IREX Community Engagement Exchange Program 2025

This informs the public about the IREX Community Engagement Exchange Program 2025. Details about the Program are given below.

IREX Community Engagement Exchange Program 2025

The CEE Program is a dynamic global network of innovators working with communities to address critical 21st Century issues. CEE equips dedicated visionaries with the expertise, skills, and resources to develop multisector approaches and build healthy and engaged communities in over 100 countries.

Program Details

A transformational leadership development experience, CEE is a year-long program designed to enable civil society leaders, ages 21-27, to harness the power of networks, relationships, and information for the public good, specifically on issues related to civic dialogue and peacebuilding, open and participatory government, women and gender, environmental sustainability, and youth engagement.

Eligibility 

Competition for the CEE Program is merit-based and open to emerging civil society and community leaders who meet the following criteria:

  • Age 21-27;
  • Citizen of one of the eligible countries listed below;
  • Currently living and working in their home country at the time of application;
    • Special consideration can be given to individuals living in another country who have refugee status and are working on behalf of their home community.
  • Has a minimum of two years professional or volunteer experience working on community or civil society issues at the time of application;
  • Working on a community engagement initiative in their home country, either in a professional or volunteer capacity, with a demonstrated intent and vision to pursue a career working to support civil society or within the civil society sector;
  • Able to begin the CEE Program in the United States in 2025;
  • Able to receive a U.S. J-1 Visa;
  • Committed to returning to their home country after completion of the program and implementing a community-based project; and,
  • Proficient in spoken and written English at the time of application.
    • Semifinalists will be required to take a Duolingo English language test
    • Finalists should be able to fulfil most communication goals, even on unfamiliar topics. They should understand the main ideas of both concrete and abstract writing, and they should be able to interact with proficient speakers fairly easily.

Individuals in the following circumstances are NOT eligible for the U.S.-based CEE Program:

  • U.S. citizens and/or permanent residents of the United States;
  • Individuals participating in academic, training, or research programs in the United States or other countries at the time of application;
  • Individuals residing or working outside their home countries at the time of application unless the individual is a refugee or holds special refugee status and is working on behalf of their home country/community;
  • Individuals who have participated in an exchange visitor program sponsored or funded by the U.S. government (e.g., U.S. Department of State Public Affairs Section of U.S. embassies or other U.S. government agencies) who have not fulfilled their two-year home residency requirement by the time of application;
  • Individuals who have applied for U.S. permanent residency in the past three years; and
  • Other criteria are to be determined in consultation with ECA, including public-heath-related status based on guidance from federal agencies at the time of application.

Eligible Countries

Africa: Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

East Asia and the Pacific: Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, and Vietnam

Europe and Eurasia: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Türkiye, and Ukraine.

Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, and Palestinian Territories

South and Central Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan

Western Hemisphere: Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela

How to Apply

For those interested in the IREX Community Engagement Exchange Program 2025. Open this link to start the application process.

Application Deadline

  • The deadline for receipt of applications is Unspecified.

Open this link for more details about the IREX Community Engagement Exchange Program 2025.

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