leadership & Exchange programs units. A flexible USD $5,000 grant will be provided to each fellow to support their individually tailored projects or advance their professional goals.
The evolving complexity of the subnational conflict in the 21st century requires significant investment in an emerging generation of committed leaders to innovate and drive solutions for peace. The William P. Fuller Fellowship in Peacebuilding is dedicated to the professional development of the next generation of leaders committed to addressing conflict and peacebuilding in Asia-Pacific. The program was first established by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees in 2004 to honor William Fuller’s 15-year tenure as president of the Foundation. This tribute reflects the organization’s long-standing commitment to the field and Fuller’s particular concern for furthering the professional development of young Asians with the leadership potential and professional commitment to advance knowledge and practice regarding the management of subnational conflicts.
The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives and expanding opportunities across Asia and the Pacific. Informed by decades of experience and deep local expertise, our work across the region is focused on good governance, women’s empowerment and gender equality, inclusive economic growth, environment and climate action, and regional and international relations.
San Francisco, March 6, 2023 — President Lin Songtian of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) led a delegation to visit the headquarters of The Asia Foundation in San Francisco on February 21st.
The CPAFFC delegation was welcomed by The Asia Foundation’s President Laurel Miller, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Suzanne E. Siskel, Senior Vice President Gordon Hein, and Country Representative in China Jianxin Zhang, along with several other senior officers of the Foundation.
The delegation was accompanied by Jianmin Zhang, the Chinese Consul General in San Francisco, and other consular officials.
The visit included a welcome reception hosted by the Foundation and was attended by more than 40 representatives from NGOs, associations, chambers of commerce, and academics from across California and the Midwest.
During the meeting, President Lin congratulated Laurel Miller on her appointment as president of The Asia Foundation. He expressed his appreciation for The Asia Foundation’s commitment and contributions to China since the late 1970s. President Miller thanked CPAFFC for their support of The Asia Foundation’s work in China and introduced the Foundation’s current key areas of work in Asia and the Pacific. The two organizations had an in-depth exchange and discussion on promoting China-US people-to-people exchange, green development and climate action, and China’s rural development.
Asia Foundation President Laurel Miller and Chair of the Board and Executive Committee S. Timothy Kochis chatted with President Lin at the reception.
The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives and expanding opportunities across Asia and the Pacific. Informed by decades of experience and deep local expertise, our work across the region is focused on good governance, women’s empowerment and gender equality, inclusive economic growth, environment and climate action, and regional and international relations.
San Francisco, March 6, 2023 — The Asia Foundation hosted a delegation from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat led by Executive Director Rebecca Sta Maria. More than 35 stakeholders from Silicon Valley and the Bay Area came together to discuss the importance of economic cooperation in Asia and the Pacific region, trade, inclusive growth, and what to expect for APEC USA 2023, which will culminate in November at the APEC Economic Leaders and the CEO Summit in San Francisco.
APEC is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific region. Every year, one of the 21 APEC member economies hosts APEC meetings and serves as the APEC Chair. This year, the United States is the APEC 2023 host promoting the theme of Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Future for All.”
The Asia Foundation has partnered with APEC on multiple program initiatives in recent years. This partnership builds on The Asia Foundation’s decades of support for regional economic cooperation in Asia and the Pacific. In recent years, our collaboration with the APEC Secretariat and host economies—including Viet Nam, Papua New Guinea, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, and Thailand—has focused on research and policy recommendations that promote an inclusive digital economy.
The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives and expanding opportunities across Asia and the Pacific. Informed by decades of experience and deep local expertise, our work across the region is focused on good governance, women’s empowerment and gender equality, inclusive economic growth, environment and climate action, and regional and international relations.
January 11, 2023 — The Asia Foundation announces the appointment of Jianxin Zhang as the country representative for The Asia Foundation in China, overseeing all aspects of the Foundation’s work in the country. An experienced professional in international affairs and development, Jianxin joins the Foundation with a well-rounded background in foreign affairs, the private sector, and the not-for-profit space. Read her welcome message in Chinese.
