The State Department has announced the finalists for the 2015 Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF). By March 31 all exchange alumni are invited to cast their votes (https://alumni.state.gov/aeif) and to provide comments on the best projects and ideas submitted by fellow alumni from all over the world. This year’s themes include empowering women and girls, social inclusion of vulnerable populations, entrepreneurship and youth employment, access to education, climate change and environmental protection, global health awareness, civic participation, and conflict resolution.
The competition was created in 2011 to support alumni initiatives that promote shared values and innovative solutions to global challenges. The competition provides small grants to teams of past and current participants of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs to carry out public service projects that utilize skills and knowledge they have gained through their exchange experiences. In 2014, 66 grants of up to $25,000 were awarded to alumni teams to support their public service projects.