Apply for a New U.S. Government-Funded Leadership Program for Civil Society Leaders!

The Community Engagement Exchange (CEE) Program is a year-long leadership development program for emerging civil society leaders from over 100 countries with a three-month practicum at a civil society organization in the United States.

The Application Deadline has been Extended till Thursday, December 31, 2020

DHAKA, November 25, 2020 – U.S. Embassy Dhaka is pleased to announce the call for applications for a new U.S. government-funded civil society leadership program – the Community Engagement Exchange (CEE) Program.  The Program is a transformational one-year leadership development program designed to enable civil society leaders, ages 20-27, from communities from over 100 countries to harness the power of networks, relationships, and information for the public good to address critical 21st Century issue, including civic dialogue and peacebuilding, open and participatory government, women and gender, resilience and sustainable development, and youth engagement.  The program includes a fully funded, three-month practicum at a civil society organization in the United States.  The application deadline has been extended till Thursday, December 31, 2020, 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) (Friday, January 1, 2021, 10:59 a.m. (BDT)).

The goals of the program are to empower participants (“Fellows”) to assume greater leadership roles, build civil society capacity, strengthen participants’ ability to lead collaboratively, and develop an innovative global civil society eco-system.  In addition to the fully-funded, three-month practicum in the United States, the program also includes both an online and face-to-face training component in leadership and community engagement, service learning opportunities, mentorship, and developmental support of Fellows’ projects that will be undertaken in their home countries following the program.

The Community Engagement Exchange (CEE) Program is merit-based and open to emerging civil society and community leaders from Bangladesh and other countries who meet the criteria below.  (Visit the CEE webpage bit.ly/CEE2021apply for other participating countries.)  Applications that do not meet these eligibility requirements will be disqualified and will not be reviewed by the selection committee.

  • Between the ages of 20 and 27 as of November 1, 2020
  • A citizen of Bangladesh (see CEE webpage for other countries)
  • Living and working in your home country
  • Individuals with refugee status working on behalf of their home community may be given special consideration
  • Working on a community engagement initiative in your home country, either in a professional or volunteer capacity, with a vision to pursue a career working to support civil society
  • High proficiency in spoken and written English at the time of application
  • Available to travel to the United States. for three months from October 2021 to January 2022
  • Committed to returning to your home country to complete a Community Engagement Project (CEP)
  • Not a citizen or permanent resident of the United States and have not applied for U.S. permanent residency within the past three years
  • Applicants who have participated in an exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government must have fulfilled their two-year home residency requirement
  • Committed to returning to your home country for a minimum of two years after completing the program

Learn more at:  bit.ly/CEE2021apply.  Complete applications must be submitted online at https://cee.irex.org/ by Thursday, December 31, 2020, 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) (Friday, January 1, 2021, 10:59 a.m. Bangladesh Time.)