The ELE FOCALAE initiative was born in 2012 with the visit of the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Patti
Londoño Jaramillo, to some countries of Southeast Asia. During this visit, tourism authorities in the region
highlighted the increase in tourists coming from Spanish-speaking countries and asked the Colombian
Government for their collaboration to train their tour guides in Spanish.
Up to 60 scholarships will be offered for tourist guides and undergraduate and graduate students from FEALAC
countries interested in learning Spanish as a foreign language.
The scholarship will cover:
• Round trip, air ticket in economy class from the capital of the home country to the Colombian city where the
course will take place. The Colombian government will be responsible for assigning the placement city.
• Monthly stipend of one million six hundred (1.600.000) Colombian pesos for the beneficiary in order to cover
basic living expenses, such as accommodation, local transport, and the cost of meals in Colombia. The monthly
stipend will be proportional to the number of days of the beneficiaries’ stay in Colombia, and will be paid once per
month in arrears subject to the assistance to the Spanish lessons by the beneficiary. It will be checked through
report, which will be submitted by the University to the Colombian authorities. Point 9 below presents detailed
information about the monthly payments.
• Tuition scholarship for the Spanish as a foreign language course.
• International Health Insurance, whose coverage is presented as Annex III to this document.
• Courtesy Visa during the progress of the course, which be granted for a time of three (3) months and renovated
in Colombia before its expiry date.
• SIELE exam to obtain Spanish as a foreign language certification.
Note: Any extracurricular activities that trainees wish to do at Colombian host universities must be carried out on
their account and will not be financed by the Government of Colombia.
Requirements:
– Be nationals from East Asian countries that are members of FEALAC.
– Be tourist guides duly certified or students who have outstanding academic results and are enrolled in the last
academic year of their undergraduate course or in a postgraduate course.
– Have a good knowledge of English (level B1).
– Have good physical and mental health.
– Have been born between January 1, 1977 and December 31, 1997.
– Accept and carry out the rules of this 2017 initiative, submitted as Annex I of this document.
– Have the necessary resources to cover the costs of the first month of their stay in Colombia. It is suggested a
minimum amount of $600 (six hundred) US dollars.
– Preferably have basic knowledge of Spanish (level A1).
– Have not participated in past versions of this initiative, developed since 2013.
Required Documents:
– Application form completed, which will be available on the webpage of the Colombian Embassies in the
member countries of FEALAC. Point 8 below has the list of Colombian Diplomatic Missions with their contact
details.
– A recent passport photo (3.5 x 4 cms).
– Copy of the principal passport page, containing biographical information. The passport must have a minimum
validity of one year after the start of the program.
– Just for tourist guides: Acceptance letter or authorization of enrollment issued by the National Tourism Authority
or Competent Authorities of their countries.
– Just for undergraduate and postgraduate students: Cover letter issued by University where enrolled that
includes the Grade Point Average (GPA) of the candidate.
– For postgraduate students: copy of Undergraduate diploma.
– Medical certificate in English, signed by a doctor, certifying that the candidate is in good physical and mental
health in order to take the course in Colombia.
– Documents evidencing the candidate has a proficient knowledge of English, equal or greater than B1, according
to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.
– Letter of acceptance signed by the candidate, submitted as Annex II in this document, to be signed only by the
final beneficiaries.
Documents must be sent to the following e-mail: elefocalae@heartforchange.org
Application Period:
• Begins: March 10, 2017
• Submission deadline: April 21, 2017, 12 p.m. Bogotá time.
