Originally known as the Young Leaders Program, The Washington-Ireland Program for Service and Leadership (WIP), is a six-month program of personal and professional development that brings outstanding university students from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to Washington, DC for summer internships and leadership training. The program begins and ends with practical service in Northern Ireland and Ireland.

In Washington, participants get first-hand experience with U.S. government and politics and an immersion in American culture by living with area Host Families. Through an intense eight-week schedule, young people from different sides of the political divide are challenged to work and learn as a team and to create an environment of mutual respect. The program aims to send students home with enhanced professional and interpersonal skills and a new confidence in their own leadership abilities, which they are expected to demonstrate through service to their own communities.

The goals of the program are to:

Train promising third level and university students from Northern Ireland and Ireland to work as an effective leadership team

Build a trust between the participants that transcends sectarian boundaries

Celebrate the group’s identity in diversity

Challenge the participants to achieve professional and personal excellence

Equip participants with the skills to meet the future challenges of peace and progress on the island of Ireland

Since its inception in 1995, the Washington-based part of the program has expanded from four to eight weeks, allowing time for both leadership training and work experience. Students are placed in offices across the Washington metropolitan region representing federal and local government, businesses, non-profit organizations, and professional services firms and media organizations. Placements have included The White House, Congressional offices, The Northern Ireland Bureau, The World Bank, Habitat for Humanity, AFL-CIO, CNN and CBS, among many others.

Back home, participants continue to develop their leadership abilities by committing to 50 hours of service in their own communities. Students also help launch and run the following year’s program by assisting with marketing, recruiting, selecting and mentoring the succeeding WIP class.

To date, more than 300 young adults have graduated from the program. Many WIP graduates have moved into important careers in politics, business, media and education. These include posts as elected political representatives, assistants to Members of the NI Assembly and Dail Eireann, research officers to Ministers in Westminster, journalists, reporters, barristers and solicitors, university professors and primary school teachers, management consultants, and political party operatives in Northern Ireland and the Republic.

To learn more about the Washington-Ireland Program for Service and Leadership, please check out its website.

Visit the Washington-Ireland Program website