Young Pacific Leaders – Model Pacific Islands Forum | PDS NEWZEALAND 2024 10

Opportunity Information: Apply for PDS NEWZEALAND 2024 10

The Young Pacific Leaders (YPL) Model Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) grant is a U.S. Department of State opportunity administered by the U.S. Embassy New Zealand Public Diplomacy Section. It funds a year-long (at minimum) program designed to prepare emerging leaders from across the Pacific to take on national and international leadership roles. The central aim is practical, hands-on leadership development that builds real-world skills and familiarity with regional diplomacy, governance, and decision-making structures tied to the Pacific Islands Forum.

The proposed program is meant to include Young Pacific Leaders drawn from all PIF member countries, PIF observers, and selected PIF dialogue partners, with the United States participating through Hawaii. The design emphasizes experiential learning and capacity building, meaning participants should not only learn concepts in workshops, but also gain direct exposure to how regional policy discussions and political processes work in practice. The program is expected to equip a diverse group of young leaders with tools they can use immediately in their careers, especially in public service, diplomacy, regional cooperation, and civic leadership.

Program activities are structured around three main components. First, Young Pacific Leaders will shadow or intern with a Pacific Islands Forum leader or with institutions closely connected to regional governance and foreign affairs. Examples named include Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Council of Regional Organizations of the Pacific (CROP), or similar entities. This placement is intended to occur in the lead-up to, and during, the annual PIF leaders meeting, giving participants a close-up view of how priorities are set, negotiations happen, and regional coordination is managed. Participants may be placed either within their home government or in a host government, allowing flexibility to match learning objectives with available mentorship and institutional needs.

Second, participants will take part in a youth Model PIF leaders meeting. This is essentially a simulation that mirrors the PIF leaders meeting, giving young leaders structured opportunities to practice diplomacy, consensus-building, agenda setting, and regional problem-solving. This type of model forum typically strengthens participants ability to communicate policy positions, collaborate across countries and cultures, and understand the procedural and political dynamics that shape collective regional decisions.

Third, the program will run three youth mock parliaments, distributed across the Pacific subregions: one each in Micronesia, Polynesia, and Melanesia. These mock parliaments are intended to deepen civic and governance skills through simulated parliamentary processes, debate, committee work, drafting resolutions, and public speaking. Holding events across the three subregions also signals an intention to be inclusive of different Pacific political contexts and to build networks that are genuinely region-wide rather than concentrated in one location.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, this is a mandatory opportunity using a cooperative agreement, which typically means the U.S. government expects to be substantially involved in shaping or overseeing implementation rather than simply issuing funds with minimal engagement. The activity category is listed as community development (CFDA 19.040). The program anticipates a single award with a maximum funding level (award ceiling) of $450,000. The original application deadline was July 31, 2024, and the opportunity was posted June 16, 2024.

Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations both with and without 501(c)(3) status (as long as they are not higher education institutions in the non-501(c)(3) category). In practical terms, this means universities, policy institutes, and civil society organizations with strong regional ties and proven program delivery capacity are the main likely applicants.

Geographically, the priority region is broad and covers much of the Pacific ecosystem connected to PIF activity and Pacific regional affairs. It includes Australia, New Zealand, and many Pacific Island countries and territories such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu, along with French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna, and others. It also explicitly includes U.S. partners from the American-affiliated Pacific, including American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Hawaii, reflecting the programs intent to strengthen regional ties and leadership networks that include U.S.-Pacific communities.

Overall, the grant supports a multi-part leadership pipeline that combines placements with senior institutions, high-level regional simulations, and subregional mock parliamentary experiences. The intended outcome is a cohort of young Pacific leaders who are better prepared to engage in diplomacy and governance, contribute to regional cooperation, and move into leadership roles with a clearer understanding of how the Pacific Islands Forum and related institutions operate in practice.

• The U.S. Mission to New Zealand in the community development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Young Pacific Leaders – Model Pacific Islands Forum" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.040.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-06-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-31. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $450,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

Apply for PDS NEWZEALAND 2024 10

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