Call for Applications – Central Asia Fellowship Program Spring 2016

The George Washington University – Elliott School of International Affairs’ Central Asia Program (CAP) welcomes applications for its Central Asia Fellowship Program.

The Central Asia Fellowship Program is intended for young professionals-scholars, government officials, policy experts, human rights and democracy activists-who want to enhance their research and analytical skills and seek to become public policy leaders in their respective countries. More generally, the fellowship program seeks to provide a platform for the exchange of ideas and build lasting intellectual networks between the Central Asian and the US scholarly and policy communities.

Fellows will spend five months in residence at the Central Asia Program. They are offered a series of tailor-made programs and introduced to US policy and expert communities in both Washington DC and New York. Fellows are required to attend seminars, workshops and training sessions, write one policy brief on the predetermined theme (see description of the theme below) and present their research at two public seminars. Throughout their fellowship Fellows are closely mentored and guided by CAP staff.

Two Fellows will be selected for Spring 2016. Fellows will be awarded a monthly stipend of $3,000. Travel to and from Central Asia to Washington DC will also be covered.

The theme for the Spring 2016 session is:

Youth is the future of Central Asia. What difficulties and opportunities face the youth in the region? How does youth engage with the rest of the society, the government and the world? What are youth-based initiatives to find solutions to the challenges they face?

Applicants are free to focus on one country in Central Asia or consider several countries in the region.

In their proposal for the policy paper, applicants need to:

1. Explain why this particular challenge(s) is among the most important for Central Asia.

2. Analyze what has been done to deal with these challenges.

3. Provide policy recommendation.

• Applicant must be between 25 and 40 years of age.
• Applicant must be a citizen of any of the five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan) AND currently reside in one of the five countries.
• Background in government, policy, academia, human rights, or democracy.
• Academic candidates must possess a Master’s degree and have experience in policy-oriented activities. For non-academics an equivalent degree of professional achievement is expected.
• Applicant must be fluent in both written and spoken English

Fellows will be selected by the Central Asia Fellowship Advisory Board. The decision of the jury is final and no appeal is possible. All candidates are informed of the outcome of their applications by e-mail.

To apply, please include all documents in one PDF attachment:

1. A letter of motivation.

2. A concise proposal for a policy paper, written in English, on the proposed theme.

3. A résumé of no more than five pages.

4. The names, titles and contact information (email) of two references.

5. A declaration of honor confirming residence in Central Asia.

Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

Applicants will be notified by email by the end of October.

The Fellowship is funded by the Open Society Foundations – NY