Jianxin brings a nuanced understanding of the policy environment in China and is an expert in advising nongovernmental actors on how to effectively engage with government and public stakeholders regarding policy in areas such as United States and China relations, international development, agriculture, food security, WSH (water, sanitation, and hygiene), climate change, and sustainability. Jianxin’s experience with policymaking began as a foreign service officer for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the spokesman’s office. She later worked for multinational corporations, including Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, helping them to develop and execute strategies for pursuing their policy interests within China. Before joining the Foundation, Jianxin served as principal for DaoHe Consulting. At DaoHe, she supported INGOs in China to understand the country’s policy environment, engage stakeholders, and implement programs while supporting efforts in advocating for China-for-the-world collaborations.
Jianxin received her master’s degree in Public Administration from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and a master’s degree from Xiamen University.
Over the past four decades in China, The Asia Foundation has successfully collaborated with government agencies and institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs. These partnerships focus on United States and China exchanges, social governance innovation, and disaster management and support a wide range of projects with Chinese academic and nonprofit partners to strengthen philanthropy.
The Foundation currently focuses on United States and China relations and people-to-people exchanges, regional cooperation, women’s development, inclusive economic growth, advocating for the environment and climate actions, and developing the charitable sector.
The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia-Pacific. Informed by six decades of experience and leveraging a well-established network in the United States and Asia, the Foundation cooperates with a range of local partners in China, seeking to enhance domestic development and promote international cooperation.
Stay informed and read news in Chinese by following The Asia Foundation China’s WeChat account: tafbeijing.
LeadNext is The Asia Foundation’s dynamic new program focused on global citizenship for the 21st century. LeadNext builds a vibrant network of future leaders aged 18-25 from across the Asia-Pacific region and the United States and supports their growth, impact, and capacity to address today’s greatest challenges
Over the next decade, profound structural changes will transform our geopolitical landscape; it’s imperative that the next generation of leaders are equipped to navigate these evolving changes. Positive and lasting change will depend on leaders who can move ideas and action forward to address rising inequality, find solutions to climate crises, mitigate conflict, and empower communities. The LeadNext program equips emerging leaders across cultures and disciplines with strong international networks, exposure to wide-ranging experiences, and leadership tools to thoughtfully steer the future.
For decades, The Asia Foundation has invested in leaders at all levels, knowing that change depends on policies and programs and the people who lead them. The LeadNextprogram focuses on future leaders in the nascent stages of their careers.
Meet the 2023 LeadNext Fellows:
Phạm Nguyễn Đức Anh | Age 24 | Vietnam is a Leadership Development Fellow with Teach for Viet Nam in a rural secondary school and is focused on inequality and non-inclusion in the education ecosystem.
Prakriti Basyal | Age 25 | Nepal is a policy researcher at Daayitwa, supervising fellowship programs and collaborating with ministries and parliamentarians. Prakriti is committed to bringing innovative policy changes to her country and is passionate about international relations and foreign policy.
Mel Britt | Age 25 | United States is a field researcher and digital investigator at the University of California, Berkeley, and is broadly interested in democratization, global governance, and transitional justice.
Weeryue Chiapaoyue | Age 20 | Laos is a co-founder of the WESHARE Project, a fundraising program to provide supplies to underprivileged schools. He is an expert in cross-cultural communication and an undergraduate student in engineering.
Temuulen Enkhbat | Age 21 | Mongolia is the research and development lead at GerHub, an organization that works to find innovative solutions to emerging urban challenges in Mongolia. Enkhbatis an active member of Global Shapers Ulaanbaatar Hub and organizes youth leadership programs, and promotes the development of green spaces.
Andrew Farias | Age 24 | United States is a Lobby and Policy Fellow with the Asian Community and Cultural Center of Lincoln and recently completed a year as a Weitz Fellow with Nebraska Appleseed, fighting for justice and opportunity for all Nebraskans.
