Deadline: 02-Sep-2025
The U.S. Embassy in Seoul has announced an open competition for a cooperative agreement to implement a regional workshop and virtual engagements focused on critical and emerging technologies.
This initiative is part of the 2026 Young Trilateral Leaders (YTL) Network program, which was launched following the 2023 Camp David Trilateral Leaders’ Summit and the 2024 U.S.-ROK–Japan Trilateral Global Leadership Youth Summit. The YTL program seeks to build a strong network of youth champions from the United States, Republic of Korea, and Japan who collaborate across borders to address some of the Indo-Pacific region’s most pressing security, economic, and civic challenges.
The 2026 program will center around a regional workshop that brings together Korean and Japanese youth alongside American peer experts. This gathering will focus on issues related to critical and emerging technologies, highlighting American innovation and technological leadership. Participants will have the opportunity to explore how cutting-edge U.S. technologies and expertise can be harnessed to enhance regional security, bolster economic resilience, and promote shared prosperity across the Indo-Pacific.
Proposals for the program must include a clear American connection, involving U.S. experts, organizations, or institutions, and should demonstrate prior experience managing similar programs in Korea, Japan, and the United States. The goal is to advance U.S. leadership in emerging technologies while strengthening trilateral cooperation through youth-led engagement. The program encourages peer-to-peer collaboration and policy-relevant dialogue that showcases U.S. innovation, supports technology exports, and reinforces the shared values underpinning regional security and economic growth.
Expected outcomes of the program include a deeper understanding among participants of the impact of U.S. technological leadership on regional security and economic resilience, stronger personal and professional connections among youth from the three countries, and ongoing collaboration beyond the workshop. Potential topics for discussion include the impact of artificial intelligence on democratic institutions and education systems, quantum computing, semiconductors, immersive technologies as collaborative spaces, new technologies to encourage youth civic participation, and space exploration.
The program is set to run over a 12-month period, with total funding of $75,000, pending the availability of funds. Eligible applicants include not-for-profit organizations, think tanks, civil society groups, educational institutions, public international organizations, and governmental bodies with relevant programming experience. This initiative presents an exciting opportunity to engage the next generation of leaders in shaping the future of technology and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
