Go Viral Festival & Network | DOS KAZ ALM AEECA 2024 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for DOS KAZ ALM AEECA 2024 002

The Go Viral Festival and Network grant opportunity is a U.S. Department of State (U.S. Mission to Kazakhstan, Consulate General in Almaty) open competition to run a regional talent-development and networking program across all five Central Asian countries. The program is designed to help diversify Central Asia's economy by strengthening the skills and connections of young people, primarily ages 18-35, working or aspiring to work in entrepreneurship, technology, culture, creative industries, and media. The core idea is to combine practical, hands-on learning with sustained regional networking, then culminate those efforts in at least one regional festival where participants can present their work, meet partners, and draw broader attention to emerging industries in the region, with U.S. and international expertise woven throughout.

Go Viral has operated since 2017, originally launched in Almaty and inspired by the SXSW model in Austin, Texas. The program was created to fill a gap: Central Asia has many energetic innovators and creators, but they often lack a shared platform to showcase ideas, reliable mechanisms to build cross-border partnerships, and direct access to leading practitioners (including from the United States and Eastern Europe). Over the past years, Go Viral has grown beyond a single annual festival into a broader network with more frequent country-level events. Its format emphasizes cross-sector mixing (media, tech, culture, business) because that environment tends to spark collaborations and projects that would not happen inside a single industry silo.

The opportunity is grounded in a regional problem statement that highlights two related challenges. First, many Central Asian economies have historically relied on a narrow set of industries, and there is a strong need to develop creative and emerging sectors that can broaden economic opportunity and resilience. Second, while civil society and civic-minded youth are increasingly active, their connections to each other across borders, and their access to best practices, mentorship, and professional networks, remain limited. The program therefore aims to strengthen both economic diversification and regional interconnectedness, which are viewed as mutually reinforcing drivers of stability, cooperation, and innovation.

The target groups are split into several layers. "Established Opinion Leaders" include macro- and micro-influencers, entrepreneurs, tech experts, creative industry professionals, and media figures who can mentor, teach, and open doors. "Emerging Voices" includes young entrepreneurs, aspiring tech innovators, creative-industry students, rising media professionals, new digital-platform influencers, and alumni of other U.S. Government programs. The broader beneficiaries extend beyond the selected cohort to include civil society organizations working on issues like climate, education, and women's empowerment, as well as community leaders and civic activists, and young professionals roughly ages 21-45 who may participate in open events associated with the festival.

The overarching goal is to improve regional connectivity, promote diversified economic growth, and strengthen civil society by building durable collaborations among a new generation of Central Asian opinion leaders. To reach that goal, the program sets three main objectives: (1) create a shared sense of community and responsibility through networking, training, partnerships, and a regional festival for about 75 Emerging Voices; (2) deliver structured, hands-on skill-building so that at least 75 Emerging Voices gain practical capabilities and resources across entrepreneurship, technology, creative industries, and media, supported by regional leaders and U.S./international experts; and (3) encourage knowledge-sharing and joint problem-solving between established leaders and civic-minded youth and community organizations, with an emphasis on developing innovative responses to regional challenges.

The proposed activities are fairly concrete and revolve around recruiting and then continuously engaging a cohort. Implementers are expected to identify and recruit around 75 motivated Emerging Voices from across Central Asia, with at least 10 participants from each of the five countries, drawing from the existing Go Viral network and/or bringing in new participants. A key deliverable is building a robust experiential curriculum in partnership with international and regional experts, and then running interactive training sessions that emphasize practical application and collaborative problem-solving rather than lecture-only learning. The opportunity also calls for recurring "Go Nights" that blend training and networking; these can often be hosted in American Spaces in coordination with the U.S. Embassy, and previous implementers have used a cadence of at least one Go Night every three months per country as a reference point.

In addition to training the Emerging Voices cohort, the program is expected to include mentorship and capacity-building for civically engaged youth and community organizations. One example given is helping newer local organizations develop social media and audience-growth skills, which can strengthen outreach, advocacy, and community engagement. The program also prioritizes regional exchange, including travel opportunities that bring participants together across borders for targeted learning, cultural exchange, and relationship-building, all aimed at deepening a self-sustaining regional network rather than a one-off event experience.

A central public-facing component is the organization of at least one regional festival that showcases participant projects and talent. Depending on the design, the festival may include a closed day focused on the 75 Emerging Voices and an open day geared toward broader beneficiaries like young professionals. Beyond celebration and visibility, the festival is positioned as a practical marketplace for ideas and partnerships, intended to highlight the economic potential of creative and tech industries, stimulate regional cooperation, and help attract international attention and possibly investment.

Sustaining the network is treated as an ongoing responsibility, not an optional add-on. The implementer is expected to maintain, manage, and update the existing Go Viral network of influencers, entrepreneurs, tech experts, creatives, and media professionals, and keep members engaged through regular communications, virtual meetups, and continued Go Nights as the budget allows. Social media is explicitly framed as a key tool for keeping the community active and growing event participation; the notice even suggests that applicants may want to budget for a full-time social media expert to support network management and content creation.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary funding opportunity issued as a cooperative agreement (meaning the U.S. Government typically expects to be more involved than in a standard grant). It is offered under CFDA 19.900 by the U.S. Mission to Kazakhstan. The funding opportunity number is DOS KAZ ALM AEECA 2024 002. The agency anticipates making one award, with an award ceiling of $637,499. The original closing date listed is 2024-08-05. Eligible applicants include not-for-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, and civil society/non-governmental organizations.

• The U.S. Mission to Kazakhstan in the arts, business and commerce, community development, education, employment, labor and training sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Go Viral Festival & Network" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 19.900.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-06-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-08-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $637,499.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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