ANNOUNCEMENT: Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders Program

Northern Ireland Emerging Leaders Program: Next Generation Policy Specialists

The application period is closed.

Application Submission Period:  September 28, 2023 – October 23, 2023
Notification of Acceptance:  November 6, 2023
Belfast Introductory Meeting: December 2, 2023
New York Concluding Conference: October 2024

The National Committee on American Foreign Policy (NCAFP) has launched an Emerging Leaders workshop and mentorship program focused on policy issues in Northern Ireland. The program is designed to help emerging community leaders to translate their ideas into policy recommendations and to develop public communications skills. In addition to peer workshops and skills training, each Emerging Leader will be matched with a mentor from the NCAFP’s network of senior-level experts and former policymakers to further inform the development of the final product, a short policy paper.

The program will consist of a series of virtual roundtable discussions with working group peers to workshop their ideas, review papers, and receive short trainings on the art of writing for policy makers and other communications/public speaking skills; and two one-on-one mentor sessions with a senior policy practitioner. There will be one in-person orientation in Belfast in early December 2023, and an in-person conference in New York City in October 2024.Throughout the project, Emerging Leaders will write a policy paper on their topic of interest which will include policy recommendations.

We have selected ten (10) next-generation leaders and experts from Northern Ireland.

Qualifications & Expectations

Preferred applicants are early to mid-career professionals with either a minimum of 3 years’ experience in policy development on regional issues within Northern Ireland, or a minimum of 3 years’ experience in community development and leadership. Participants must commit to participating in all required virtual meetings, to take place between January through September 2024 (unless excused by the organizers for unavoidable conflicts), and both in-person meetings in Belfast and New York City

At the conclusion of the roundtables, Emerging Leaders will write a policy paper for publication in an edited volume, which will be presented at a concluding conference in New York City.