Ayesha Noor Fatima | Age 25 | Pakistan is a feminist activist and humanitarian working at the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives for the Government of Pakistan. She is Pakistan’s National Youth Assembly member and previously hosted radio programs on peace and inclusion.
Zeruiah Grammon | Age 20 | Papua New Guinea is an event coordinator for the University of Papua New Guinea Clean Generation Movement, a campaign aiming to create a movement of young people who are purposeful, virtuous, and responsible. She is also an undergraduate law student at the University of Papua New Guinea.
Mohammad Tanvirul Hasan | Age 23 | Bangladesh advocates youth leadership development and social awareness, passionate about fighting the root causes of social problems. Tanvir is an undergraduate student in Computer Science Engineering and works as a tech specialist for Neoncha Limited and Proteron Digital.
Lorena James | Age 23 | United States is a research analyst passionate about ecopreneurship, the intersection of social entrepreneurship, and environmental advocacy, and she is currently preparing for an MBA in sustainability. She is the founder of two green ventures, Z Spools, a sustainable 3D printing company, and 4ever Curly LLC, a low-waste hair care company for African diaspora women.
Nishtha Kashyap | Age 24 | India is an architect, designer, and social practitioner involved in social architecture, policy advocacy, and architectural activism. Kashyap is concerned with access to human rights and how architecture can address social and spatial inequalities.
Linda Kim | Age 25 | United States is a bioprocess engineer in the gene therapy industry, integrating her passions for medical innovation and social impact to help individuals and communities prosper. She promotes STEM careers at low-income high schools and represented her company at the 2022 One Young World Summit.
Natalie Montecino | Age 22 | United States is a Fulbright Fellow and documentarian conducting research on rural revitalization efforts in Okayama, Japan. She studies rural resilience and sustainable development with a focus on Japan and France and has experience working as a storyteller and independent writer in Colorado.
Samantha Powell | Age 21 | United States is a freelance writer for the healthcare public relations firm GCI Health and nonprofit Books and Breakfast, an organization supporting Evanston public school students. Powell is completing her undergraduate studies in sociology and global health, focusing on equitable, efficient communication and the role of perception and social forces.
Melinda Anne Sharlini | Age 25 | Malaysia is an intersectional feminist and gender justice campaigner advocating for gender-equal citizenship laws and immigration policies. She works as a program manager at Family Frontiers, a women’s rights organization advocating for the rights of Malaysian binational families.
Brendan Schultz | Age 25 | United States is the founder and director of United by Love, a nonprofit working on interethnic cooperation among youth in Southeastern Europe, Nepal, and Hawaii. Brendan is a former Hansen Leadership Institute Fellow, a Davis Fellow for Peace, and a YES Abroad Scholar to Macedonia.
Jia-Kai Eric Yeh Scott | Age 23 | United States is passionate about dissecting both the exercise of state power and the coalescence of anti-authoritarian, separatist, and anti-statist social movements in Southeast and East Asia. He currently studies Mandarin in Taipei, Taiwan.
Edris Tajik | Age 25 | Afghanistan is a Generation Change fellow at the United States Institute of Peace, currently interning with the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. He promotes peacebuilding and youth empowerment projects in Afghanistan, including through Model United Nations, and is currently completing his undergraduate studies in Political Science.
Surayya Walters | 23 | United States is a leader, public speaker, journalist, social entrepreneur, researcher, and the founder of iDEIntity, a nonprofit promoting DEI in the startup ecosystem. She is passionate about entrepreneurship, education, and sociopolitical advocacy and hopes to blend these domains throughout her career.
Chenxi Zi | Age 25 | China is an environmental campaigner, philosophy student, and public narrative coach passionate about advocacy for the weak, women, and nature. She works for the oldest environmental organization in China, Friends of Nature.
The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia-Pacific. Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, our work across the region is focused on good governance, women’s empowerment and gender equality, inclusive economic growth, environment, and climate action, and regional and international relations.
