Nominated?

Yes

2024 FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME

The effects of anti-Black racism have created a violent and fragmented world with deeply entrenched patterns of domination. In response, the struggle for racial justice often leaves leaders working for change burnt out, isolated from peers, and due to the tyranny of the urgent, without the time and space to engage their imaginations towards crafting new solutions. That's why our 12-month Fellowship experience invites change-makers from throughout the Black diaspora into a collective journey of deepening their leadership, grappling with the global patterns of domination, and unlocking their creativity for social change.

WHO SHOULD APPLY

The programme is for individuals that have a track record of solving problems and seizing opportunities to improve the quality of Black life in their local contexts and are eager to develop and deepen a global dimension to their work. They are at a point in their career where they are eyeing their next idea, innovation, or project and want to nourish themselves and nurture their thinking. They are curious people who want to learn, grow and challenge themselves and are humbled by the vastness of planetary Blackness and the range of global perspectives. Whether they call themselves a leader or not, their impact is evident as is their commitment to building a world beyond anti-Blackness. There are no academic qualifications required to apply.

FELLOWSHIP SUPPORTS

AFRE supports Fellows’ participation and leadership development through:

Round-trip travel, accommodation, food, and ground transport costs for all in-person convenings.
Fellows may access up to $10,000 USD to support their leadership development and incidental costs of attending in-person programming.
Family care funding for Fellows supporting children, dependents, and family members.
Up to six and half hours of leadership coaching sessions.
Tablets for Fellows to attend virtual programming.

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

Attendance at all fellowship activities is required to maintain the integrity of the programme experience. Fellows who miss a session may be asked to leave the programme.

KEY DATES (EXCLUDING TRAVEL DATES)

Over the 12-month fellowship, Fellows will attend and participate in two virtual convenings, a two-week residency in South Africa, and an in-person immersion in Oxford, United Kingdom.

Session	Date	Time & Location
Orientation	12 September 2024	Virtual \| 17:00 – 20:00 CAT
Virtual Convening One	3, 10, 17, 24 October 2024	Virtual \| 17:00 – 20:00 CAT
Virtual Convening Two	7, 14, 21 November 2024	Virtual \| 17:00 – 20:00 CAT
Two-Week Residency	3 – 13 February 2025	In-Person \| Johannesburg, South Africa
Community Call	22 May 2025	Virtual \| 17:00 – 20:00 CAT
Capstone Immersive Convening & Graduation	6 – 9 July 2025	In-Person \| Oxford, United Kingdom

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS AND TIMELINE

Applications are due by 7 pm Central African Time (CAT) on the 29th January 2024.

If you have any problems completing or submitting your application, please contact us at AFREapplication@atlanticfellows.org.

ATTEND A Q&A SESSION WITH AFRE

Applicants to the programme can sign up for a 30-minute Q&A Session. Sessions will be held via video conference on the following dates:

• 30 November 2023
• 7 December 2023
   • 18 January 2024

All sessions are at 6 pm Central African Time (CAT). To sign up for a session, please click here. Once registered, a confirmation email will be sent with details on how to join the session.

HEARING BACK FROM AFRE

After the submission deadline, all eligible applications will be reviewed by our selection committee and notified of their application status by March 2024. A select number of candidates will be invited into group and finalist interviews in April and May 2024.

Thank you for your interest in AFRE and your participation in the application process.

Please enter your information in the boxes below. Note that your responses are restricted by a word limit.

PERSONAL INFORMATION

First Name

Last Name

Preferred Name

Country Code

Phone Number

Email Address

Country of Residence

Country of Birth

Do you live in the same country in which you currently work?

YesNo

Enter the country in which you currently work

Twitter Handle (if applicable)

Instagram Handle (if applicable)

LinkedIn Handle (if applicable)

Personal Website (if applicable)

Other Handle (if applicable)

RESIDENTIAL INFORMATION/MAILING ADDRESS

Mailing Street

City

State/Province

Zip/Postal Code

Country

DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION

We encourage you to self-identify, but demographic information is not required.

Race

Other Race

Ethnicity

By ethnicity we mean a group that shares a common and distinctive culture, religion, language, or the like. Please share what group you identify with.

Gender

Pronouns

Date of Birth

(mm/dd/yyyy)

TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF

Please include a brief biography that details your past and current work experience, and personal details that will help us get to know you. This biography is an opportunity to tell us your story and to understand the various aspects of your work and leadership that you would like to share.

Do you have any other fellowship commitments for 2024?

