The U.S. Embassy Buenos Aires announces an open competition to strengthen civic leadership, good governance, and institutional resilience across Argentina. This program will organize a national cross-sector Alumni Summit to equip emerging leaders from the public, academic, and non-governmental organization (NGO) sectors with practical tools, strategic insights, and ethical frameworks regarding innovation, emerging technologies, and the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to address institutional and societal challenges.

Applicants are encouraged to propose scalable models and sustainable partnerships that can extend program impact beyond the initial funding period.

1. Project Background, Goals, and Objectives

Rapidly evolving digital technologies are transforming governance, civic spaces, and public administration. However, navigating these shifts requires robust democratic leadership, transparency, and strategic frameworks to protect open information environments.

Argentina's exchange alumni network represents a high-potential, multi-sector human network. While there is strong interest across public and civil society institutions in leveraging technological innovation, leaders require deeper exposure to secure, transparent, and ethical approaches to emerging technologies aligned with U.S. civic values. By building a high-value professional pipeline, this initiative provides a trust-based alternative to the transactional outreach of strategic competitors, reinforcing long-term bilateral collaboration and institutional excellence across Argentina's provinces.

Project Audience(s): Primary beneficiaries must be alumni of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs (including, but not limited to, YLAI, IVLP, Access, and Fulbright) residing in Argentina who represent:

• Public sector officials and municipal administrators.

• Academic researchers, faculty, and university leadership.

• Civil society practitioners and non-governmental organization (NGO) leaders.

• Private sector.

Applicants should clearly describe participant recruitment and selection, prioritizing geographical diversity across Argentina's provinces.

Project Goal:

The project goal is to enhance regional stability and institutional resilience in Argentina by equipping multi-sector exchange alumni with the leadership skills, collaborative networks, and ethical frameworks needed to implement responsible technology and innovation, thereby strengthening good governance and safeguarding open information environments.

Project Objectives: Applicants should design projects that contribute to the following objectives:

Objective 1: Increase capacity in good governance, civic education, and responsible technology usage among at least 50 multi-sector exchange alumni within the program performance period.

Objective 2: Promote and oversee the establishment and formalization of at least three concrete post-summit, cross-sector joint initiatives or partnerships (such as joint private-NGO initiatives, new formal Alumni groups, or Binational Center-hosted programs).

Objective 3: Document a 20% positive shift in participant perception and commitment to upholding Freedom of Expression (FoE) in digital spaces and open information environments through rigorous pre- and post-summit assessment mechanisms. Expected Outcome: The initiative will result in a more active, interconnected network of next-generation Argentine decision-makers securely anchored to U.S.-aligned digital, professional, and ethical standards. Participating alumni (at least 50) will demonstrate an enhanced capacity to apply tools like AI responsibly to resolve societal and administrative challenges within their home institutions. Furthermore, the program will deliver tangible bilateral value by cultivating an environment that successfully promotes and fosters cross-sector collaborative initiatives. By establishing robust evaluation metrics that capture a minimum 20% shift in participant alignment with open information environments and free speech principles, the project ensures the domestic network is equipped with the critical tools to naturally out-compete alternative, transactional outreach from strategic adversaries.

2. Substantial Involvement

This award is expected to be a cooperative agreement because the U.S. Embassy anticipates substantial involvement in program implementation.

Miscellaneous

• Other