Young Water Fellowship Programme 2018

Deadline: 16 May 2018
Open to: applicant from 18 to 30 years old
Fellowship: covered flights, transportation in Europe, accommodation, meals, training fees

Description

The Young Water Fellowship Programme (YWF) empowers young entrepreneurs to lead the solutions to water issues in their communities, by offering them a year of support consisting of training, mentorship and seed-funding for their initiatives.

The YWF 2018 edition will focus on social entrepreneurship. In partnership with Cewas, Young Water Solutions will offer 10 young entrepreneurs (‘’Fellows’’) the possibility to participate in Cewas’ Start-up Training Programme. Fellows will also be assigned mentors, get the chance to exponentially increase their supporting networks in the water and entrepreneurship sectors, and apply for seed-funding for the first steps of implementation of their social enterprises.

Eligibility

You are welcome to apply if:

  • You are 18 to 30 years old at the time of the application (born between May 17th 1987 and May 16th 2000). No exceptions are made;
  • You are the founder or co-founder of an initiative that contributes to the solution of a well-defined water problem in your country. The initiative should be a social enterprise (or a project that can be turned into a social enterprise. In this case, they will help you develop it during the workshop) in its initial stages;
  • You are a citizen and resident of a low or middle-income country;
  • You have a valid passport (that expires after March 2019) and you are available to attend a workshop in Europe from August 13th to September 14th 2018 (note that these dates might be subject to change);
  • You have at least an intermediate knowledge of English; you are able to understand and express opinions in this language (the workshop will be held in English). However, the form can be filled in English, French or Spanish.

Fellowship

All training costs (flights, transportation in Europe, accommodation, meals, training fees) will be covered by the organizers. However, you are expected to cover only your visa expenses and local transportation from and to the airport in your country of residence.

How to Apply?

Application process

  • Video submission: You should create a 2-minute video (maximum) describing the water issue and the proposed initiative in English. The video should be uploaded to YouTube, Vimeo, Dropbox, Google Drive or any other platform, and its link is to be shared in the application form or sent by email to applications@youngwatersolutions.org. Applications without a video will not be considered;
  • Application form: You must fill in an application form answering questions about the initiative and about your own background. You will be asked to upload a short CV and a reference letter. You can download a copy of the questions HERE.  In the exceptional case that you can’t fill in the form online, you can submit your proposal, video or supporting documents (cv, reference letter) by email to applications@youngwatersolutions.org. However, they strongly prefer that you fill in the online form.

Selection process

The selection of fellows will be based on the following criteria:

  • Relevance and impact of the solution proposed to a demonstrated water-related problem;
  • The innovative nature of the idea and its potential to become a social enterprise;
  • The inclusive and participatory nature of the initiative: for instance, women and youth engagement, consideration of vulnerable groups’ needs, etc.
  • Initiative’s inclusion of water nexus: relations with other local issues such as energy, food security, youth unemployment, gender, etc;
  • Feasibility and sustainability of the initiative (existence of self-sustaining mechanisms);
  • Leadership and personal growth potential of the candidate gender balance and equal geographical representation among the fellows will also be taken into account.

Only complete applications, with detailed answers, will be considered. One-line answers to questions are considered incomplete, and therefore not eligible.

All applicants will be notified of the results by the end of May.

For more information please visit the official call and official website.