San Francisco, January 3, 2023 — The Asia Foundation announces the 2023 class of Asia Foundation Development Fellows: Emerging Leadership for Asia’s Future following a highly competitive selection process. The 2023 Development Fellows are emerging leaders in their fields, bringing bold, innovative thinking and a deep commitment to addressing complex issues across Asia and the Pacific. The 13 fellows selected for the 2023 class are from Australia, Cambodia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Timor-Leste.
The Development Fellows program brings exceptional individuals into a network of emerging leaders working to improve lives across the Asia-Pacific region. Now in its ninth year, the program includes 107 current and alumni fellows across Asia-Pacific, forming an active network of the region’s most promising leaders from diverse cultures, country contexts, and work environments.
Meet the 2023 Development Fellows:
Shaleh Al Ghifari (Indonesia) is a public interest lawyer based in Jakarta, Indonesia, focusing on providing access to justice for vulnerable and marginalized communities.
Jan Mikael de Lara Co (Philippines) works in strategic political communications, heading the communications unit for the Liberal Party of the Philippines, and is an award-winning poet.
Flavio Maria de Fatima Simoes (Timor-Leste) works for the Asia Development Bank to provide strategic advice to the Government of Timor-Leste, to align Timor-Leste’s rules, laws, and regulations with those of the ASEAN Economic Community Pillar.
Dorjjantsan “Jack” Ganbaatar (Mongolia) is a queer rights activist, lecturer, researcher, and author and currently serves as the health program manager at the first and only LGBT Centre in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
Nadine Kezia Ngaminya Highfield (Australia) is a lawyer admitted to the High Court of Australia and the ACT Supreme Court. Highfield is a proud Wangkatha woman from the Eastern-Goldfield’s region of Western Australia.
Tanzila Khan (Pakistan) is an entrepreneur, disability activist, and writer and leads sessions on inclusive creativity, overcoming barriers, and inclusion within businesses.
Maha Marakkalage Ruvini Perera (Sri Lanka) is a human rights lawyer, activist, and development practitioner passionate about social justice, human rights, women empowerment, strengthening democracy, reconciliation, and transitional justice in Sri Lanka.
Shirijung Hang Rai (Nepal) is an educator, innovator, campaigner, and international relations enthusiast currently working as the manager at SkillLab and serves on the Board of Directors at Samaanta Foundation, a comprehensive national-level fellowship for deserving students to promote education, equality, and empowerment.
Yasmin Sattar (Thailand) is an assistant professor at the faculty of Political Science, Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus. Her research focuses on politics in the Muslim world and conflict situations in the deep south of Thailand, particularly of Muslim Thai and Malay women there.
Rotha Suong (Cambodia) is a storyteller, filmmaker, producer, and creative director at Minor Act, a media production organization that works with youth to produce transformative social justice media content.
Shazia Usman (Fiji) is a writer, storyteller, feminist activist, and communications professional leading strategic gender equality-focused communications that amplify the voices and choices of women, girls, and gender non-binary people in Fiji and the Pacific.
Lastiana Yuliandari (Indonesia) is the founder and director of Aliet Green, a female-run social enterprise with a mission to work with local farmers, especially women, to improve their incomes and family livelihoods.
Antaraa Vasudev (India) is the Founder of Civis, a nonprofit platform that works to enable effective dialogue between governments and citizens on draft laws and policies.
This yearlong career advancement program includes two intensive Leadership Dialogue and Exchange programs in Asia and the United States. The coursework explores the Fellows’ leadership styles, helps them develop their stories, and expands their innovative thinking. The fellowship will commence in Laos in February.
The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organization committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia-Pacific. Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, our work across the region is focused on good governance, women’s empowerment and gender equality, inclusive economic growth, environment, and climate action, and regional and international relations.
