The challenges facing communities across the Indo-Pacific increasingly cross sectors, systems, and borders. Systemic change can reshape livelihoods in local economies; decisions made upstream can affect communities far downstream; and policies, technologies, and investments can create both new possibilities and difficult trade-offs. Addressing these interconnected challenges calls for leaders who can understand complex systems, work collaboratively across differences, and translate learning into action. 

The Indo-Pacific Leadership Lab (IPLL) is a regional leadership program for mid-career professionals seeking to deepen their understanding of shared challenges across the region while strengthening their collaborative leadership capabilities. The program brings together leaders from different countries and sectors for experiential learning, peer exchange, practical leadership development, and sustained regional relationship building. 

2027-2028 Focus: Sustainable Coastal and River Communities 

The 2027-2028 IPLL will focus on coastal, delta and river communities—places where communities in the Indo-Pacific region are navigating changing ecosystems, development pressures, shifting livelihoods, and other forms of environmental and social change. IPLL Fellows will explore how coastal and river communities are responding to livelihood and environmental changes through governance, innovation, community-based approaches, cross-sector collaboration, and the use of scientific, local, and experiential knowledge. IPLL Fellows will examine how leaders can respond through collaboration, systems informed thinking, practical problem-solving, and approaches grounded in the realities of communities and places. Throughout the program, Fellows will strengthen their ability to work and lead across sectors, disciplines, geographies, and perspectives while applying learning to challenges in their professional context.

A Regional Learning Experience 

The IPLL combines virtual engagement with three in-person residential learning experiences in Japan, Malaysia, and Hawaiʻi. Each location provides a different setting in which fellows can examine the connections among communities, economies, environmental systems, policy, and leadership. The program uses field-based learning, practitioner engagement, applied cases, peer exchange, reflection, and action learning rather than relying narrowly on classroom instruction. 

Who Should Apply 

The IPLL is designed for mid-career professionals from across the Indo-Pacific whose work contributes to coastal and river communities, livelihoods, environmental management, economic development, or related systems and who are ready to deepen their leadership capacity. Fellows may work in government, civil society and community organizations, the private sector, indigenous and local leadership organizations, academia and research, on multilateral and regional institutions. 

What Fellows Will Gain 

Fellows who complete the 2027 Lab will be better equipped to navigate complex challenges and systems with practical responses that can be applied in their respective sectors and communities. Fellows will shape practical initiatives for their professional contexts while building relationships within the cohort that can support ongoing communication, knowledge sharing, and future collaboration among Fellows. 

Program Information    The ten-month Indo-Pacific Leadership begins on April 15, 2027 and concludes on February 15, 2028.

• Japan (May 17 - 21, 2027)
• Malaysia (October 4 - 8, 2027)
• Hawai‘i (January 17 - 21, 2028)

Virtual engagements connect the three in-person experiences throughout the ten-month program.

Financial Information/Provisions    The Indo-Pacific Leadership Lab provides Fellows with round-trip airfare to/from the program locations, program fee and materials, accommodation, meals, and some applicable visa-related costs (if required).  **This program is subject to postponement/cancellation due to prevailing and unforeseen circumstances.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants should:

• Be engaged professionally in work relevant to coastal or river communities, livelihoods, environmental management, economic development, or closely related issues. 
• Be a mid-career professional and a citizen and resident of one of the following countries: 
• Japan 
• United States of America
• Southeast Asia: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam
• Pacific Islands: American Samoa, Australia, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Republic of Palau, Papua New Guinea, Independent State of Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kingdom of Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu 
• South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
• Be able to participate fully in the year long program, including the three in-person residential gatherings in Japan, Malaysia, and Hawaii, and virtual engagements throughout the program. 
• Be interested in strengthening their leadership capacity and learning collaboratively with peers from different countries, sectors, and professional backgrounds. 
• Possess verbal fluency in English, with strong written English skills. 
• Possess a current passport with validity through July 2028
• Be able to commit to one week of travel in May and October 2027,  and January 2028, plus monthly virtual connections between travel.

 Desirable Qualifications

• Approximately 5-10 years of professional experience.
• A current or emerging leadership role within their organization, sector, or community.
• A demonstrated commitment to collaborative work and working across organizational, sectoral, disciplinary, or geographic boundaries.
• Experience addressing complex challenges involving multiple stakeholders, competing priorities, or interconnected systems.
• Interest in connecting environmental sustainability with livelihoods, economic development, and community well-being.
• Openness to learning from perspectives, practices, and contexts different from their own.
• Ability and willingness to bring learning from the IPL back into their professional setting and apply it to programs, policies, partnerships, innovations, or other areas of practice. 

