About

The U.S. Mission Iraq, under the U.S. Department of State, invites proposals for its Public Diplomacy Annual Program Statement 2026. This initiative aims to strengthen cultural, educational, and people-to-people ties between the United States and Iraq while promoting American culture, expertise, policies, and values. Funding supports a diverse range of activities, including academic and professional exchanges, artistic and cultural workshops, media and digital freedom initiatives, English language acquisition, cultural heritage preservation, and sports or historical programming (e.g., World Cup, 2028 Olympic Games, and Freedom250). Additionally, the program prioritizes initiatives that reduce malign influence, promote private-sector led economic models, and build strategic bilateral partnerships in sectors such as energy, technology, healthcare, higher education, and business management. Targeting Iraqi youth, policymakers, entrepreneurs, journalists, influencers, English-language learners, cultural minorities, and civil society actors, projects must incorporate a clear American cultural element or involve collaboration with U.S. experts and institutions. Individual grant awards range from $25,000 to $500,000 out of a total $5 million funding pool, to be executed over a project duration of up to 24 months via grants, cooperative agreements, or fixed amount awards.

Eligibility

To be considered for funding, proposed projects must directly foster bilateral ties and demonstrate active collaboration with U.S. counterparts, experts, or institutions. Evaluation preference will be given to innovative activities that advance freedom of speech, digital and media freedom, cultural preservation, sustainable institutional partnerships, and rules-based economic systems. This funding opportunity strictly excludes applications involving partisan political activities, charitable assistance, construction, religious activities, fundraising campaigns, lobbying, scientific research, commercial enterprises, or the duplication of existing projects.