• Applications open for Youth Leadership Program – Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Deadline: 28-Jun-24

The Public Diplomacy Section (PDS) invites proposal submissions from public and private non-profit organizations that are based and legally registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to implement the BiH component of the 2025-2026 Youth Leadership and Teacher Professional Development Program.

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Youth Leadership Program Themes – YLP (to include both the U.S.- and BiH-based components) will introduce participants to a comprehensive survey of civic education, community service, and youth leadership development. Activities will focus on building their knowledge and skill levels in these areas. The students and educators will participate in workshops, community service activities, meetings with community leaders, and discussion groups, and will have opportunities for substantive interaction with each other and their American peers. The program should explore topics such as citizenship, community building, economic development, grassroots activism, political leadership, and volunteerism. The program should require participants to develop innovative and practical plans to become engaged citizens in their own communities and to implement an action plan to address a particular need.

Mandatory Components – The Youth Leadership Program (YLP) should be organized for 18 high school students aged 15-19, and three teachers from three communities in BiH to reflect the country’s diversity and administrative divisions, for a total of 21 participants in one program. At the core of YLP is a substantive three-to-four-week program in the United States that takes place in at least two different cities during which time the BiH participants exchange information and experiences with peers in the United States. The United States-based program will be executed by a U.S. implementing partner. The BiH component of the program (“The program”) should incorporate a pre-departure orientation in Sarajevo and an eight-month period during which participants conduct a Community Action Project (CAP) in their hometowns.

The program should include group discussions, experiential learning activities, and exercises that focus on the themes outlined below and include aspects of leadership, teambuilding, collective problem-solving skills, effective communication, appreciation of diversity, and management skills. Participants should gain both theoretical knowledge and practical skills. The program activities and content should represent diverse BiH political and social viewpoints, as well as other aspects of diversity. The program should advance the Embassy’s mission to promote mutual understanding between citizens of other countries and citizens of the United States. The program should include a plan to guide and oversee follow-on engagement and project implementation once participants return home from the U.S. component of the project. In addition to developing participants’ leadership skills, the program should provide participants with an in-depth examination of one of the themes.

Funding Information:

• Length of Performance Period: 18 months (all activities should last for a maximum of 18 months and take place between January 2025 and July 2026);
• Number of Awards Anticipated: One award;
• Award Amounts: Awards may range from USD 60,000 to USD 130,000;
• Total Available Funding: USD 130,000;
• PDS intends to award a Cooperative Agreement (one base year with a possibility of one noncompetitive continuation) for an estimated amount of $130,000 pending availability of funds and successful performance. The awarding of a Cooperative Agreement for this program is contingent upon the availability of FY 2023/2024 funds. The awarding of the non-competitive continuation in FY 2025 is contingent on the availability of funding and successful performance;
• The U.S. Embassy reserves the right to cancel this Notice of Funding Opportunity at any time without any commitment to any applicant.

Who can apply? BIH public and private non-profit organizations that are based and legally registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina are eligible to apply. Applicants must demonstrate an ability to work in all parts of BiH, whether independently or in cooperation with a partner organization. In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number