Annually, approximately 45-50 Global Fellows are selected to travel to the United States for an intensive six-week fellowship program. We bring together innovative leaders from across geographies and sectors, visionaries who tackle big challenges to better the world around them. Though diverse in background and interests, our Fellows are committed to a singular aim: creating a world more peaceful, prosperous, and just. Eisenhower Fellows are mid-career professionals, typically 32 to 45 years old.
In the spring, EF brings around 25 Fellows from 25 different countries for the Global Program. All professional backgrounds and regions of the world are represented in this flagship program of EF, which dates back to 1954. In the fall, EF mixes up its programming by focusing on either a single region – such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East or Africa – or common interest – such as women’s leadership, urbanization, energy or innovation. Another 20 to 25 Fellows are selected to participate in these thematic programs, capitalizing on their shared interests and backgrounds to enhance the impact of the fellowship.
Although part of a fellowship of 25 people, each Fellow travels independently around the United States following an itinerary customized to fulfill their fellowship objectives and project. They meet with experts and thought leaders in relevant fields and organizations who help them identify steps to advance their fellowship project post-fellowship and increase their effectiveness as leaders in the medium and long term.
A three-day Opening Seminar launches the fellowship and lays the groundwork for lifelong bonds as colleagues, friends and Eisenhower Fellows. Fellows have time to learn more about one another and engage in lively conversation about global matters with international journalists, policy experts and others. After a few weeks of independent fellowship travel, Fellows gather for a long weekend to enjoy a much-needed break and engage in a reflective retreat. During Closing Seminar, which concludes the fellowship, Fellows share stories about the meaning of their fellowships and prepare final reports in which they lay out their plans for implementing their fellowship projects once they return home.
Throughout the program, EF sponsors, Trustees and supporters - in addition to EF's network of over 300 USA Eisenhower Fellows, exceptional U.S. leaders located all over the country - also provide Global Fellows with opportunities to engage in substantive dialog and advance their fellowship goals.
“I saw how the fellowship opened doors to places that I couldn't have imagined been welcomed before now; the priority and time former Fellows gave us left me awed. The reception we received at every place we visited was commendable and could have only been accorded to those held in high esteem.”
- Musa Salmanu (Nigeria '16)
Eisenhower
Fellowships’ international program provides a transformational experience as
well as lifetime engagement in a global network, where dialogue and
collaboration make the world more peaceful, prosperous and just. More than 60
years after its founding, EF remains unique among international professional
and leadership programs. Unlike any other experience of its kind,
the fellowship offers Fellows a customized six-week program that reflects each
person’s specific professional interests .The fellowship helps propel Fellows and their ideas to the forefront
of their chosen fields. Eisenhower Fellows
are leaders of vision, role models with proven success in diverse fields of
endeavor.
In an increasingly interdependent world, Eisenhower Fellowships
enables Fellows to learn from one another’s best practices, and provides them
with a permanent vehicle for effective and meaningful collaboration.
