FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 17, 2013

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Taleen Ananian, 202.778.4993

Atlantic Council Announces 2013 Emerging Leaders of Pakistan Fellows
Young entrepreneurs to meet with US business leaders and government officials in three-week visit to United States

WASHINGTON – The Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center is pleased to announce its 2013 Emerging Leaders of Pakistan (ELP) Fellows. This Fellowship seeks to support and empower the next generation of Pakistan’s civil society leaders through the creation of a sustainable forum of collaboration.

The fifteen extraordinary civil society leaders, who were selected through a highly competitive process and embody Pakistan’s ethnic, religious, and geographic diversity, are educators, social activists, humanitarians, social innovators, and community organizers who are working to solve some of Pakistan’s most pressing challenges.

The ELP Fellowship visit takes place October 19-November 10, with stops in New York City; Washington, DC; Kansas City; and the San Francisco/Bay Area. The goal is to encourage peer-to-peer collaboration, strengthen relations between Americans and Pakistanis, and empower the fellows with skills and innovative ideas through interactive meetings.

They will meet with high-level officials from the White House, US Department of State, media, civil society, philanthropic organizations, and the private sector, including former US Secretary of State George P. Shultz; Special Assistant to the President for Afghanistan and Pakistan Jeff Eggers; Steve Inskeep ofNational Public Radio, Bhairavi Desai of the New York City Taxi Workers Alliance, Bilal Musharraf of Khan Academy, curator of Islamic art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Navina Haidar,CEOs Jacqueline Novogratz of Acumen Fund, Tariq Farid of Edible Arrangements, and Adnan Durrani of American Halal/Saffron Road Food, and foundations such as Carnegie Corporation of New York, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Skoll Global Threats Fund, Skoll Foundation, and Ploughshares Fund. They will also visit the United Nations, the New York Times, National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Open Society Foundations, National Endowment for Democracy, the International Monetary Fund, and Department of Defense, among others.

The Fellows are expected to utilize their new networks and resources to build and expand their own movements back in Pakistan. An online forum will continue to facilitate this collaboration, and the South Asia Center has on the ground partners in Pakistan who will complement this initiative through various types of long term support. They will join the first year of ELP Fellows as the alumni network continues to grow.

This project is made possible by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Travel and logistics are supported by the US Embassy, Islamabad, through its partnership with the Meridian International Center. Lodging and conference needs during the selection process were sponsored by the Hashoo Group of Pakistan. ELP Fellowship on-the-ground partners are Youth Engagement Services (YES) Network Pakistan and PAIMAN Trust.

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