KATHMANDU, Nepal
JUNE 14, 2012
An East West Center alumni from Nepal has won the annual US Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund for conducting a concept program on promoting democratization in Nepal.
This is the first time a concept from Nepal was selected for the award by the Fund under the State Department. The concept designed by a team led by East West Center Alumni Kamal Raj Sidel is among the top 40 programs selected for funding based on worldwide voting and expert review from around 700 competitors. The Nepali US alumni team will have to implement the program within a year on a budget of around $25,000 to be provided through US Embassy.
The concept aims at "Promoting Dialogue for Nepal’s Peaceful Transformation and a lasting democracy". The concept will train a cohort of young school students as "change agents" and provide each of them with a unique opportunity to meet the top political and non-political leaders in Kathmandu, explore the issues in their community and produce a radio program on the same from their respective villages. The program will be implemented in partnership with local actors including Subaltern Forum, Asia Media Forum, Trinity International College and some government schools in districts.
This year’s competition brought in 685 proposals from nearly 7,000 alumni in more than 115 countries, the AEIF statement read.
The Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) offers $1,000,000 to help teams of alumni take on global issues from civic engagement to economic growth. Administered by the State Department’s Alumni Affairs Division, AEIF awards up to $25,000 per winning team.
Links:
Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund Project page/site:
https://www.facebook.com/DialogueforNepal
Announcement
https://alumni.state.gov/aeif-intro
Visit State Alumni to see the list of funded projects.
