FY2024 U.S. Consulate General Osaka-Kobe: 2025 US-ROK-Japan Trilateral Global Leadership Youth Summit | OSAKA PAS FY24 04

Opportunity Information: Apply for OSAKA PAS FY24 04

The FY2024 U.S. Consulate General Osaka-Kobe funding opportunity (OSAKA-PAS-FY24-04) is a public diplomacy cooperative agreement to support delivery of the 2025 U.S.-Republic of Korea-Japan Trilateral Global Leadership Youth Summit, part of the Young Trilateral Leaders (YTL) network. The program is planned for summer 2025 in Japan's Kansai region, with potential host cities including Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto. The opportunity is run by the U.S. Mission to Japan through U.S. Consulate General Osaka-Kobe, in coordination with the U.S. Embassy Tokyo Public Affairs Section and the U.S. Embassy Seoul Public Diplomacy Section. Applications are due August 24, 2024 by 11:59 pm Japan Standard Time, under Assistance Listing (CFDA) 19.040 Public Diplomacy Programs. Total funding available is $200,000, which also serves as the award ceiling.

At its core, the grant is meant to strengthen trilateral cooperation among the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea by investing in emerging youth leaders who can engage seriously with shared regional and global challenges. The notice frames the summit as a response to rising instability in the Indo-Pacific across security, trade, finance, and environmental issues, and emphasizes that the trilateral partnership has become increasingly important. The 2025 summit is positioned as a continuation of the inaugural 2024 Trilateral Global Leadership Youth Summit held in Busan, Republic of Korea, and is expected to build on the outputs and momentum from that earlier convening. The broader goal is not a one-off event, but the development of an enduring YTL alumni network that can keep meeting, collaborating, and contributing to trilateral policy discussions over time, with the possibility of additional youth activities supported later through small grants administered by the participating U.S. diplomatic missions.

The summit is designed for a cohort of roughly 50 participants aged 18 to 35 from the three countries, selected for demonstrated leadership, community engagement, and the ability to work productively with peers from different national and cultural backgrounds. English proficiency is required, and the program strongly encourages applicants from regions and constituencies that are underrepresented in official programs. A notable feature of the design is the intention to bring in perspectives and lessons from other U.S. government-supported youth networks, such as YSEALI (Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative) and the Young Pacific Leaders (YPL) Program, to broaden participants' understanding of regional dynamics and show examples of effective youth collaboration across the Indo-Pacific.

The selected recipient organization will be responsible for end-to-end program implementation, but in close partnership with the U.S. Consulate and the U.S. Embassies involved. Recruitment, vetting, and final participant selection is explicitly described as a joint effort: the implementer will run the application process, while the U.S. government retains final approval authority over all participants. The program is expected to be promoted publicly through a dedicated website and related outreach, including social media, and proposals must show how U.S. Embassy and Consulate promotional channels will be incorporated and how the missions will be integrated into decision-making on selection.

Program activities are expected to include four main components. First is a pre-program promotion and selection phase, including the development and management of an online application process and a standalone program website with clear information for prospective applicants. Second is at least four weeks of structured virtual engagement before participants travel, intended to build rapport, align expectations, and prepare participants for the in-person work. These virtual sessions should include subject-matter experts from the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, spanning academia, civil society, and government, and should cover the trilateral relationship, youth civic engagement, and other topics tied to global leadership. Third is the in-person summit itself, lasting at least three days in Kansai, built around lectures, interactive exercises, facilitated workshops, and leadership training. Content is expected to blend practical skills (organizing, advocacy, civic engagement) with substantive briefings on international issues, with suggested themes including climate change, regional security, trade, and science and technology. Sessions should be led by credible trainers and experts from all three countries, while also making room for participants to present youth initiatives and experiences from their own communities. The summit is expected to produce a concrete output: an actionable implementation plan that can guide alumni activities and possible future summits. The implementer may also add limited cultural or civic site visits plus community service or social engagement opportunities to connect participants to the host region, as long as these elements support the program's public diplomacy and leadership goals.

The fourth required component is follow-on support after the summit. The recipient is expected to conduct mentorship activities and facilitate, monitor, and help sustain any follow-on projects that emerge from the summit implementation plan. This post-summit phase is important to the overall theory of change: the program is not just about convening, but about ensuring that relationships, learning, and collaboration turn into ongoing work and durable trilateral ties among alumni.

In practical terms, the organization receiving the award will manage the major logistics required to deliver an international program of this scale. That includes arranging travel and local transportation, securing venues in coordination with the U.S. missions, and covering food and other necessary operational items for participants and programming. Because the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, applicants should expect substantial involvement from the U.S. government partners during planning and implementation, particularly around recruitment, selection, messaging, and key program decisions such as venues and overall structure. Eligible applicants are broad and include nonprofit organizations (both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3)), public and private institutions of higher education, and a variety of government entities (county, city/township, special district), as well as federally recognized tribal governments and certain tribal organizations.

Overall, this opportunity funds a structured pipeline: recruit and select a diverse, high-potential cohort; build a shared baseline through virtual programming; convene a hands-on leadership summit in Kansai that blends skills training with trilateral policy-relevant content; and then sustain engagement through mentorship and monitored follow-on projects, all with the aim of strengthening the U.S.-Japan-ROK partnership by investing in the next generation of trilateral leaders.

• The U.S. Mission to Japan in the community development, education, energy, environment, health, other, regional development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY2024 U.S. Consulate General Osaka-Kobe: 2025 US-ROK-Japan Trilateral Global Leadership Youth Summit" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.040.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-07-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-08-24. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.

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