Applications are open for LeadNext: Ambassadors for a Global Future for 2025/2026. LeadNext is a dynamic, fully funded program that connects future leaders (ages 18-25) from across Asia and the U.S. It fosters their growth. It equips them to tackle global challenges through cross-cultural exchanges and leadership development.
This program prepares emerging leaders with the networks, experiences, and tools needed to shape the future in an era of rapid geopolitical, economic, and social changes. By harnessing their innovation and energy, LeadNext empowers them to address issues like inequality, climate change, and community empowerment.
About Asia Foundation:
The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit, mission-driven international development organization committed to improving lives in dynamic, developing Asia.
Summary
- Organized by: The Asia Foundation
- Deadline: Not Specified
- Emerging leaders aged 18-25
- The number of fellows from Asia: 10
- The number of fellows from the U.S: 10
- Eligible Countries: Asia and America continent (Afghanistan included)
Parts of the Program
Leadership training intensive:
Feb–Mar 2026
Over several weeks, fellows gather 1-3 times weekly to develop their leadership skills in leading social change. Fellows learn skills for self-awareness, public speaking, and increasing impact as they investigate how their individual experiences form the basis of their leadership qualities. Collaboration and sharing are prioritized during the Intensive. To deepen their knowledge of globalization and global citizenship, fellows collaborate and exchange insights based on their diverse backgrounds and experiences.
Monthly virtual masterclasses:
Mar–Jun 2026
Global experts expose people to the practical knowledge of leaders in Asia and the United States dealing with 21st-century concerns. The skills, structures, and tools fellows create will help them better comprehend the laws and ecosystems that determine the effect. They research the problems, procedures, and difficulties associated with social transformation in Asia and the United States and use their combined expertise to inform these conversations.
Global Leader Summit:
Week of July 14, 2026
The San Francisco Bay Area will host the capstone gathering in 2023. Through rigorous interchange, continuing leadership development, and access to resources for addressing issues of the twenty-first century, fellows will deepen and broaden their understanding. Additionally, they will be exposed to creative leadership best practices and cutting-edge strategies.
Mentorship:
Fellows are matched with a professional mentor based on their interests. The Foundation’s extensive network selects these mentors to link up-and-coming leaders with established leaders, influencers, and shapers.
Eligibility Criteria
The LeadNext Fellows are dynamic, up-and-coming leaders from all industries committed to finding novel solutions to critical problems like poverty, inequality, and climate change. Fellows have exceptional moral character and integrity, are regarded as community leaders, and are interested in intercultural communication.
Candidate qualifications for the program include:
- During the entire program year, between 18 and 25.
- English language proficiency.
- Able to commit to showing up for all meetings while being aware that we operate across many time zones. For around two hours each, there will be virtual meetings in the mornings in Asia and the nights in the US. A full-time commitment, the Summit.
How To Apply
Click the Apply Now button below and sign in or establish an account to apply.
For more information, kindly refer to The Asia Foundation’s website.