Subject: [CivilSoc] Legal Fellowship Program for Women Attorneys
From: Center for Civil Society International (ccsi@u.washington.edu)
Date: Thu Jan 18 2001 - 14:45:05 EST
NETWORK OF EAST-WEST WOMEN
2001 NEWW LEGAL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
Overview
The Network of East-West Women (NEWW), an international women's
advocacy organization, announces the 2001 Legal Fellowship Program
for recently graduated women attorneys from Central and Eastern
Europe, the Newly Independent States and the Russian Federation
(CEE/NIS/RF) interested in pursuing a career in women's human rights
advocacy in CEE/NIS/RF. The Fellowship Program is one component of
NEWW's current legal advocacy and public policy programs aimed at
articulating and enforcing laws and policies that strengthen women's
legal status in their respective countries. The Legal Fellowship
Program is supported by the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur
Foundation, the Jurzykowski Foundation, and other donors.
The goal of the Legal Fellowship Program is to help bridge the gap
between theory and practice by providing selected women attorneys
from CEE/NIS/RF the opportunity to acquire additional skills needed
to work effectively on women's rights in their own countries. This
is the fourth year of the Program, and NEWW expects to select eight
applicants for participation in the 2001 Program.
The 2001 Program
The Legal Fellowship Program is a sixteen-month program. The first
four months (mid-August - December 2001), are spent in the U.S. where
fellows complete an intensive training experience with a human rights
organization that undertakes legal challenges and conducts policy
analysis on various women's human rights issues. During this period
fellows also participate in a law school course on international
human rights. Every effort is made to match each fellow with an
organization that is conducting work related to the fellows' specific
interest areas. Past U.S. host NGOs include Human Rights
Watch/Women's Rights Division, International Human Rights Law Group,
Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights, the Battered Women's Justice
Project, Equality Now, Parliamentarians for Global Action, and Women
Empowered Against Violence (WEAVE).
The U.S. portion of the Program will be followed immediately by a
one-year follow-on project to be implemented in the fellows' home
country. Each fellow designs and fundraises for her project during
her time in the U.S. with the support of NEWW's staff and her host
organization. The project will be implemented with the on-going
support of NEWW's staff as well as support from the fellows' NGO at
home and her U.S. host organization.
Stipend
The fellowship includes travel to and from the fellowship site in the
United States, short-term medical insurance, and a stipend to cover
room and board expenses during the U.S. portion of the program.
Housing is arranged in an international student house or similar
student accommodations. In some cases fellows live with families in
their host city. NEWW also provides small seed grants for fellows'
one-year follow-on project. Additional funding will be raised for
the follow-on project by each fellow in conjunction with NEWW's
staff.
Application Materials
Applicants must submit the following materials in English:
* CV;
* Evidence of fluency in English (TOEFL or school records with
English translation. Do not send original documents.);
* Two letters of recommendation in English, or accompanied by
English translations, including all current contact information for
the letter's author. All written recommendations will be verified
in-person by local NEWW contacts, or via telephone by NEWW's staff;
* A personal statement that should include:
- The applicant's particular interests within the field of women's
rights. The applicant should discuss in detail her work with women's
organizations in her home country;
- A discussion about the applicant's future plans, expectations for this
experience and/or reasons for applying to the Legal Fellowship Program;
* A signed declaration that if selected for the Program, the
applicant will complete the entire sixteen-month Program. Also, the
applicant must declare that she will return home to work within her
country for one full year at the end of the U.S. portion of the
program. No exceptions will be granted.
* A country briefing paper that should provide an overview of the
current situation of women's human rights in the applicant's country.
The paper should discuss the various women's rights issues currently
facing women in the applicant's country, what efforts/initiatives are
presently underway to address these issues, and what the applicant
believes should be done in the future to address these issues.
Selection Criteria
In order to be considered for participation in this Program, the applicant
must have the following qualifications:
* Attorney from Central and Eastern Europe, the Newly Independent States or
the Russian Federation.
* Graduated from law studies within the last five years.
* Demonstrated commitment to women's human rights advocacy.
* Currently working with an established women's NGO in the applicant's
country that is committed to supporting the fellow's follow-on project.
All applicants meeting the above criteria will be given serious
consideration. The international selection committee consists of
NEWW Executive Director Erin Barclay, an attorney, members of the
Board of Directors, and former NEWW legal fellows. Applications will
be carefully reviewed by the entire committee. Following review by
the committee, between fifteen and twenty applicants will be selected
for in-person in March/April 2001. Final selections will be made by
the end of April 2001.
Timetable
- Application Deadline: March 15, 2001
- In-Person Interviews: to be completed by April 15, 2001
- Notification: May 1, 2001
- Program Starts: August 1, 2001
- Program Ends: December 16, 2001
Completed application packets should be sent by email to
ebarclay@neww.org. If email is not possible, please send the complete
application packet by regular mail to Erin Barclay, Executive
Director, Network of East-West Women, 1761 S Street., N.W., Suite
LL-12, Washington, D.C. 20009. Please advise Erin Barclay by email
when the application has been posted by regular mail.
For more information about the Network of East-West Women, see our
web page at http://www.neww.org <http://www.neww.org>
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