Washington, D.C. – Earlier this month, 32 YLAI Alumni from 12 countries across Belize and the Caribbean, and 2 U.S. alumni from Kalamazoo, MI and Kansas City, MO, gathered in Belize City for the YLAI Regional Alumni Event in the Caribbean. As the YLAI Program approaches its 10th anniversary in 2026 and the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, alumni and U.S. business partners came together to recognize a decade of YLAI’s impact, strength, regional connections, and celebrate this shared milestone.

During the two-and-a-half-day event, which took place from June 9 – 11, alumni shared their cross-border experiences around building U.S.-Caribbean partnerships for economic prosperity in the Western Hemisphere, heard from U.S. business partners on how to create enduring partnerships to generate returns in their businesses, and engaged with local leaders, including the U.S. Embassy in Belize and BELTRAIDE, a statutory body that serves as Belize’s national Investment Promotion Agency, and Export and Trade Promotion Agency. Participants came away from the event with expanded networks, innovative ideas, and practical tools and skills to apply to their own businesses to generate prosperity and opportunity in the region.

Accomplished in their careers and dedicated to serving their communities, YLAI Alumni are business owners and professionals selected through a merit-based process. Participants work in various industries, including technology, agriculture, hospitality and tourism, and marketing.

Through mutual investment in the Caribbean and the United States, the YLAI Program demonstrates the important role that spaces for knowledge exchange play in adding value to local economies and contributing to business development and economic growth. YLAI advances U.S. economic and strategic interests in the Western Hemisphere by strengthening commercial ties between American businesses and entrepreneurs with companies expanding trade and innovation across the Americas.

About the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA)

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) designs and implements educational, professional, and cultural exchange and other programs that create and sustain the mutual understanding with other countries necessary to advancing United States foreign policy goals. ECA programs cultivate people-to-people ties among current and future global leaders that build enduring networks and personal relationships and promote U.S. national security and values.

For further information, go to https://www.state.gov/bureaus-offices/under-secretary-for-public-diplomacy/bureau-of-educational-and-cultural-affairs/.

For press inquiries, please contact ECA-Press@state.gov.     

About IREX

IREX is a global solutions provider that partners with communities and institutions in the United States and around the world to cultivate leaders, expand access to education, and create economic opportunity. With deep expertise, a forward-looking vision, and world-class practices in AI for Education, Future-Ready Workforce, Higher Education Solutions, Leadership Development, and Online Safety, IREX delivers innovative and proven solutions that help people, institutions, and communities thrive in a rapidly changing world.

For more information, visit https://www.irex.org.   

About the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Fellowship Program

Funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), and implemented by IREX, the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Fellowship Program is the flagship program for emerging entrepreneurs and business leaders from the Western Hemisphere. 

For more information, go to https://ylai.state.gov/. 

For further information, please contact the IREX program team at YLAIFellowship@irex.org.