Youth Leadership and Training

IIE's Approach to Managing Youth Leadership Programs:

• Strategic outreach to under-represented youth, providing them with crucial tools, such as English language and leadership training, to pursue higher education and other human development programs.
• Engage promising students and emerging leaders in key national development fields.
• Initiate a host of special enrichment programs and activities for youth that promote innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development. 
• Build strong networks of alumni who will continue to collaborate with one another and become leaders in their local communities.
• Conduct workshops for youth teams that foster teamwork through increased trust, improved interpersonal and intercultural communications skills, and the development of strong team relationships.
• Strengthen training skill of youth leaders by developing workshops for trainers and facilitators.  IIE’s workshops focus on effective delivery of core content using interactive training methods and group process skills.

These efforts achieve a significant multiplier effect to promote wide-scale economic development and citizen participation in countries where it is most needed.

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Key Themes for IIE-Led Workshops for Youth and Youth Leaders:

• Leadership and Management Fundamentals.  To enable youth leaders to envision and execute strategic leadership processes and to apply effective management techniques that position youth-focused organizations to perform well and engage youth leaders effectively.
• Community Engagement.  IIE programs engage youth in developing targeted ways to play a role in civil society, to initiate and sustain community projects and to involve peers in unique youth-led programs that improve community life.
• Entrepreneurship Skills.  Our initiatives provide young people with knowledge of entrepreneurship and the skills for enterprise start-up to spur them to explore their creative and entrepreneurial ideas.  Activities include conceptual and skill-building workshops, guest lectures by entrepreneurs, field visits and business simulations.

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Illustrative Youth Leadership Programs Managed By IIE:

U.S. Department of State Sponsored Programs:

• LIFT-OFF Entrepreneurship Program for Youth, 2010-present.
• Youth Enrichment for Leadership Learning and Action Program (YELLA), 2007-present.
• English Access Microscholarships for Mexico and Indonesia, 2008-present.

Private/Non-USG Sponsored Programs:

• GE Foundation Scholar Leaders Program, 1990-present.
• Dragon Foundation Global Citizenship Program, 2004-present.
• Lingnan Foundation W.T. Chan Fellowships, 2000-present.
• Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Program, 2000-2009.
• Lucent Global Science Scholars, 1993-2004.

USAID Sponsored Programs:

• LOTUS Scholarship Program, which enables 100 talented Egyptian students to obtain undergraduate degrees from Egyptian private universities and engages them in enrichment activities to develop their leadership potential, skills sets and commitment to country and community, 2010-present.
• Peace Scholarship Program, which provided exemplary youth from the Middle East and North Africa with one year of undergraduate study in the United States, 2007-2010.
• Education for Development and Democracy Initiative (EDDI) Ambassador Girls’ Scholarship Program, 2002-2004.

For more information, please contact: Melanie Sanders-Smith at intldev@iie.org