iRights, in cooperation with the
Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and LIRNEasia, with the
financial support of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and
Development, are pleased to announce the call for applications for a
fellowship to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Academy.
We are looking for national champions
in the field of freedom of expression and / or Internet governance. The
fellowship will enable fellows to receive mentoring from
internationally renowned experts in the Internet governance process, to
participate in a regional workshop with champions from other countries,
and to participate in the global Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in
Guadalajara, Mexico, from December 4th to 10th.
The project seeks to foster and enhance
freedom of expression on the Internet and inclusive and transparent
national Internet governance and policy processes through the creation
and/or consolidation of multistakeholder, national Internet Governance
structures in Africa and Asia. To achieve this, the IGF Academy will
bring together eight national champions from four African countries
(Namibia, South Africa, Congo Brazzaville, Togo) and eight national
champions from four Asian countries (Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and
Bangladesh).
The IGF Academy Fellowships
The fellowship will provide experienced individuals with the opportunity to:
> receive mentoring from internationally renowned Internet governance practitioners
> deepen their understanding of Internet governance issues and processes
> expand their networks nationally, regionally and globally
> develop a strategic roadmap to
strengthen existing or initiate inclusive national Internet Governance
> processes in their countries
> peer learning with experts from their country, their region and cross-regionally
> participate in a regional training event
> participate in a training event at the global IGF
> participate in the global UN IGF 2016 in Guadalajara
> be part of a (cross)regional and
UN global dialogue on freedom of expression and information preparing
for the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF)
Selection for the Fellowship is
competitive. The selected candidates must provide a clear motivation for
participating in the academy, including demonstrating a strong sense of
what they intend to accomplish, how Internet Governance may help to
foster freedom of expression in the long term in their home country and
how they intend to apply the regional and global experiences from the
trainings and the global UN IGF in their own national project.
Two fellows per country will be
selected, one of them experienced in the human rights field, the other
with experience in Internet governance processes.
