Deadline: 28-Feb-23
Do you want to be a leader who can catalyze positive change in your community and beyond?
In partnership with USAID and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the FSC-IF invites applications from Indigenous Peoples to enable them to strengthen their skills, knowledge, capacities, and networks through fellowship opportunities with the aim to facilitate the implementation of a project at the sub-national, national, regional, or global level and to share their experience and learning process with their Indigenous peers.
The critical topic areas of this fellowship opportunity are Environment/Climate Change, Land Rights, and Indigenous Economies.
The fellowship aims to bring opportunities to link traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples with practices in areas related to management, finance, business development and economies, sustainable resource management, leadership, and other important topics to support long-term Indigenous self-development, self-governance, and self-reliance.
It is their belief that the outcome of this support goes beyond training of participants and translates into real involvement and sharing of experiences for Indigenous communities all around the world.
This is why the FSC Indigenous Foundation is launching an Indigenous Fellowship Program (IFP) for Indigenous Peoples passionate about creating meaningful changes for their communities around the world, to catalyze change at the local, regional and global levels.
Indigenous Fellowship Program Details
- Applicants may apply to one of the four subprograms outlined. If you would like to apply to more than one subprogram, you must submit a separate application for each.
- Young Indigenous Practitioners: The FSC-IF with headquarters in Panama is opening opportunities to work for a period of 2.5 months side by side with the Indigenous Peoples Alliance for Rights and Development (IPARD) Program Leads. A specific emphasis in one area of the Program does not exclude the participation and learning opportunities of the fellows in other areas of the FSC-IF, taking advantage of the FSC-IF multi-sectoral crosscutting strategies. To participate in this program, candidates need to have a university-level degree. English skills are desirable. This program is designed for professionals under 35.
- Indigenous Leadership and Networking: In coordination with the FSC family, opportunities to engage and partner with businesses and organizations linked to the FSC certification process will be identified. Participants for this opportunity could be individuals of any age who will spend 2-3 months interacting with forest-related businesses and learning about the FPIC process, economic viability tools, Indigenous Cultural Landscapes, and family and community forest approaches.
- Indigenous Capacity: This opportunity is open to fulfil the capacity needs presented by the candidates linked to Environment/Climate Change, Land Rights, and/or Indigenous Economies for short training opportunities (up to 4 months) in their own country or in another country.
- Business Development Fellowship: This opportunity is open to Indigenous youth entrepreneurs to promote the economic, social, and cultural development in support of the long-term self-development and self-reliance objectives of their communities they live in, based on their traditions, culture, cosmovision, Indigenous-cultural landscape management. To learn more about this sub-program of the IFP.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must meet all the following eligibility criteria to be considered for fellowship. Approval of training is up to the discretion of the FSC-IF.
- Self-identify as Indigenous
- Be a resident of a developing country in Latin America, Asia, and Africa
- Have experience leading/supporting Indigenous Peoples’ organizations
- Have experience developing and implementing projects or initiatives with Indigenous Peoples’ communities
- Have demonstrated engagement with Indigenous Peoples rights and in areas related to Indigenous self-development, self-governance, and self-reliance
- Have interest in projects aligned with IPARD’s three objectives
- Have a good working knowledge of the language spoken in the organization in which the program will take place (English, Spanish, French or Portuguese).
Other Considerations
- Language requirements: candidates to apply to the young practitioners sub-program could speak English or Spanish. For the candidates applying for the Leadership and Networking sub-program, the FSC-IF will place the fellows in strategic countries according to the language they speak (Spanish, English, French or Portuguese) as well as other variables. For the Indigenous capacity fellowship sub-program, it is up to the candidate to look for an opportunity that suits their language abilities. For the youth business development sub-program candidates could speak: English, Spanish, French or Portuguese.
- Be committed after ending the fellowship to:
- two-year commitment to work in-country
- participate and be active in a Global Network of Indigenous Alumni with periodic participation in events promoted by IPARD, FSC-IF, and USAID
- serve as a leader in local/national or regional Indigenous initiatives and to train other Indigenous persons after the return to their respective countries/organizations
- provide active support to at least one of the three objectives of the IPARD Program in her/his country.
For more information, visit Indigenous Fellowship Program.