YesNo

If so, please elaborate below including information such as location and duration:

List the fellowship programmes you've participated in or are applying to and the year(s) of participation for each. If you have not participated in a fellowship programme, then answer "no".

ORGANISATIONAL INFORMATION

Applicants are not required to be a part of an organisation to apply. Where applicable, please complete the information below.

Organisation Name:

Organisation Website:

Organisation Twitter Handle(s): (if applicable)

Organisation Instagram Handle(s): (if applicable)

Title/Position

Years in Organisation:

NARRATIVE QUESTIONS

The following section provides an opportunity to introduce yourself to the AFRE team. We want to hear your authentic voice and appreciate all forms of style and delivery. The content should convey your background, what brings you to your work, and your interest in AFRE. Please be concise and consider word limitations in your response.

YOUR LEADERSHIP

1. Why do you want to join the Fellowship experience right now?
Please share your personal and professional motivations for applying, and how the timing of the experience relates to your existing commitments.

2. What values and beliefs underpin how you approach your work?
Please share why they are important to you, and how they inform your leadership.

3. How would you describe the impact you have had through your racial equity work?
Please share what you have accomplished, who or what has been affected and the geographical regions where you have seen results.

YOUR IDEAS

4. What new project or original idea related to racial equity do you want to nurture through the Fellowship experience?
These should not include projects or ideas that have already been implemented or operationalised (but are still in the early stages of conceptualisation).

5. What problem(s) related to anti-Black racism does this aim to solve or address?
Please explain how this problem functions and its effects on the quality of Black life.

6. If you succeed, who or what will be different as a result?
Please share your vision for the idea and what you hope to accomplish in the short and long-term.

BUILDING COMMUNITY

7. Share a time when you were held accountable in a community you belong to. What was your biggest lesson and how did you grow from the experience?
This instance could include a personal or professional setting.

8. If you were to become a fellow, what would you want to offer the fellowship community?
These could include knowledge, experience, time, connections, skills or any other gift you want to make available to other fellows.

9. Why do you want to join this community of Fellows who often hold a broad range of political perspectives, beliefs, and identities that may differ considerably from your own?

REFERENCE 1

Please provide contact information for two people who we can reach out to so we can learn more about your work and track record in advancing racial equity and justice. This reference will only be contacted for individuals who advance to the finalist interviews.

Full Name

Country Code

Phone Number

Organisation Name

Title/Position

Email Address

REFERENCE 2

Please provide contact information for two people who we can reach out to so we can learn more about your work and track record in advancing racial equity and justice. This reference will only be contacted for individuals who advance to the finalist interviews.

Full Name

Country Code

Phone Number

Organisation Name

Title/Position

Email Address

PERSONAL PHOTO

Good quality electronic photo (.300dpi .jpg)

AVAILABILITY CONFIRMATION

Submit your confirmation of availability from your employer or leader in your organisation consenting to your involvement and required attendance at all sessions. This letter should be completed by either your immediate supervisor, board chair, business partner or whoever can determine that you can take time off for the fellowship. Download the confirmation of availability letter template here. Once the letter has been signed, re-upload it below as a PDF file.

EXPECTATIONS & STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT

The Fellowship Experience is intentionally designed to support and challenge you by exposing you to people, places and points of view that you may disagree with, and by providing you with opportunities to build relationships across differences that increase your capacity to work in solidarity with leaders from across the world. The Fellowship is a multi-racial space that convenes people of all races with diverse and diverging experiences, norms of communication and definitions on key concepts like race, equity, and the meaning of justice.

We expect all members in our community to bring an eagerness to learn from peers, staff and guests and to actively engage in processes of deep dialogue, learning and reflection. The Fellowship Experience is a process of learning where mistakes are necessary, and we expect fellows to extend grace to one another throughout this journey of growth.

To create a space that is conducive to intellectual rigor, collaboration, and deep relationship building, we ask you to embrace and abide by the Code of Conduct:

Be Respectful: Demonstrate care and appreciation for others and their contributions.
Be Compassionate: See the humanity of all members of in the community and mindful that we all have wounds.
Be Curious: When confronted with the unknown or the uncomfortable, seek to understand, be inquisitive, inquiring and interested.
Be Courageous: Identify your growth edges, challenge yourself, and take risks.
Be Accountable: Take responsibility for the health, development and progress of yourself and the cohort.

I understand the programme expectations and commit myself to embodying the code of conduct.

I confirm that I can commit to the entirety of the Fellowship experience including virtual programming, check-in calls, two-week residency, and capstone convening.

Sign Here (Type your full name)