Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) Resilience Fund Fellowship 2020 

The fellowship is part of the GI-TOC’s flagship Resilience Fund, a grant mechanism funded by the Government of Norway providing grants to civil society and communities working to counter the impacts of criminal governance and violence across the world (more information here). The new Resilience Fellowship will provide support and opportunities to a cohort of individuals from around the world. Each year a chosen theme will focus on a global issue, on which Resilience Fellows will collaborate on finding new perspectives and responses, drawn from their diverse – yet shared – experiences.

Fellowship Details

For 2020, the theme of the Resilience Fellowship is: “Disappearances Related to Organized Crime”. Within this framework Fellows will be asked to combine their various perspectives in the development of collaborative outputs, as well as to represent the Fund as “Resilience Fund Ambassadors,” who will raise awareness of the theme, issues, and the importance of civil society in countering organized crime.

The Fellowship is based on a three-pronged approach:

• Sponsorship: Providing financial support so that Resilience Fellows will have the time and resources for their individual work and a collaborative project during the fellowship year. Grants of USD $15 000 per Fellow will be awarded for one year.
• Networking: Offering mentorship opportunities with experts from GI-TOC, as well as bringing Resilience Fellows together via a residency retreat to begin the collaborative project to be undertaken during their fellowship year.
• Dissemination: Creating a platform for Resilience Fellows to publicly share their work and ideas — via such venues as festivals, conferences, civil society forums, and national and international publications — which will widen public discourse, deepen engagement with society, and invite the support and participation from the general public and, ultimately, policymakers.

Who is Eligible for Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) Resilience Fund Fellowship ?

• Applicants can represent the fields of journalism and the media, activism; advocacy and community mobilisation; the creative arts, including artists, writers, filmmakers and others; community leaders, religious, cultural or youth leaders; academics, researchers, policy makers and scholars. Individuals from other disciplines will be considered if their work is relevant to the Resilience Fellowship’s objectives and annual theme.
• The Fellowship welcomes applications from individuals of any gender, ethnicity, age, religion, or any other defining factor, who work in communities affected by organized crime. The overall make-up of the 10 Fellows will be diverse and reflect an equitable geographic and gender balance.

Selection Criteria

• Participants should be from countries disproportionately affected by organized crime, and/or from developing countries.
• Participants should ideally work closely within communities severely affected by disappearances related to organized crime, or have strong ties within them, and should have ongoing or established projects or engagement.
• Participants should be able to demonstrate how the funding and support will be used.
• Participants who have direct experience in their communities’ issues, related to the annual theme, are particularly encouraged to apply.
• Participants must be fluent in at least one of the three languages: Spanish, English and French.
• The prior work of participants should demonstrate a commitment to the ethics and values of the Resilience Fund.

How to Apply for Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) Resilience Fund Fellowship 

Interested parties must submit an application containing, but not limited to, the following:

• A short biography – 2 pages – (name, nationality, date of birth, etc.):
• A letter of motivation – 2 pages – outlining:
  • How organized crime has affected your community – with emphasis on this year’s Fellowship theme of disappearances?
  • What does resilience mean to you and what have you done to encourage it in your community or the community you have been working with?
  • What tools do you need to continue doing that work?
  • Why do you need support from the Fellowship?
  • What would you like to achieve and gain from the Fellowship? (identify clear and specific actions)
    • if you are executing other grants or fellowships please specify and explain the coordination mechanisms you will use to comply with all.
• An outline – 1 page – or portfolio of the work you have done so far, including samples of your work (e.g.: news clippings, videos, documents, etc.)

Send your application to: fellowship@globalinitiative.net

For more information, visit Resilience Fund Fellowship.