# Washington-Ireland Program

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The **Washington-Ireland Program** for Service and Leadership (**WIP**) is a six-month program of personal and [professional development](/source/Professional_development) that brings [university](/source/University) students from [Northern Ireland](/source/Northern_Ireland) and the [Republic of Ireland](/source/Republic_of_Ireland) to [Washington, DC](/source/Washington,_DC) for summer internships and leadership training. The program begins and ends with practical service (usually some form of voluntary work in the [NGO](/source/NGO) or political sectors) in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Originally known as the "Young Leaders Program", it was renamed in 2003.[1]

In Washington, participants get first-hand experience with [U.S. government](/source/U.S._government) and politics and an immersion in American culture by living with an area host family. The eight-week 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.[citation needed] Among the 2007 [Internship](/source/Internship) opportunities were placements in the Senate offices of then [Senators](/source/United_States_Senator) [Barack Obama](/source/Barack_Obama) and [Hillary Clinton](/source/Hillary_Clinton).[citation needed]

## History

The WIP program has been operating since 1995.[2] Since its inception in the 1990s, 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, professional services firms and media organizations. Placements have included [The White House](/source/The_White_House), Congressional offices, Northern Ireland Bureau, [World Bank](/source/World_Bank), [Habitat for Humanity](/source/Habitat_for_Humanity), [AFL-CIO](/source/AFL-CIO), [CNN](/source/CNN) and [CBS](/source/CBS), Library of Congress, Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, The Justice Project, Imagination Stage and Solas Nua.[citation needed]

Participants are intended to develop practical leadership abilities by committing to 30 hours of service in their own communities before the summer and 40 hours in a Group Service Project when they return.[citation needed] Students may also help launch and run the following year's program by assisting with marketing, recruiting, selecting and mentoring the succeeding WIP class.[citation needed]

Successful candidates must be Irish-born, or Irish or British (NI) citizens with current passports.[citation needed] They must be full-time students in Ireland or the [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom), between the ages of 18 and 25, and passing their subjects at a better than passing grade.[citation needed]

Initially begun in partnership with the Students' Union at Queen's University, Belfast, WIP has received support from the Irish Government through its Department of Education and the International Fund for Ireland as well as the UK government and the US State Department.[citation needed]

The Washington-Ireland Program is an extension of Project Children, a program that sponsors six-week summer holidays in the U.S. for young people from Northern Ireland. The participants in Project Children, who stay with American host families, range in age from 10–14 years old and come from neighborhoods impacted by the [Troubles in Northern Ireland](/source/Troubles_in_Northern_Ireland).[citation needed]

## Youth Empowerment Scheme

In 2001,[3] alumni members of the Washington-Ireland Programme established a charity known as the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES). The scheme created a mentoring programme in which young adults acted as mentors for children aged 11–14 years old.[4] In 2006, members of the Youth Empowerment Scheme visited [South Africa](/source/South_Africa) as part of an "exchange" with the [University of KwaZulu-Natal](/source/University_of_KwaZulu-Natal) in Durban.[5] YES undertook fundraising to fund its activities and, for example, held a 'night at the movies' fundraiser at the Sheridan IMAX movie theatre in early 2005.[6]

