About the Fellowship

The Haiti Future Leaders Fellowship Program is a cross-cultural, educational initiative designed to meet two main objectives: first, to involve the Haitian Diaspora in the country’s development process and second, to foster the career development of talented Haitian university students and young professionals.

The program was established in 2014 under the tutelage of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and spearheaded by the Embassy of the Republic of Haiti in Washington, D.C. It is a two-way initiative focused on accomplished Haitian and Haitian-American university students and promising young professionals. Selected fellows participate in an eight-week summer assignment either in Washington, D.C. or in Port-au-Prince.

The fellows are chosen after a rigorous selection process. The candidates selected for assignments in Washington, D.C. are part of a preselected group of candidates submitted by their respective universities. The final selection is conducted by the Fellowship Committee of the Embassy. The fellows will work in various offices at the Embassy in the U.S. capital. They will also engage with Washington-based institutions with which the Embassy collaborates. On the other hand, the fellows heading to Haiti are selected through a competitive application process, and several rounds of review. They are posted in key public institutions, where they work closely with senior government officials to gain experience in public administration and policy making, and use their education and skills to enhance the work of these institutions.

The second annual fellowship class is named after the late Jean Price-Mars. A leading figure in Haitian cultural nationalism, Price-Mars co-founded the Institut d’Ethnologie in 1941 where he was chairman of “Africology” and Sociology. Price-Mars was a Haitian teacher, diplomat, writer, and ethnographer. He held positions in the civil service, served as Senator, was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, and ran for President. He also represented Haiti abroad in numerous key diplomatic posts throughout his long career, including ambassadorships to France, the Dominican Republic, and to the United Nations.