Deadline: November 2, 2026
Applications are open for the Heinrich Böll Foundation Feminist Futures Fellowship 2027. The Heinrich Böll Foundation’s (HBS), Washington DC Office is pleased to announce the fifth iteration of its CSW Fellowship. The fellowship aims to support feminist experts from the Global Majority to be part of the annual session on the Commission on the Status of Women, which will take place in New York City from March 8-19, 2027. Next year’s session will revolve around the priority theme, ‘Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’.
The key objectives of this fellowship opportunity are:
- To provide space, access, and experience in the realm of international institutions and connect underrepresented voices to relevant decision-makers.
- To provide a learning and networking experience for emerging and experienced feminist leaders. As a result, participants will be better able to pursue their policy and advocacy aims and tap into a global network of like-minded change-makers;
- To enable more intergenerational and cross-regional debate on feminist ideas;
- To serve as a mechanism through which emerging feminist leaders can identify issues that require further debate and advocacy, and where exchange between relevant actors can be facilitated.
Costs
- The fellowship will cover participants’ travel and accommodation costs to attend the CSW, provide passes to the CSW meetings, as well as opportunities to attend supplementary meetings and events tailored to the fellowship.
Eligbility
- They reserve a specific amount of seats for applicants who are young feminists (between the ages of 21 and 35) and who have not yet attended a CSW in the past. Also considering more experienced profiles, they hope to create a space that encourages learning and exchange within the group. They also encourage HBS partner organizations with or without CSW experience to apply and indicate their connection to HBS in their application.
- In 2027, they are seeking candidates based in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Application
Applications should consist of:
- Resume: use a standard US format. Standard US resumes do not include pictures or marital/familial status and have a maximum of 2 pages. Please indicate your age, as we reserve some fellowships for candidates aged 21-35.
- Challenge / motivational statement: write a short (max 300 words) reflection on the biggest challenge you see for the movement towards gender equality or women’s rights right now. How do you propose to deal with it and what are concrete steps that you are currently taking? How will your participation at the CSW help you navigate those challenges?
- Post-Fellowship Communications: Fellows may be invited to write a short article, commentary, or blog post reflecting their fellowship experience and key learnings. Include your answer to the following questions in your motivational statement:
- Would you be willing to write a short article, commentary, or blog post following the fellowship
- If yes, do you already have any ideas for a topic or angle you would like to explore? (Maximum 200 words)
For more information, visit Feminist Futures Fellowship.
