Deadline: 31 October 2017
If you are working to address issues related to the environment, tolerance and conflict resolution, transparency and accountability, and women and gender in select countries, then you are eligible to apply for IREX’s Community Solutions Program (CSP) – a year-long professional development program.
For 2018–2019, up to 100 community activists will be selected to participate in the program, which includes:
- Four-month Fellowship in the United States: Community Solutions fellows are matched to host organizations throughout the US where they complete a four-month, hands-on professional experience.
- Community Leadership Institute: Community Solutions fellows participate in the Community Leadership Institute, a leadership training program designed to strengthen their leadership and management skills. The Institute includes face-to-face trainings, online courses, professional coaching, and networking.
- Community-based initiatives: While in the US and with the help of their US host organization, Community Solutions fellows design and plan a community development initiative or project to carry out after they return home. Once the fellows depart the US, they put these projects into action in their home communities.
The program covers the cost of most expenses associated with:
- J-1 visa support;
- Round-trip travel from participants’ home city to the US;
- Monthly allowance to cover housing, meals, and other living expenses while in the US; and
- Accident and sickness insurance.
Eligible countries by region
- Africa: Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
- East Asia and the Pacific: Burma, Cambodia, Federated States of Micronesia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.
- Europe: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey, and Ukraine.
- Middle East and North Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, and West Bank/Palestinian Territories.
- South and Central Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
- Western Hemisphere: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay.
For more information, visit https://www.irex.org/program/community-solutions-program-application-information