YSEALI programs are known to have 1-2% acceptance rates and are usually awarded to emerging leaders with outstanding work and potentials in their chosen fields or advocacies.

[citation needed] The initiative was launched by President Barack Obama in Manila in December 2013[1] as a way to strengthen leadership development, networking, and cultural exchange among emerging leaders within the age range of 18 to 35 years old[2] from the 10 member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Timor Leste.

Notable alumni of YSEALI include Vico Sotto,[5] Syed Saddiq, Carrie Tan, and Lee Chean Chung.

[7] The YSEALI Academic Fellowship Program which brings the participating delegation[8] from each Southeast Asian country to study in an academic institution in the United States for six weeks to learn about their chosen advocacy,[9] comparable to the Young African Leaders Initiative's Mandela Washington Fellowship program.

The YSEALI Seeds for the Future is a small grants competition for youth-led innovative projects in Southeast Asia established by the U.S. Mission to ASEAN, as implemented by Cultural Vistas.