Indigenous Fellowship Programme

Deadline: 
2008 English, Spanish and French speaking programmes: Monday 2 July 2007
2007 Russian speaking programme: Friday 15 June 2007.

The aim of the Indigenous Fellowship Programme (IFP) is to give indigenous peoples the opportunity to gain knowledge on the UN system and mechanisms dealing with human rights in general and indigenous issues in particular so they can assist their organizations and communities in protecting and promoting the rights of their people.

The IFP is composed of 4 different linguistic programmes:

- The candidate must be indigenous (non-indigenous persons will not be taken into consideration, even if they have close links with indigenous communities and/or organizations).
- Age should not be a limitation to participation in the IFP, although preference should be given to candidates in the age-bracket 25-35 years.
- Formal education should not be a limitation to participation in the IFP given the socio-economic barriers confronted by many indigenous peoples that limit access to formal educational institutions.
- Candidates should have the ability and the willingness to train other indigenous persons after the return to their respective communities/organizations.
- The candidate should be proposed and his candidacy supported by his/her indigenous organization and/or community. It is desirable that the sponsoring organization has a firm constituency or membership and that it is representative.
- The Fellows should have a good working knowledge of the language, in which the programme is imparted.
- The selection of fellows should reflect a gender and a regional balance.
- The general human rights situation in the respective regions/countries should be taken into consideration in the selection process.

The selection process takes place as follows: a pre-selection of 15 (first five preferences and 10 alternates) candidates is made by previous indigenous fellows. The final selection of successful candidates is undertaken by an advisory group composed of indigenous persons. 
Application forms need to be accompanied by an official recommendation letter from the nominating organization or community.

Application form

Further Information: http://www.ohchr.org/english/issues/indigenous/fellowship.htm 
Contact: Indigenous and Minorities Unit
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
UNOG-OHCHR
CH-1211 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Tel/fax:(+41 22) 917 90 08