San Francisco, December 16, 2022 — The Asia Foundation Board of Trustees today announced it has named Laurel E. Miller as its new President and Chief Executive Officer, effective February 1, 2023. Laurel is a dynamic, experienced leader whose background spans nonprofit, public policy, private sector, and governmental leadership roles. She succeeds David D. Arnold, who is retiring after 12 years of leading the international development nonprofit during a period of profound change across Asia and the Pacific.
Laurel brings a strong professional and personal commitment to The Asia Foundation’s mission of improving lives and expanding opportunities across the world’s most diverse region. Presently the director of the Asia Program at the International Crisis Group, Laurel is highly regarded for her policy analysis, diplomatic, and negotiating experience in the U.S. government and with independent research institutions. She has dealt extensively with government and private sector leaders, civil society organizations, and international and multilateral organizations.
In prior roles with the RAND Corporation, Laurel led research and policy analysis on national security, foreign policy, and foreign aid issues. She has served in several roles at the U.S. Department of State and National Security Council, including as Acting Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan. Recently, she was appointed to serve as a member of a congressional commission charged with conducting a review of U.S. involvement in the region. Her early career as a journalist based in Tokyo for the Japan Times and in New Delhi at the Center for Science and Environment, where she authored a study of the environmental impact of the Green Revolution, unleashed a life-long interest in the Asia-Pacific region. Laurel is a graduate of Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and the University of Chicago Law School.
“We are thrilled to introduce a leader of Laurel’s caliber to guide the organization into its next stage of growth and impact,” said Tim Kochis, chairman of The Asia Foundation Board of Trustees. “She has spent her career analyzing and solving complex issues, negotiating with diverse stakeholders, and building bridges across cultures and sectors—and this perspective is key to the Foundation’s strength in a rapidly shifting world.”
“I am honored to be joining an organization highly respected for its contributions to people’s lives and well-being across Asia and the Pacific,” said Laurel Miller. “I look forward to sustaining and building on The Asia Foundation’s impact by working with the organization’s long-standing friends, supporters, and partners, and with its many talented, committed professionals across the globe.”
The intensive, wide-ranging global search was conducted in partnership with BoardWalk Consulting, an Atlanta-based firm focusing on nonprofit and foundation leadership searches. A large initial prospect pool was narrowed by stages to a group of finalists who interviewed with the Board’s search committee and select staff across the Foundation.
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 is focused on good governance, women’s empowerment and gender equality, inclusive economic growth, environment and climate action, and regional and international relations.
Phnom Penh, December 9, 2022 — The U.S. Department of State and U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh hosted the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI) Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, December 6-8, 2022. This year’s Summit, implemented by The Asia Foundation, was the first in-person YSEALI Summit since 2019.
One hundred fifty emerging leaders from all ten Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states and Timor-Leste participated in skill-building workshops, networking, and activities focused on economic empowerment. YSEALI seeks to strengthen the partnership between the United States and ASEAN and supports emerging young leaders across Southeast Asia.
Participants explored ways to expand regional collaboration, advanced their leadership and business development skills, and learned from successful Southeast Asian entrepreneurs and experts.
“Together, you are supporting inclusive economic opportunities. Helping end this pandemic and prevent, detect, and respond to future health emergencies–giving communities tools to adapt to a changing climate, like more frequent droughts and more intense hurricanes. The YSEALI program is a powerful way to bring together our people, particularly our young people, so that they can share information, ideas, and solutions with one another,” said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in pre-recorded opening remarks.
During the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in May 2022, President Biden announced YSEALI will double in size in the next three years. The YSEALI Summit highlights the strength of our people-to-people ties and our commitment to the sociocultural pillar under the U.S.-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Since its inception in 2013, the YSEALI network has grown to more than 155,000 members.
During the Summit, U.S. Embassy Phnom Penh launched “Community Catalysts,” a small grants program for participants, which will fund the young leaders’ most compelling project proposals for implementation across ASEAN in the coming 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 is focused on good governance, women’s empowerment and gender equality, inclusive economic growth, environment, and climate action, and regional and international relations.
