President Barack Obama, during his April 2015 visit to Jamaica at his Town Hall with Young Leaders of the Americas said of the relationship between the United States and Jamaica, â₏œWe are not just nations, weâ₏™re also neighbors. Tens of millions of Americans are bound to the Caribbean and the Americas through ties of commerce, but also ties of kin. More than one million Americans trace their ancestry to Jamaica. More than one million Americans visit Jamaica each year. So weâ₏™re committed to you and this region. And as Iâ₏™ve said before, in our foreign policy there are no senior or junior partners in the Americas; there are just partners.â₏ For this project a Jamaican and/or U.S. educational institution, policy research institution, or non-profit organization will conceptualize and execute a series of policy discussions to map out the future of this partnership, â₏œDialogues between Democracies: The Future of U.S. â₏“ Jamaica Bilateral Relationsâ₏. An ideal proposal will detail a concrete program of activities to advance policy discussion in both countries, focusing on the following four priority areas, which correspond to the U.S. Embassyâ₏™s strategic objectives: 1. Enhancing security and law enforcement cooperation. 2. Emboldening responsible and democratic governance. 3. Enabling Jamaican prosperity and health. 4. Endorsing the concept of full and equal citizenship for all Jamaicans. The activities could include: seminars, workshops, and conferences. Joint proposals between Jamaican and U.S. institutions are strongly encouraged. The activities should occur within Jamaica with the possibility of extension to the U.S. In addition to the policy dialogues, an ideal proposal would include an interactive publication (for example an online video, etc.) highlighting the key dialogue topics and significant outcomes. This product would be shared with U.S. and Jamaican educational institutions, policy research institutions, and non-profit organizations as the framework to deepening the U.S. â₏“ Jamaica relationship. Additionally this product must be available at no additional cost for the U.S. Embassy to use as a benchmark for future and/or sustaining similar projects. A panel comprised of staff members of the U.S. Embassy, Kingston will review each complete proposal received before the application deadline. Please note that the potential grantee of the selected proposal will have to complete additional forms and registration documents within thirty days of notification in order to receive funding.