King's College, London

Peace and Security Fellowships for African Women

The Fellowship
As part of its Knowledge Building and Mentoring Programme, the Conflict, Security and Development Group at King’s College London, is pleased to announce a call for applications for the Peace and Security Fellowships for African Women for 2007/2008. This Fellowship is a financial and intellectual reward for personal and academic achievements as well as the recognition of future potential. It does not lead to a formal qualification, but will open doors to opportunities that would otherwise seem beyond reach for many. The Fellowship is therefore highly competitive.

Funded by the Sigrid Rausing Trust, the Fellowships bring together African women at the early to mid stages of their career to undertake a carefully designed training programme in Conflict, Security and Development at the King’s College London. This training is followed by an attachment to an African regional organisation or a Centre of Excellence to acquire practical experience in the field of peace and security. It is intended that this project will train 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 and mid career African women to the complexities of conflict, security and development and to equip them for careers in this field.

The Fellowship is conceived against a number of background factors. First is the comparatively low number of African women exposed to rigorous academic writing and policy analysis in the field of peace and security 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 relevant regional institutions.

Programme Content

This is a one-year Fellowship, divided into two 6-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 several UK institutions working in the field of peace and security. This phase will end with a simulation seminar during which a mock conflict management situation will be practiced. In the second phase, Fellows will be attached 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.

Terms of the Fellowship

Successful Fellows will have the status of full time students on the post-graduate non-degree programme at King’s College London and they will be subject to the immigration rules of the UK, which can be found on the King’s College London web page for obtaining student visas: http://www.kcl.ac.uk/international/preparing/visas/
Additional information on studying as an international student at King’s College London is available on the College’s webpage for International Students:
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/about/structure/admin/acareg/studentservices/intstudents

The position is funded* and will include a stipend of £4,900 for the first 6 months based in London. In addition, a sum of £750 will be made available to Fellows upon their arrival in the UK, to assist with winter clothing and books expenses. Fellows will be able to apply for University of London accommodation although they can make their own accommodation arrangements. Fellows are strongly advised to make all necessary accommodation arrangements prior to taking up their positions at King’s College London.

For the second phase of the Fellowship to be based in Africa, Fellows will have a stipend of $1,000 per month, exclusive of medical insurance expenses; in addition to a $250 one-off allowance to enable them settle in to their respective countries. Fellows are expected to find their own accommodation during this phase also.

It is important to note that this financial support is for individual researchers. It does not cover dependants and it is not intended to support family members. Successful candidates will need to make alternative arrangements to cover the costs of dependants before arrival in the UK. Under the UK Immigration laws, prospective Fellows must satisfy the Home Office that they have sufficient funds to support themselves and their dependents before arrival in the UK (taking into account the stipend to be provided by the Fellowship Programme).

The Fellowship is a full time appointment and Fellows are expected to make a full time commitment. Given the intensive nature of the programme, including its short 6-month phases in different locations, as well as necessary extensive travel, successful applicants that are expectant or nursing mothers will be advised to defer their admission to the Fellowship Programme.

The offer of the Fellowship is subject to successful candidates obtaining a student visa to cover the 6-month duration of the first phase of the Fellowship in the UK. Failure to obtain a visa to enter the UK automatically invalidates the offer of Fellowship with no consequences to King’s College London. Successful applicants will be required to undergo medical examinations at recommended venues prior to taking up their positions. It is a condition of the Fellowship that Fellows shall return to their base or home countries at the end of the Fellowship. Please, note that any deviation from the Fellowship, except as may be lawfully authorized by King’s College London, shall affect a Fellow’s immigration status. Please consult the British Embassy/High Commission in your home country for more information. The Conflict Security and Development Group reserve the right to terminate the appointment in the event of any breach of the conditions of the Fellowship.

Eligibility
Applicants should:
• Be female citizens of an African country, with valid travel documents.
• Have knowledge of, or experience of women’s rights, gender and development issues.
• Must be able to demonstrate a commitment to contribute to work on peace and security in Africa
• Must have a relevant organisational base and be sponsored by an organisation with which they have been involved for at least two years. Exceptional candidates without such organisational ties will be given special consideration.
• Have a demonstrable plan for how to utilise knowledge gained in the Fellowship upon return to their countries and organisations.
• Hold a Master’s degree or Bachelors 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 documents 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 17:00 hrs, 29 May 2007:
• A letter of application detailing your relevant experience.
• A supporting statement detailing why you think that this Fellowship is important and future plans for engagement with peace and security issues no longer than 2,000 words.
• 2 letters of recommendation(To be received directly from the Referees by the deadline of 17:00 hrs, 29 May 2007)
• Recent curriculum vitae
• Two samples of your written work.
Please ensure all documents are sent in as MS Word attachments in a single email message or as a single post package.

* This project is funded with the generous support of the Sigrid Rausing Trust. Formal confirmation of continued funding of the project is expected later this year.