Pan-Africa Youth Leadership Program (PAYLP)

For more than half a century, the people of the United States have supported international educational and cultural exchange programs as an investment in global understanding and peace.

Such exchange programs have a long track record of bringing future leaders from around the world to the United States to experience the U.S. educational system, enhance their knowledge in major fields of study, and explore U.S. culture and values while empowering them with the skills necessary to succeed at home. These programs also give Americans invaluable experiences and insights from abroad.

This youth exchange program for Africa is designed to promote high-quality leadership, civic responsibility and civic engagement through entrepreneurship among future leaders. The program presents the principles of democracy and civil society as practiced in the United States and provides participants with training that allows them to develop their leadership and civic engagement skills.

The program strengthens the students’ understanding of civic rights and responsibilities, respect for diversity, and the importance of community engagement. Also included in the PAYLP design is a series of workshops on social entrepreneurship and two weeks of living with American host families.

Why participate in the PAYLP?

• The Pan-Africa Youth Leadership Program presents an unprecedented opportunity to engage with your peers from other African countries and Americans to build a community of young leaders through meetings and activities with local community organizations and student groups a safe space for thoughtful dialogue will be a key component of the  program
• This program will provide a forum to share issues affecting your community and how you can work with your peers to devise innovative and thoughtful solutions
• Meetings, group activities, workshops and volunteer experiences will expose you to various ways people are affecting their communities and how you can do the same
• Become empowered with the skills you need to enhance your leadership in your
• community
• As a PAYLP participant, you have the opportunity to have an equal voice among student and adult leaders from 4 countries.
• Through team building activities and action plan workshops, you will work in a team to develop community based initiatives where YOU are the main spokesperson

What to Expect as a Participant

The PAYLP focuses on a combination of grassroots leadership development skills and crosscultural opportunities for sharing and learning. Participants are selected from a broad variety of backgrounds some coming from cities others from rural settings, some with a strong background in leading and participating in community based activities, others who show a strong potential to become leaders in the future.

All activities will take into consideration the varying skill background and work to accommodate each level. One important thing to remember as you apply is that the type of leadership development will focus on small-scale local impact, so when we say leadership, we mean learning how to become a change-maker in your own community, starting with a small impact building up to a larger scale.