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2025 Changing Faces Women’s Leadership Seminar by East-West Center [June 2-15]: Apply by Feb 11

Apoorva

Jan 30, 2025
4 min read

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Applications are invited for the 2025 Changing Faces Women’s Leadership Seminar by East-West Center. The application deadline is February 11, 2025!

About Women’s Leadership Seminar

The Changing Faces Women’s Leadership Seminar emphasizes the crucial role of innovation and entrepreneurship in fostering economic growth, job creation, and community development. This 12-day program offers professional training, dialogue, and travel opportunities, allowing participants to engage in workshops centered on leadership and entrepreneurship. Through curated field visits and meetings with experts, practitioners, business owners, and policymakers in Hawaiʻi, participants gain deeper insights into entrepreneurship, economic development, leadership, and community building.

Additionally, each participant is paired with a local woman leader through a Host Mentor Program while also serving as a mentor to high school students in a Next Generation Service Project. The seminar further includes training and consultative sessions designed to assist participants in developing and implementing actionable plans to enhance their businesses or communities.

Eligibility

The Changing Faces Seminar is designed for women business owners and social entrepreneurs who have demonstrated leadership and the ability to drive change and influence within their communities. The program is open to innovative entrepreneurs, business managers, government and industry policymakers, and civil society leaders with a minimum of seven years of work experience and a leadership role in their respective fields. Eligible candidates include individuals who have either developed an original idea or product or are recognized for enhancing existing concepts or systems.

The seminar accepts applicants from a range of countries, including the United States, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sāmoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Timor-Leste, Tonga, and Vietnam. Women from Hawaiʻi are especially encouraged to apply.

Applicants must be proficient in English for professional communication. Preference is given to candidates with limited access to international exchange and professional development opportunities, as well as those willing to contribute to program costs. Finalists may be required to participate in a phone interview as part of the selection process.

Funding

The Changing Faces Women’s Leadership Seminar receives funding from the East-West Center, the Fish Family Foundation, and additional supporters. This financial support enables the participation of six to eight women from the United States and the Asia-Pacific region. Each full scholarship, valued at approximately US$3,500 per participant, covers various programmatic expenses, including:

Interisland airfare from Oʻahu to Kauaʻi
Ground transportation and airport transfers throughout the 2025 program
Lodging on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi for 12 days of the 2025 program
Program meals and a modest per diem to cover meals not provided throughout the 2025 program
Pro-rated speaker honorariums and training workshops
Individually tailored host mentorship
Cultural activities and networking opportunities
Participant resource materials
Experienced facilitators with knowledge of regional and women’s leadership issues

Participants of the Changing Faces Women’s Leadership Seminar are responsible for covering their own roundtrip airfare to and from Honolulu, visa-related expenses, health insurance, and baggage fees. Due to the limited number of scholarships available, the East-West Center strongly encourages cost-sharing of programmatic expenses. Contributions toward these costs are viewed as a demonstration of an applicant’s commitment to personal and professional growth, business expansion, and alignment with the seminar’s objectives. Cost-sharing is also an important factor considered by the Selection Committee during the application review process.

Required Documents

Applicants must submit all of the following to be considered:

Completed online Changing Faces Seminar Application Form
Letter of Interest (maximum three pages) including:
A brief description of your company/organization and your role
What you expect to contribute to and gain from participating in Changing Faces
Concrete example(s) of your professional leadership and innovation, as defined above
Demonstrated potential for impact within your community
Identify an actionable goal for either your organization or community that you wish to work on and outline the role you can or would like to play in achieving that goal.
NOTE: This will serve as the basis of your Action Plan for the coming year. For more information about the Action Plan, click here.
Resume/CV (maximum two pages)
Two Professional Letters of Recommendation describing your suitability for the Seminar.
The letters should be signed and on letterhead.

Any additional pages submitted beyond the specified limits will not be reviewed or considered by the Selection Committee. Applications that are late or incomplete will also not be accepted.

All applicants must also acknowledge and agree to the East-West Center Covid-19 Assumption Of Risk, Liability Waiver, And Release Of Claims For Participation In EWC Activities And Events and comply with the COVID-19 Safety Policy.

The East-West Center strictly prohibits discrimination of any kind, including sex discrimination, in any of its educational programs or activities. Concerns or inquiries regarding discrimination may be directed to the Title IX Coordinator. Further details can be found in the Notice of Nondiscrimination under About Title IX.