Deadline: 25 January 2012
Open to: Applicants from Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Africa, Asia, Middle East and Central/South America who demonstrate a strong commitment to human rights, have a university degree, and have a high degree of proficiency in English
Scholarship: Covers tuition and medical insurance. In addition, full fellowship recipients are awarded a monthly stipend of 96,000 HUF
Description
The Open Society Justice Initiative joins with Central European University (CEU) to announce the Justice Initiative Fellows Program for 2012-2014. The aim of the program is to support and further develop a network of lawyers and activists working on human rights related issues internationally. Since its establishment in 1996, the fellowship has produced approximately 180 graduates. The program currently sponsors ten fellows to pursue a two-year program of study and practical work experience. The Justice Initiative Fellows Program has two main objectives:
• To invest in the professional development of promising young human rights lawyers and activists by giving them opportunities for academic and practical training, and
• To assist leading human rights NGOs in countries of Justice Initiative presence to build organizational capacity through training of their staff, including legal professionals and human rights activists.
Scholarship
During the first year of the Justice Initiative Fellows Program the financial conditions for the Fellows are identical to CEU policies for full fellowship students. This means that tuition fee and medical insurance are covered. In addition, full fellowship recipients are awarded a monthly stipend of 96,000 HUF and accommodation in the CEU Residence Center, which is covered directly by the university. The monthly stipend is calculated to cover essential costs. Students need to budget additionally for travel, recreation, and incidentals, which can vary with the individual.
The JI Fellows will return to their nominating NGOs after the first year, where they will spend at least one year working in human rights advocacy on a non-profit basis. The Justice Initiative will pay a local salary during this second year equal to an amount determined to be similar to equivalent work by the nominating NGO. This amount will be provided to the nominating NGOs in the form of a grant.
Eligibility
Applicants from Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Africa, Asia, Middle East and Central/South America are eligible to participate in the program.
CEU-specific requirements– Applicants to all programs must meet the general CEU admissions requirements (can be found here). In addition, applicants to the LLM programs must have completed a law degree or be in the last year of law school and expect to graduate before the beginning of August. Applicants to the Human Rights MA Program must have at least a BA by the time they start their studies at CEU.
In order to apply for this fellowship, you need to meet as well legal studies department requirements (can be found here).
Additional requirements for OSJI Fellows– Applicants must be nominated by a non-governmental organization concerned with human rights. The applicant must demonstrate a strong commitment to human rights, have a university degree and be able to certify a high degree of proficiency in English.
How to apply?
In addition to the documents required by the Legal Studies Department applicants must include in their application:
1. A nomination letter from an NGO describing the reasons for nominating the applicant, the expectations the NGO has of the project, and contractually committing (to the Justice Initiative) to hire the applicant for at least one year after s/he returns from the twelve-month training program in Hungary. The nomination letter should also indicate a monthly salary gross rate in USD (including all taxes and fees) that will be offered to the applicant by the NGO in case s/he is selected for the program (provided to the NGO by the Justice Initiative in the form of a grant).
2. Proof of English proficiency (the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or other substitute tests found here).
3. A statement of purpose for applying to the Justice Initiative Fellows program.
4. A proposal of project activities that the candidate plans to work on with the nominating NGO during the second year of the fellowship.
In order to apply successfully, you need to submit the applications online at this website. The DEADLINE for receiving applications at CEU is January 24, 2012, 24:00 Pacific Standard Time (PST).
Contacts
For more information regarding the first year of the program, please contact:
Andrea Jenei
Special Programs Coordinator
Legal Studies Department
Central European University
Nador u. 9, Budapest 1051
Tel: +361 882-3205
Email: jeneia@ceu.hu
Web: http://legal.ceu.hu/
For more information regarding the overall program and the second year commitment, please contact:
Anna Fischer
Fellows Program Officer
Open Society Justice Initiative
Oktober 6. u. 12, Budapest 1051
Tel: +361 882-3108
Fax: +361 882 3103
Email: afischer@osi.hu
Web: www.justiceinitiative.org/
To download the fellowship application guideline, please click here.