Particular consideration will be given to applicants whose work lies at the intersection of resource sustainability and economic development. The cohort will be intentionally cross sector and geographically diverse to support peer learning, dialogue, and long-term regional relationships.

For more information, please visit our website for more information. Questions can be directed to leadership@eastwestcenter.org.

Deadline    Applications must be submitted by November 15, 2026 (at 11:59 PM Hawai‘i Standard Time). Completed applications include a Letter of Reference. Letters of Reference will be accepted until November 22, 2026 (at 11:59 PM Hawai‘i Standard Time).

Letter(s) of Reference    One letter of reference is required to complete your application but two are suggested. References submitted by the applicant will not be accepted. Instructions with a link to the Letter of Reference form will be sent to your referee(s) via email upon the submission of your application. Inform your referee(s) ahead of submitting your application that a request will be coming from Submittable. Should your referee(s) require assistance, please have them contact our team at leadership@eastwestcenter.org. The program will not accept a Letter of Reference directly from applicants.

Submitting Your Application & Instructions    Create a Submittable account today to see the full application and apply!  Please refer to application guidelines and specific requirements of the program before completing this form.

• Please complete the application in English.
• Read the instructions for each item carefully before entering your information.
• Submittable does not log you out automatically when you exit your browser. Therefore, it is important that you sign out from your Submittable account, especially when you are using a public computer.
• Since you will not be able to edit your application, make sure to thoroughly review your application before submitting. If your application is not ready, you can save it as a draft and submit it at a later time. The saved drafts of your application can be found in your account under My Submissions (or Submissions).
• If after submission you need to change something in your application, contact the EWC Leadership Program staff either through Submittable or at leadership@eastwestcenter.org to request open editing access. Open editing access will only be granted for editing/changing major fields such as Referee information.
• Submittable email notifications can be filtered as junk/spam. Be sure to add Submittable to your list of approved senders.

The East-West Center is pleased to announce the 2027 Investment Summit Journalism Program.

Overview: The East-West Center (EWC) will be providing a travel grant to 10 Pacific Islands journalists to come to Hawaiʻi to cover the second annual Pacific Agenda Investment Summit being held at the EWC. This grant will include airfare, four nights of lodging, airport transfers, and per diem. While in Hawaiʻi, journalists will attend special workshops on Feb. 14, 2027 that will focus on best practices when reporting trade, economics, and diplomatic events like the Summit; and a discussion to orient the journalists as to the issues and topics that will arise during the Summit. Then, the journalists will cover the Investment Summit itself on Feb. 15-16. 

This will be the second Pacific Agenda Summit, and second Investment Summit Journalism Program for Pacific Islands journalists. (For more on the February 2026 Investment Summit, see https://tinyurl.com/bdf5ubt2 . For more on the previous Investment Summit Journalism Program, see https://stevenyoungblood.blogspot.com/2026/02/press-conference-with-deputy-sec.html )

Applications must be submitted by 11:59pm Hawai'i Standard Time on November 20, 2026.

If you encounter any difficulties with this application, please contact Program Assistant Imanee Magee at mageei@eastwestcenter.org. Questions about the program itself can be directed to Program Coordinator Steven Youngblood at youngbls@eastwestcenter.org.

Who should apply?

1. Full-time or active freelance journalist residing and working in a Pacific Islands nation. No experience covering economic issues, investments, and diplomatic events is necessary. 2. At least two years of professional journalism experience. 3. Experience primarily reporting news stories (rather than lifestyle/sports). 4. Participants agree to write/produce at least two stories/reports about the Investment Summit and share those with the East-West Center.

Application:

Applicants must submit each of the following documents to be considered:

• The online 2027 Investment Summit Journalism application form.
• A letter of interest (maximum 2 pages, double-spaced). Letter should include: (1) a brief description of your news organization or freelance work, job duties, and experience; (2) what you expect to accomplish and what issues you want to explore during the program, including specific story ideas; (3) how participation will benefit your work as journalist; (4) links to three recent news stories you have produced. NOTE: We want to hear your authentic voice, so please don't use AI!
• Résumé or Curriculum Vitae (maximum 2 pages).
• One professional letter of recommendation from your employer, indicating that the applicant has the support of their media organization to attend and report at the investment summit. Freelancers: Submit a letter from the editor/producer/publisher at a news organization that regularly purchases your stories indicating their interest in running one or more stories that you produce during the investment summit.
• A second professional letter of recommendation from a journalism colleague or supervisor.