## Notable alumni

- [Leo Varadkar](/source/Leo_Varadkar) (class of 2000), [Fine Gael](/source/Fine_Gael) TD who became Ireland's youngest ever [Taoiseach](/source/Taoiseach).[7]
- [Chris Lyttle](/source/Chris_Lyttle) (class of 2002), [Alliance Party](/source/Alliance_Party_of_Northern_Ireland) MLA for [East Belfast](/source/Belfast_East_(Assembly_constituency)).[8]
- [Emma Little-Pengelly](/source/Emma_Little-Pengelly) (class of 2002), [Democratic Unionist Party](/source/Democratic_Unionist_Party) MLA within the [Northern Ireland Executive](/source/Northern_Ireland_Executive).[8]
- [Noel Rock](/source/Noel_Rock) (class of 2006), [Fine Gael](/source/Fine_Gael) TD for [Dublin North-West](/source/Dublin_North-West).[citation needed]
- [Claire Sugden](/source/Claire_Sugden) (class of 2008), independent MLA for [East Londonderry](/source/East_Londonderry_(Assembly_constituency)) and former [Justice Minister](/source/Department_of_Justice_(Northern_Ireland)) in the [Northern Ireland Executive](/source/Northern_Ireland_Executive).[7]
- [Nuala McAllister](/source/Nuala_McAllister) (class of 2010), [Alliance Party](/source/Alliance_Party_of_Northern_Ireland) MLA for [Belfast North](/source/Belfast_North_(Assembly_constituency)).[citation needed]
- [Patricia O'Lynn](/source/Patricia_O'Lynn) (class of 2016), [Alliance Party](/source/Alliance_Party_of_Northern_Ireland) MLA for [North Antrim](/source/North_Antrim_(Assembly_constituency)) (2022-2023).[9][10]

## References

1. ["New name for scheme to train young leaders"](https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/new-name-for-scheme-to-train-young-leaders/28148646.html). *belfasttelegraph.co.uk*. 27 January 2003. Retrieved 21 October 2025.

1. ["What we do"](https://wiprogram.org/what-we-do/). *wiprogram.org*. Retrieved 21 October 2025. WIP's Emerging Leaders Program has been operating since 1995

1. ["Who Are We?"](http://www.youthempowermentscheme.org/yes/who/who.htm). *youthempowermentscheme.org*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20040607022327/http://www.youthempowermentscheme.org/yes/who/who.htm) 7 June 2004 at the Wayback Machine. The Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) [..] was co-founded by participants of the Young Leaders Programme 2001

1. ["Youth group aims to combat racism"](https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-30138342.html). *Irish Examiner*. 15 March 2004. [Archived](https://archive.today/20251007025509/https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-30138342.html) 7 October 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 October 2025.

1. ["Tara Maguire (left) and Emma Stewart will represent the Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) as they link up with University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban on a HIV/AIDS awareness programme"](https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/tara-maguire-left-and-emma-stewart-will-represent-the-youth-empowerment-scheme-yes-as-they-link-up-with-university-of-kwazulu-natal-in-durban-on-a-hivaids-awareness-programme/28093511.html). *belfasttelegraph.co.uk*. 15 June 2006. [Archived](https://archive.today/20251007025636/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/tara-maguire-left-and-emma-stewart-will-represent-the-youth-empowerment-scheme-yes-as-they-link-up-with-university-of-kwazulu-natal-in-durban-on-a-hivaids-awareness-programme/28093511.html) 7 October 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 October 2025.

1. ["Movies Bring Big Box-Office To Children's Charity"](http://news.ulster.ac.uk/releases/2005/1569.html). University of Ulster. 11 March 2005. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20061015041900/http://news.ulster.ac.uk/releases/2005/1569.html) 15 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine.

1. ["Our Alum community"](https://wiprogram.org/alum/). *wiprogram.org*. [Archived](https://archive.today/20251021142002/https://wiprogram.org/alum/) 21 October 2025 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 October 2025.

1. ["Class of 2002"](https://wiprogram.org/project/class-of-2002/). *wiprogram.org*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230521164654/https://wiprogram.org/project/class-of-2002/) 21 May 2023 at the Wayback Machine.

1. ["Successful internship for Larne girl in Washington"](https://www.northernirelandworld.com/news/successful-internship-for-larne-girl-in-washington-2137828). *Northern Ireland World*. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2022.

1. ["Class of 2016"](https://wiprogram.org/project/class-of-2016/). *wiprogram.org*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20230521164715/https://wiprogram.org/project/class-of-2016/) 21 May 2023 at the Wayback Machine.

## External links

- [Official website](http://www.wiprogram.org)
- [WIP alumni website](https://web.archive.org/web/20250107103930/https://wipan.org/) (archived Jan 2025)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Washington-Ireland Program](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington-Ireland_Program) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington-Ireland_Program?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.