AFRICA Is a Country (AIAC), is pleased to announce the launch of its first Fellowship Program with the support of the Shuttleworth Foundation and the Open Society Foundation.
Aimed to support the production of original work and new knowledge on Africa-related topics that are under-recognized and under-covered in traditional media, new media, and other public forums. The Africa Is a Country Fellowship program particularly seeks to amplify voices and perspectives from the left that address the major political, social, and economic issues affecting Africans in ways that are original, accessible, and engaging to a variety of audiences.
According to AIAC, fellows will be writers and/or other cultural/intellectual producers who can contribute meaningfully to transforming and expanding knowledge about Africa and the diaspora. Each fellow will receive a grant of up to US$3,000 to create original work on a topic of their choice for the organisation over a 9-month period.
“While we expect that most fellows will produce essays and/or reporting and analysis, we are also open to work in other formats, such as photo essays, documentary videos, and more. Fiction, poetry, and fine and performing arts are not eligible for support from this program.
Topics may include (but are not limited to): work and worker rights; the climate crisis; women/gender issues; immigration/border politics; reactionary politics (neoliberal authoritarianism, xenophobia, Afro-capitalism); political alternatives to neoliberalism and state-led pan-Africanism, and social movements as well as African and diaspora history and culture. We are also open to considering important topics not mentioned here,” AIAC said.
Fellows will collaborate with our Media Department to translate their work into multimedia forms, regardless of the format in which they work, such as short videos, audio documentaries, or podcast episodes (no prior experience with multimedia is required). They will also represent Africa Is a Country on other media platforms as experts in their chosen subject. The work produced under the AIAC Fellowship will be governed under a Creative Commons license, in line with AIAC’s approach to ensure its content is widely accessible.
Similarly, the budget guidelines for the fellowship funds may cover time, travel, translation or other expenses. Limited additional funds may be available to support equipment or additional services on a case-by-case basis.
The organisation also made available the criteria for the application process in such a way that anyone can apply. Preference will be given to applicants who are at a fairly early stage in their careers as well as to applicants from or resident on the African continent.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Applications received by February 20, 2020 will receive priority consideration.
All applications submitted by the priority deadline will be notified of the status of their application no later than March 1, 2020. Anyone wishing to submit an application after that point should check with us to make sure that spots remain available.
In order to apply you must be able to provide the following:
Personal info
Bio (max 2500 characters)
Topic proposal (max 7500 characters)
Project timeline (max 1500 characters)
Links to two previous work examples
References (optional)
And, answer the following questions:
Why is your topic important and how will it further the AIAC mission? (max 1500 characters)
Where and on what mediums will you seek to republish your work? (max 1500 characters)
What challenges will you face for your proposed work and how do you expect to overcome them? (max 1500 characters)
What kind of support or mentorship would you expect from AIAC? (max 1500 characters)
To apply, CLICK HERE
Abeeb Alawiye formerly works with The ICIR as a Reporter/Social Media officer. Now work as a Senior Journalist with BBC News Yoruba. You can shoot him an email via [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @habsonfloww
But Africa is not a country, it is a continent. I don’t no why the name reads Africa is a Country though, i just want to protest the idea of some Westerners that Africa is so negligible that it can fit into a country. Thank you.