Deadline: 22-Aug-21
Applications are now open for the Counter Speech Fellowship to engage creative teens to use the power of visual storytelling to start meaningful conversations on issues important to young citizens around the world. Anchored at the crossroads of arts and advocacy, the fellowship was first launched in 2017 and has since expanded to several cities in India and Nepal.
As an incubator for the future generation of leaders and activists, the fellowship is built around three pillars – awareness, support and advocacy. Fellows are mentored to build powerful content and the most inspiring work is promoted on Instagram.
The fellowship is designed as a fully funded engagement wherein fellows meet every alternate week for a couple of hours. The overall duration of the fellowship is two months and the schedule is easy to accommodate alongside regular school work and examinations.
Fellows are given a certificate of completion at the end of the fellowship and those who demonstrate leadership and produce the best content are duly recognized.
Themes
- The 2021 fellowship focuses on four themes: Gender Equality, Diversity, Bullying and Mental Wellbeing.
- The idea is to use the internet and social media as a force for good by creating unique communities around issues that matter to teenagers, and provide a platform for voicing concerns and advocating for changes.
- By giving teens a voice and building their capacity to mobilize people, they hope to create a world that is more inclusive and tolerant.
Pillars of the Fellowship
During the two-month long fellowship, fellows will run campaigns to generate momentum for change while focusing on the three core pillars of the fellowship:
- Awareness: Building awareness is the first step in any campaign. It starts with educating oneself, conversing with others and removing taboos. To this end, fellows leverage the Instagram platform to create content around their themes. The most promising content is promoted on Instagram to reach thousands of other teenagers across the country, and the world.
- Support: The fellowship themes are issues that have, in some form or the other, affected most teenagers. Any call for mobilization must therefore begin with empathy and an extension of support to those who have been adversely affected. As part of their work, the Counter Speech Fellows lend support to peers and other teenagers who reach out to them in times of distress.
- Advocacy: The fellowship is a powerful platform for teenagers to reach out to key decision makers such as policymakers, educators and parents to get their opinions heard and advocate for better support systems for teenagers. During the previous editions, fellows put together recommendations for school authorities on how to deal with issues like bullying and mental wellbeing. They also took over Instagram handles of influencers to talk about these issues.
Eligibility Criteria
- The Counter Speech Fellowship is open to all 13 to 18 year-old students currently enrolled in a school in India. Home-schooled students are also eligible. To apply, you must be in grades 8th-12th during the duration of the fellowship. If you have already completed school/ are in college, you are not eligible to apply.
- Please note: If you had applied earlier this year but were not admitted to Phase I, you are ineligible to re-apply in this phase. Please consider applying to the 2022 edition of the fellowship.
For more information, visit https://theylacproject.com/counter-speech-fellowship/