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27. INDIA â€" Helping to empower indigenous and tribal women who are vulnerable to gender-based discrimination in Gujarat, India

Based in: Vadodara, Gujarat.

Host: The Vikalp Women's Group. This new partner comes to AP through the Human Rights Advocates Program of Columbia University, which has worked with AP to promote the Srebrenica memorial quilt. Vikalp works with marginalized women and the sexually marginalized including adolescent girls in and around Vadodara, Gujarat. Vikalp has taken several international volunteers and found the experience deeply rewarding. This is an excellent opportunity for someone with strong research skills and an academic interest in gender rights.

Responsibilities:
•    Tell the story of Vikalp’s stakeholders - tribal and rural women â€" through video, photos and profiles
•    Help Vikalp to develop a strong and credible survey on sexuality among tribal and rural women and provide an academic context for the complex rights issues that arise.
•    Revamp the Vikalp website
The director of Vikalp writes: “We would like to involve someone who comes from a country where these freedoms exist; someone who can share their opinions and help provide an academic viewpoint. We would love to host someone who is passionate about these issues and is sensitive to fluid gender identities.

Qualifications:
•    Experience in developing a research methodology
•    Strong academic background and credentials
•    Commitment to, and interest in, gender-based issues, particularly trans-gender rights
•    Website skills
•    Familiarity with using and creating new media (video, blogs, photos, podcast etc)
•    Video and photography experience

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The Advocacy Project (AP) is looking for young professionals who relish a challenge, can adapt to a tough working environment, and are passionate about supporting community-based human rights advocates. AP has sent 146 Fellows to volunteer with community-based partners since the program began in 2003. Many have told us that the experience changed their lives.

AP is currently recruiting 24 peace fellows in the summer of 2010. The best way to learn about a specific fellowship is to consult the blogs (http://advocacynet.org/wordpress-mu/) of past fellows and partner pages (http://advocacynet.org/partners/).

All positions are fulltime (~40 hours/weeks), unpaid and will last for the duration of the summer (roughly 10-12 weeks, June-August), unless otherwise stated. All North American Fellows will be required to attend a training in Washington (late May). Once deployed in the field, Fellows will report to the director of their host organization as well as to the AP Fellowship Coordinator in Washington.

For more information call our office: 202.758.3328 or email your inquries to [email protected].

Read the FAQs (http://advocacynet.org/page/FAQs) for additional information.

Deadline for applications

Monday, March 15, 2010 (11:59 pm EST)


Goals and work plans

AP helps community-based organizations to produce and disseminate information, and to build a constituency of support at home and internationally. The 2010 Peace Fellows will help to jump-start this process.

    * Most work plans will be determined by the host organization, and finalized with the Fellow on arrival. Most 2010 Fellows will go to organizations that have worked with AP before and are familiar with our model. All Fellows will produce at least one specific and measurable output that can be used by the partner in their advocacy.

    * About ten Fellows will work on longer-term campaigns that are being jointly implemented by their host and AP. These campaigns will all have their own set of pages on the AP site by end-May.

    * AP outputs: In addition to their primary assignment, All Fellows should be prepared to: a) produce a regular illustrated blog; b) work on the host’s website (and track visits); c) manage the host’s partner page on the AP website, with the aim of attracting new visitors to the partner’s work; d) organize the host’s Flickr and YouTube libraries; e) introduce the partner to social networking (including the production of a Facebook page or equivalent); f) train the partner’s members in blogging and Twitter; g) produce one article for the local or online media, or a short research paper, for use by the partner.


Administration

    * Training: AP staff will organize a training in Washington (mandatory for all North American Fellows) that will introduce Fellows to the work of their hosts, provide relevant skills training and cover practical issues (eg security). The training manual will be posted online by end-March.

    * All Fellows will sign a written contract prior to departure. Any Fellow who breaks the agreement during their fellowship will be asked to leave the program immediately, after consultation with the AP Board. Their school will be notified.

    * Communication: All Fellows must be contactable at all times while in the field.

    * Financial: All direct costs will be covered by the Fellow. AP will help (eg with advice on online fundraising, and supporting grant applications). Many universities provide support to their students for internships abroad.

    * Servicing and back-up: AP staff will provide round-the-clock support while Fellows are in the field.

    * Follow-up: Many past Fellows have organized outreach events for their hosts on their return, and stay in touch long after their fellowships have ended. While this is not required, it is strongly encouraged and we will do what we can to support such outreach.

    * Monitoring and evaluation: All Fellows will be asked to evaluate the AP training, report midway through their fellowship, and complete a questionnaire within two weeks of their return. These help us to update and improve the program. They also help Fellows to meet their own personal goals.


Restrictions

This program is targeted at graduate students who have professional experience and are mid-way through a Masters program. Given the challenging nature of the fellowships, we do not generally recruit undergraduates. But exceptions may be made, and we encourage undergraduates to apply if they have an appropriate skill or interest.

The Advocacy Project is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, or other personal factors. However, given the highly sensitive nature of some of our positions, we must occasionally limit recruitment to women only. This may be due to cultural and security constraints or to psychological considerations for beneficiaries. We hope you understand.