U.S. Department Of State Announces 2025 Fellowship As Young Leaders Of America Initiative Celebrates 10 Years Of Impact

Office of the Spokesperson
December 9, 2024

Today, nearly 280 young entrepreneurs from 37 countries across Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada begin the 2025 Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Fellowship program. For 10 years, the YLAI program has connected business owners throughout the Western Hemisphere to the United States by providing training, tools, networks, and resources to strengthen economic and social development across the region.

The 2025 YLAI Fellows will participate in a virtual curriculum before traveling to the United States in May 2025 to collaborate with American companies and social enterprises across 20 cities that showcase the nation’s geographic diversity. They will conclude the program in June 2025, and join nearly 1,750 YLAI Fellowship alumni, many of whom maintain active professional and personal connections with the United States.

Established in 2015, the YLAI Fellowship, a U.S. Department of State initiative implemented by IREX, is a people-to-people diplomacy exchange program that supports broader U.S. foreign policy goals to promote peace and democracy by expanding access to education, economic equity, and societal opportunity. The U.S. Department of State also maintains a broader YLAI Network that fosters collaboration, supports professional growth, and strengthens people-to-people connections across our region.

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