Young Pacific Leaders Regional Workshop on Cultural Preservation and Storytelling

The proposed workshop will focus on building local capacity within Pacific nations to help participants develop storytelling as a tool for advocacy and a means to preserve cultural heritage leveraging digital tools and technologies like AI to support these endeavors. Workshop sessions should be designed to introduce and operationalize best practices in this space to elevate Pacific cultural heritage and sovereignty.

This workshop will bring together practitioners from all levels of society and administration including government, civil society, and experts to discuss challenges, develop action plans, and leverage opportunities for regional collaboration to foster the implementation of security practices.

YPL is the U.S. government’s signature initiative to engage with emerging leaders in the Pacific region. The program aims to create a network of young Pacific leaders who work across national borders and the four pillars of YPL – education, environment and resource management, civic engagement, and economic and social development – to solve common problems. Through a variety of programs and engagements, YPL seeks to build the leadership capabilities of youth in the region, strengthen ties between the United States and Pacific, and nurture a community of leaders who work across borders to solve shared issues.

This regional workshop on Cultural Preservation and Storytelling Advocacy, will advance the YPL themes of Education, Environment and Resource Management, Civic Engagement and Social and Economic Development. The workshop must be a minimum of 4 full program days, excluding travel days to the workshop site. The proposal should include workshop lead up and follow-on activities such as virtual collaborative work, projects funded through small seed grants, or ongoing mentorship that goes beyond the workshop’s program dates.

Funding Information

• Total available funding: Up to $250,000 USD
• Award amounts: Up to $250,000 USD
• Length of performance period: Up to 36 months
• Number of awards anticipated: One

Participants and Audiences 

• Participants will be emerging leaders ages 25-40 from Pacific nations. Participants should also be YPL members who have demonstrable interest in issues relating to security whether through paid employment, volunteer work, unpaid internships or coursework, and who show promise in becoming socially active in effecting positive change and have firm plans to champion security efforts in their communities. They may have attended YPL events and some may be familiar with collaboration on projects across borders.
• The grant recipient will create an online application process and coordinate with the U.S. Embassy in New Zealand and other U.S. Embassies in the Pacific region to recruit and select participants from Pacific nations. All participants must be proficient in written and spoken English. Participants must be citizens and resident of a Pacific country.
• The recipient will be responsible for arranging and using cooperative agreement funds to cover all elements related to participant travel including international and domestic flights, visas, travel to and from airports, visas, accommodations, per diem, meals during the program, and insurance.
• 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 participant knowledge of the workshop topic.
• The concepts of leadership, giving back, and strengthening Pacific 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 or a Pacific country. 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.
• The recipient is expected to have experience working with and in the Pacific region in a culturally appropriate and responsive manner.

Priority Region 

• Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Islands of French Polynesia, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna, and U.S. partners from the American-affiliated Pacific including American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Hawaii.

Eligibility Criteria

• U.S. Embassy New Zealand welcomes applications from non-profit organizations/nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and private, public, or state institutions of higher education. For-profit entities are not eligible to apply.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.