JAKARTA – Twenty-one winners have been announced in the Young Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative (YSEALI) Seeds for the Future small grants competition. Selected from a competitive pool of over 400 applications, the 2019 YSEALI Seeds for the Future winners will receive grants ranging from $4,000 to $15,000.

The grantees, young leaders who represent all 10 ASEAN member states and Timor Leste, will use YSEALI seed grant funding to conduct projects in the region across the themes of civic engagement, sustainable development, education, and economic growth. Along with funding, the YSEALI Seeds grantees will receive coaching throughout the year to ensure the success and sustainability of their projects.

The mentorship kicked off with a two-day workshop in Jakarta on January 24-25, 2019, which was attended by two representatives from each winning project. They learned best practices in project management, budgeting, cultivating awareness, and messaging strategies. They also heard first-hand accounts from previous years’ grantees as they shared their inspiring stories and experiences with the program.

The YSEALI Seeds for the Future program, now celebrating its fifth year, is sponsored by U.S. Department of State and is funded through a grant from the U.S. Mission to ASEAN. This is the third year Cultural Vistas will administer the program.

The U.S. government launched YSEALI in 2013 to strengthen partnerships with emerging leaders in Southeast Asia; to expand their skills as effective civic, economic and non-governmental leaders in the region; and to nurture an ASEAN community of leaders who work together to solve common issues. Since that time, the YSEALI network has grown to more than 150,000 members.

Learn about the accomplishment of previous YSEALI Seeds and more about the YSEALI Seeds for the Future Program at ysealiseeds.org

YSEALI Seeds for the Future 2019 Grant Recipients

The Octo Mission (Brunei, Thailand)
Academic Fellowship on marine conservation and scuba diving training in Khao Lak, Thailand.

Tesdopi (Cambodia)
A series of workshop and social media campaign aiming to equip high school students with effective learning strategies for STEM using an ICT tool called Tesdopi.

SMILE (Indonesia)
Educating children in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, about dental and oral health through a mobile game called Si Manggis Celebes.

Tune Map (Indonesia)
Navigation app and participatory mapping to empower people with visual impairment.

[E]thical (Indonesia)
An entrepreneurial Bootcamp for sustainability.

Cahya Abisatya Innovation Lab (Indonesia)
An impact accelerator and technology laboratory aiming to co-create prototype and experiment innovative technology that is scalable and replicable.

SCALE+ Sea and Coastal Learning (Indonesia)
Advancing the local youth to maturity in caring for the sea in East Java, Indonesia.

Sport for Development Rugby and Life Skills in Laos and Vietnam (Laos)
A life skills workshop and rugby competition for young leaders from Laos and Vietnam.

MaKTSED+ (Malaysia)
Building a sustainable economic development through the assimilation of local communities with mangrove ecosystem resources.

Pinkcollar Community (Malaysia)
Empower the 250,000 registered migrant domestic workers in Malaysia with two-fold Upskilling & Community Development Program.

Teens and Dreams (Myanmar)
Spread awareness on waste management to teachers and students (aged 9-12) from public schools in Myanmar.

3L Education (Myanmar)
Supporting STEM education for more than 100 public and private secondary schools, and teaching uniquely designed STEM education game to over 10,000 students across Myanmar.

CoMap (Philippines, Cambodia)
Training youth and young professional to map the trails of ASEAN Heritage parks in the Philippines and Cambodia for posterity.

SKAI Sangguniang Kabataan Academy Initiative (Philippines)
A good governance development program to encourage and support youth participation in the local communities.

#BreakTheFake Hackathon (Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia)
International hackathon to bring awareness about fake news and disinformation.

The Creability Movement (Singapore, Indonesia)
An initiative aiming to bring together diverse creative talents and create a platform for the disability in art in Southeast Asia.

I Love My Body, I Love My Environment (Timor Leste, Indonesia)
Promoting behavioral change in caring for the coastal community of Kupang and Dili through sets of activities on improving personal hygiene as a set stone for improving the environment.

4All (Thailand)
A social enterprise aiming to give youth from the Thai juvenile detention centers a second chance.

RISE Impact Scaling Incubation Program (Thailand)
An initiative to encourage and engage a wide audience to be acquainted with social innovation development process and find opportunities using business model as a tool for solving social problems.

eTOWN Academy (Vietnam)
An initiative aiming to equip local students from primary to high schools with English language skills, while empowering them to recognize their potential, challenge themselves to break the poverty cycle, and build a prosperous community.

TRASH Alive (Vietnam)
Brings environmental and social issues of Vietnam and Cambodia to the stage in the form of recycling art performances and videos.