Application

Background

The OutRight United Nations Fellowship is a 12-month program that supports LGBTI human rights defenders from around the world to harness the New York-based United Nations (UN) system to add value to their existing work. The program is designed to support existing work defending LGBTI people from the impact of religiously motivated violence and discrimination in Central, East or West Africa regions. 

United Nations Fellowship 2020 was made possible by the generous support of the Global Faith and Equality Fund of Horizons Foundation

The aim of the UN Fellowship is four-fold:

1. Facilitate the use of New York-based UN spaces for LGBTI activists from Central, East or West Africa to enhance their networks and identify new entry points for progressing the protection and promotion of LGBTI human rights in their country.

2. Increase visibility and engagement of LGBTI human rights defenders from the Global-South within high-level UN political forums, specifically in response to religiously-motivated homophobia and transphobia.

3. Build the capacity of New York-based UN and State representatives in the human rights of LGBTI people to assist in the protection and promotion of these rights at the international level.

4. Strengthen relationships with Central, East or West Africa diplomats in the New York-based UN system.

How it works:

The OutRight UN Fellowship runs from January – December 2020.  The Fellowship will operate around in-person participation at five key New York-based advocacy opportunities: The Commission on the Status of Women, the High-Level Political Forum on the Sustainable Development Goals, UN General Assembly High Level week, OutRight’s annual Week of UN Advocacy and OutRight’s OutSummit Conference. The Fellowship will include advocacy training.

Expectations:

OutRight UN Fellows are expected to attend four of the five meetings highlighted above. They will also be required to participate in activities around communications including social media highlights during sessions and reflection blogs. Fellows will also be required to produce a final report of their experience of the fellowship as well as participate in a follow up survey 6 months after the fellowship concludes to measure the impact of the fellowship on their national advocacy. Moreover, the Fellows will present a grant project plan to continue implementation of those skills back home, at the end of their fellowship. 

Logistics:

Fellows will be funded to travel to four of these five meetings, each of which generally lasts 1-2 weeks.  Funding includes roundtrip airfare, accommodations, visa fees, ground transportation, and per diem. The Fellow will also be provided with a micro-grant to continue implementation of the use of their newly acquired skill-set into the work they have done back home.

Experience:
OutRight’s UN Religion Fellows should:

-Reside and work in Central, East and West Africa
-Can demonstrate an interest and track record in engagement and advocacy efforts in progressing LBTIQ rights
-Be available at the dates and committed to participate in the high levels meetings in New York
-Be fluent in written and spoken English

Experience working with the UN system, including UN agencies and human rights mechanisms, is not a pre-requisite for this Fellowship.

Women, trans, gender non-confirming and intersex human rights defenders are especially encouraged to apply.

Next Steps:

If you are an LGBTI activist from Central, East or West Africa and feel you or your organization will benefit from taking part in OutRight’s UN Fellowship, please fill out the questionna
Personal Information

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* 1. Contact Information

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* 2. What are your preferred pronouns? (Feel free to check all that apply)

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* 3. How do you self-identify? (Feel free to check as many or as few as you would like)

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* 4. Please insert a 200-250 word professional bio about yourself below.

Travel Information

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* 5. Will you need to apply for a US visa? (Your answer will have no bearing on whether or not your application is selected)

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* 6. Please mark your availability for the following New York based advocacy events.

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The Commission on the Status of Women (09 - 20 March 2020)
High-level Political Forum on the Sustainable Development Goals (7 - 16 July 2020)
UN General Assembly High Level Week (15-30 September 2020)
OutRight's annual week of UN Advocacy (early December 2020)
OutRight's OutSummit Conference (mid-December 2020)
Organizational Information

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* 7. What is the name of your organization?

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* 8. What is your organization's mission statement?

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* 9. Does your organization have any partnerships with other LGBTI organizations in the Global South?

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* 10. If 'yes', please specify the nature and duration of these partnerships.

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* 11. What is your current position title?

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* 12. How long have you been in your current position?

Media Information

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* 13. Do you have experience speaking with media outlets?

UN Fellowship Information

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* 14. Do you have experience leading or building LGBTI movements at either a country or regional level?

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* 15. If 'yes', please specify the nature of your work.

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* 16. Have you come up against religiously-based homophobia or transphobia in your country (in either a professional or personal capacity)?

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* 17. If 'yes', please elaborate below.

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* 18. What have you/your organization done to combat the religiously-based homophobia and/or transphobia that you have experienced?

Questions 19 through 25 are related to one's experience level with UN bodies and missions. Please bear in mind when answering these questions that past experience with UN agencies and governments is not a pre-requisite for the UN Fellowship Program. We simply would like to gauge experience levels for training purposes.

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* 19. Do you or your your organization currently work with the UN system?

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* 20. If 'yes', which part of the UN System?

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* 21. Do you have experience speaking with governments in an international context? 

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* 22. If 'no', what has sparked your desire to begin doing this type of work?

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* 23. How do you believe your participation in the UN Fellowship Program will affect your work at home?

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* 24. What do you believe will be your unique contribution as a UN Fellow in New York?

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* 25. Please write a 300-350 word statement expressing specifically why you are interested in being a part of the UN Fellowship, what you would like to get out of it and what issues you would like to highlight during the year.

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