Deadline: June 5, 2022
The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) is now accepting applications for the 2022 edition of its UNAOC Fellowship Programme. The Fellowship Programme aims at fostering intercultural exchange and interfaith understanding by engaging with young civil society leaders and professionals from Europe, North-America (EUNA), the Middle East and North-Africa (MENA). Framed around two-week exchange trips between EUNA and MENA countries, the Programme sends participants from each geographic area to their counterparts’ region.
About
The UNAOC Fellowship Programme was launched in 2010 with the aim to build bridges between cultures and societies through dialogue and cooperation, and to reinforce the global commitment to live together in mutual tolerance and respect. The Programme was created to recognize the need for better understanding between peoples and societies from the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and North America.
The Fellowship provides participants with first hand exposure to diversity and with the opportunity to experience cultural immersion while interacting with a wide range of local actors and partners. In every country visited, participants are being provided with crucial comprehension tools to help them understand the plurality of their surroundings, and to get an extensive grasp of host countries’ culture, politics, society, religion, media and more.
By exposing participants to new ideas and perspectives, and by immersing them into culturally diverse environments, the Fellowship Programme aims at challenging perceptions and deconstructing stereotypes. Building on that, participants become then better equipped to position themselves as informed stakeholders and to develop cross-cultural partnerships while bridging divides between peoples from different faiths and cultures.
Theme
The theme of the Fellowship 2022 is “Countering discrimination and racism: the nexus to building pluralistic and diverse societies”. The choice of the theme stems from UNAOC’s core mandate of tackling racism and discrimination and finding ways to addressing root causes of polarization within and between societies.
Eligibility
The Call is open to participants between 25 to 35 years old, from the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and North America, with a strong interest in intercultural exchanges and intercultural cooperation to challenge and deconstruct hate speech and stereotypes.
Applicants have meet two eligibility criteria to apply:
- They have to be nationals of EUNA* or MENA** countries
- EUNA* countries;*Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo* (References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 – 1999), Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America.
- MENA** countries; **Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, State of Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
- Be between 25 and 35 years old (born between 1 January 1987 and 31 December 1997);
- Be fluent in English;
- Have a solid experience in the fields of peacebuilding/conflict prevention and/or tackling discrimination and racism;
- Have knowledge of the UN and its global agenda;
- Be in possession of a passport valid at least 6 months beyond September 2022 (1 April 2023 and beyond);
- Must not have participated in any of UNAOC programmes before.
Selection Criteria
The jury will also make sure that the final selection is:
- Gender balanced
- Geographically balanced
- Limited to two participants per country
- Professionally balanced with no more than a third of participants working in the same sector or industry.
Application
Please submit your complete application no later than Sunday 5 June 2022 , at 11:59 PM EST
- Only fill in the following application if you meet all the eligibility criteria mentioned above
- The application is to be completed in English only
- The application is to be completed truthfully and, in its entirety
- Make sure to attach all the documents required
- Resume must be in English
- Do not attach anything else but the documents required
Only complete applications meeting the eligibility criteria and submitted before the deadline will be considered.
Click here to apply for EUNA or MENA.
For more information, visit UNAOC Fellowship.
