Applications Invited for 2025 Changing Faces Women's Leadership Seminar

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About the Organization

The East-West Center promotes better relations and understanding among the people and nations of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific through cooperative study, research, and dialogue.

The East-West Center was established by the United States Congress in 1960 as a national educational institution to foster better relations and understanding among the peoples of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific islands through programs of cooperative study, training, and research.

About the Event

The 2025 Changing Faces Women's Leadership Seminar is a 12-day professional training, dialogue, and travel seminar scheduled June 2-15, 2025. The Changing Faces Seminar focuses on the vital role that innovation and entrepreneurship play in contributing to economic growth, job creation, and strengthening communities. During this seminar, participants engage in a series of workshops focused on leadership and entrepreneurship. Participants also expand their knowledge of entrepreneurship, economic growth, leadership, and community building through carefully selected field visits and meetings with experts, practitioners, business owners, and policymakers in Hawaiʻi. Participants are individually matched with local women leaders in a Host Mentor Program and, in return, Changing Faces participants act as mentors for a select group of high school students in a Next Generation Service Project. Finally, the Changing Faces Seminar provides training and consultative sessions to help participants develop and actualize a concrete Action Plan for the betterment of their business or their community.

Funding supports the participation of six to eight women from the United States and the Asia Pacific region. A full scholarship is estimated at US$3,500/per participant and includes the following programmatic costs:

• Interisland airfare from Oʻahu to Kauaʻi
• Ground transportation and airport transfers throughout the 2025 program
• Lodging on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi for 12 days of the 2025 program
• Program meals and a modest per diem to cover meals not provided throughout the 2025 program
• Pro-rated speaker honorariums and training workshops
• Individually tailored host mentorship
• Cultural activities and networking opportunities
• Participant resource materials
• Experienced facilitators with knowledge of regional and women’s leadership issues

All Changing Faces Women are responsible for their own roundtrip airfare to and from Honolulu, visa related expenses, health insurance, and baggage fees. Given the limited number of scholarships available, the Center strongly encourages additional participant cost-sharing of programmatic costs and considers cost-sharing as evidence of an applicant’s commitment to self-growth, a desire to scale one’s business, and to the objectives of the Seminar. It is an important consideration of the Selection Committee.

Eligibility

The Changing Faces Seminar targets women business owners and social entrepreneurs who have demonstrated leadership and ability to affect change and influence others in their communities. Innovative entrepreneurs, business managers, government and industry policymakers, and civil society leaders with at least seven years of work experience and who play a leadership role in their community are eligible to apply. Innovators may generally be defined as those who have created an original idea or product or are recognized for their ability to improve upon an original idea or system.

Eligible countries include the United States, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sāmoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Timor-Leste, Tonga, and Vietnam. Women from Hawaiʻi are particularly encouraged to apply!

Applicants must have the ability to communicate in English in a professional setting. Preference is given to candidates with limited opportunities for international exchange and professional development as well as those who offer to cost-share programmatic costs. A phone interview may be conducted with finalists.

How to Apply

Application Deadline: February 11, 2025

Apply here

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