Applications for Human Rights at the Border Fellowship
My friend, Susan Gzesh, shared this call with the ImmProf listserve:
We are pleased to issue this call for nominations and applications for the 2020 Oak Human Rights Fellowship, sponsored by the Oak Institute for Human Rights at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. The fellowship provides a one-semester activist-in-residence opportunity for a human rights activist operating in difficult or dangerous circumstances to come to Colby College, one of the most prestigious liberal arts colleges in the United States, for respite from front-line duties to reflect on their experiences. In doing so, Oak strives to educate the campus and extended community about the work being done by our Fellow. Thus, we are writing to ask for your help in identifying the Oak Fellow for the fall of 2020, or if you are interested in applying for the residence as a practitioner.
The focus of this year’s search is Human Rights at the Border. We are looking for a human rights activist who is committed to exposing and addressing human rights violations against migrants, immigrants, and refugees, for example, border patrol abuses, human rights violations in detention centers, or abusive immigration laws. The activist’s work may focus on the human rights of asylum seekers, refugees, migrant workers, or groups omitted from the 1951 UN Convention relating to the status of refugees, such as victims of climate change.
The Oak Fellow will receive a stipend of $36,000, plus round-trip transportation from the Fellow’s home, housing, transportation, and meals on campus. In the period from mid-August to mid-December, the responsibilities of the Fellow include regular meetings with students through a one-credit, non-graded discussion class. Additionally, the Fellow works with Colby faculty to shape a lecture series or symposium on their human rights interest. The Fellow participates in the intellectual life of the campus, providing Colby students the opportunity to work with an internationally recognized human rights practitioner.
In conducting our annual search, we rely heavily on nominations from NGOs, journalists, human rights lawyers, and academics – you are most likely to know of the work of on-the-ground professionals. Since your organization has been active in the field of human rights, we would like to solicit your help. Please submit nominations to us as soon as possible. We will contact your nominee(s) and suggest that he, she or they apply; but we also hope you will encourage your nominee to apply directly. Your nomination will become part of the applicant’s file, underscoring your recognition of this person’s important contributions to human rights activism. The deadline for nominations is November 30th, 2019, and for completed applications is December 30th, 2019
Please feel free to share this announcement to individuals or groups that might be interested or might help us locate excellent candidates. If you have any questions, you can reach us at (207) 859-5304 or at oakhr@colby.edu. (please note that we will not accept nominations by phone). For more information, you can access our websitefrequently asked questions section to clarify terms and eligibility. We underscore that the fellowship is for an individual who needs a break from the intensity of front line work. It is not a training program for someone at the earlier stages of human rights work; nor is it a traditional academic sabbatical. Final selection will be announced no later than April 30, 2020.
KJ
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