Fellowship•USA · Hybrid

LeadNext: Ambassadors for a Global Future

Funding

Fully Funded

Program dates

TBA

LeadNext: Ambassadors for a Global Future is The Asia Foundation’s flagship youth leadership program, running since 2022. Each cohort brings together emerging leaders aged 18–25 — half from the United States and half from across Asia and the Pacific — to build skills in cross-cultural collaboration, communication, and leadership. The 2026 edition ran from June to September and combined a virtual leadership-training intensive, expert masterclasses, one-on-one mentorship, and a culminating in-person Global Leaders Summit. The deliberate U.S.–Asia cohort design emphasizes reciprocal exchange and long-term network-building between future leaders across the two regions.

Benefits & funding

  • Fully funded participation, covering all travel, accommodation, and meals
  • A virtual leadership-training intensive plus expert-led masterclasses
  • One-on-one mentorship with experienced leaders
  • A week-long in-person Global Leaders Summit
  • Membership in an ongoing cross-regional network of alumni leaders

Eligibility

  • Aged 18–25 at program start
  • Fully conversant in English
  • Able to commit to all 13 virtual sessions (about 2 hours each, scheduled across Asia and U.S. time zones) and the week-long in-person summit
  • U.S. applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents
  • Asia-Pacific applicants must be nationals of a country where The Asia Foundation has a presence — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, the Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam, and — in the Pacific — Fiji, Papua New Guinea, the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Tonga
  • Asia-Pacific applicants must be able to secure a visa to travel to the U.S.; applicants from Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Laos must currently be based in the U.S.

Application process

  1. 1
    Review the program brief and eligibility on the official call-for-applications page.
  2. 2
    Complete and submit the online application through the Foundation’s application portal before the deadline.
  3. 3
    Shortlisted candidates are selected for the cohort, split evenly between the U.S. and Asia-Pacific.

Program timeline

  1. Applications open

    Apr 5, 2026

  2. Application deadline

    May 5, 2026

  3. Program runs — virtual training, masterclasses, mentorship, and the in-person Global Leaders Summit

    2026-06 to 2026-09