Africa: Peace and Security Fellowships for African Women

Peace and Security Fellowships for African Women

The Fellowship

As part of its new knowledge building and mentoring programme, the Conflict, Security and Development Group at King’s College London is pleased to announce the establishment of Peace and Security Fellowships for African Women. The Fellowships are funded by the Sigrid Rausing Trust and will bring together African women at the early stages of their career to undertake a carefully designed training programme in conflict, security and development at the King’s College London. This training will then be followed by an attachment to an African regional organisation or a centre of excellence to acquire practical experience. Ultimately, the project will train young African women to develop a better understanding of African peace and security issues in order to increase their participation in conflict management processes and other areas of security concerns for African women.

The purpose of the Fellowship
The African Women’s Fellowship on Peace and Security is designed to expose young professional African women to the complexities of conflict, security and development and equip them for careers in this field. The fellowship is conceived against a number of background factors. First is the comparatively low level of women involved in peace and security issues especially as compared with those involved in human rights and development issues. Second is the need to assist African women to meet the demands of the Beijing process and more recently the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 that calls for the inclusion of women at all decision making levels in “all national regional and international institutions and mechanisms for the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts”. This fellowship is aimed at challenging the existing tendency that seems to reinforce the male dominant discourse on conflict and security related matters. It will also develop the network of African women scholars working in the field whilst linking them with the peace and security mechanisms of the regional institutions.
Programme Content

The Fellowship will be over the duration of 1 year with 2 six month phases. The first phase will be based at King’s College London where the fellows will attend specifically designed courses on conflict, security and development. They will also study various UK institutions working in the field of conflict management. This phase will end with a simulation seminar during which a mock conflict management situation will be practiced. The second phase will be an attachment of Fellows to an African regional organisation or centre of excellence to undertake practical work in the field of peace and security including peace and conflict management processes.

Eligibility
Applicants should:
• Be female citizens of African countries between the ages of 25 and 40 years old with a valid passport.
• Have a background in women’s rights and gender issues.
• Must be able to demonstrate a commitment to contribute to work on peace and security in Africa
• Have a strong organisational base and should therefore be recommended by an organisation with which they have been involved for at least two years.
• Hold a Master’s degree, or Bachelors degree with an equivalent level of professional experience. Applications from women with non academic backgrounds are encouraged.
• Must be fluent in spoken and written English.

Application
To be considered for the Fellowship please e-mail or post the following to Eka Ikpe at [email][email protected] or Eka Ikpe, Conflict, Security and Development Group, King’s College, London, The Strandbridge House, 138-142 Strand, London WC2 3LS UK by 31 March 2006:
• A letter of application detailing your relevant experience.
• A supporting statement detailing why you would like to be considered for this fellowship and future plans for engagement with peace and security issues no longer than 2,000 words.
• A letter of recommendation
• Recent curriculum vitae
• A sample of your written work.
Please note: Three fellows will be selected for the 2006 programme. You will be contacted only if you have been short listed for the final stage of the application process.