2016 Programs
Fellowships & Scholarships
2016 Asia Foundation Development Fellows Embark on a Year-Long Fellowship in Seoul
The Asia Foundation hosted the 2016 class of the Asia Foundation Development Fellows: Emerging Leadership for Asia's Future program in Seoul, Korea. Coming together for the first time as a community of young change makers representing 11 countries, the 2016 Development Fellows participated in a customized Leadership Training Program in Korea held in partnership with the Korea Development Institute School of Public Policy and Management (KDI School), with generous support from Lotte Group.
The Fellows were welcomed with a reception held by the Friends of The Asia Foundation (FOTAF) on April 11 and participated in an intensive one-week Leadership Development Workshop program led by the KDI School Capacity Building Center. Sessions included anti-corruption and good governance, development entrepreneurship, and conflict resolution with focus on strategic thinking and collective leadership. The program continued in Mongolia where the Fellows engaged with leading development innovators and policy-makers. In September, the Fellows visited San Francisco, New York City, and Washington, DC for a two-week leadership dialogue and exchange.
The Asia Foundation Development Fellows: Emerging Leadership for Asia's Future program provides highly qualified, young professionals from Asia with an unparalleled opportunity to strengthen their leadership skills and gain in-depth knowledge of Asia's critical development challenges. The year-long professional advancement program draws on The Asia Foundation's extensive 18-country network and deep expertise working with innovative leaders and communities across the region. The program is designed to be a multifaceted experience, involving intensive learning modules - short courses, conferences, and study tours in Asia and the U.S. - to enhance leadership skills, Asian development knowledge, professional networks, and international exposure.
Korean Journalist Selected for 2017 Nieman Fellowship at Harvard
On April 28, The Asia Foundation announced that Kim Kyoungtae, Editor and Director of Election Broadcasting Planning at Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) in Seoul, was selected by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard for a prestigious Nieman Fellowship. Mr. Kim is the 28th Korean journalist chosen since the Foundation began sponsoring Asian participants in the fellowship program in 1956.
The Nieman Foundation for Journalism has hosted more than 1,500 accomplished journalists from 94 countries since 1938. The fellowship has expanded in recent years to include new collaborative and experimental programs. In addition to taking classes during their time at Harvard, fellows attend Nieman Foundation-organized seminars, workshops and master classes and work on their research with Harvard scholars and other leading thinkers in the Cambridge area.
Mr. Kim is studying the role of media in peacefully solving international conflicts, focusing specifically on Northeast Asia. He will also explore developments in providing interactive news contents to mobile devices. Mr. Kim served as director of Election Broadcasting Planning at MBC during the April 2016 parliamentary elections in Korea. Read Mr. Kim's In Asia blogs on the 2016 Korean parliamentary and 2017 presidential elections here and here.
The Asia Foundation sponsorship of Korean journalists in the Nieman Fellowship is made possible through the generous support of the Sungkok Journalism Foundation and YBM, Inc.
Through its Asian American Exchange Unit, The Asia Foundation seeks to encourage greater understanding between Asians and Americans with the ultimate aim of contributing towards strengthened U.S.-Asia relations.