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2009 FELLOWSHIP
ANNOUNCEMENT
Public Interest Law Fellows Program seeks
Candidates
from West Africa.
The Public Interest Law Institute
(PILI) is pleased to invite applications for its
Public Interest Law Fellows Program for
2009-2010. The program will select qualified
lawyers from West Africa for ten months of study
and practical experience in New York and
Budapest. We will be accepting applicants from
the following countries: Benin, Burkina Faso,
Cote d’Ivoire, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Chad, The
Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia,
Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal,
Sierra Leone and Togo.
The program endeavors
to target future leaders in various fields of
public interest advocacy. Criteria for
selection will include:
-
Applicants must have a minimum of two years
of relevant work experience with the
nominating organization;
-
Potential to contribute to the development
of public interest law advocacy in his or
her country;
-
Track record of the nominating organization
in promoting public interest advocacy; and
-
The quality of the Fellowship Project
proposal and its potential for promoting
public interest law and human rights.
PILI Fellows will
join other public interest lawyers from around
the world. They will reside a total of eight
months in the U.S., consisting of one semester
of study at Columbia University and additional
public interest advocacy training. The Fellows
also participate in a three-month internship in
a New York area public interest law
organization. Following their experience in New
York, Fellows participate in a two-month study
visit, based in Europe out of PILI’s Budapest
office. Fellows return to their home countries
after the Fellowship, with the aim to implement
the project developed during the Fellowship.
PILI will cover
the cost of a round-trip coach airfare to the
U.S. and Budapest, housing in New York and
Budapest, a monthly stipend, a textbook
allowance and accident insurance. Selected
candidates for the fellowship are required to
sign an agreement to the terms of the
fellowship, stating that they will complete it
full.
Application
Requirements:
Applicants must
submit the following documents:
-
A completed program application form.
-
A curriculum vitae or resume.
-
A nominating
letter from the organization/institution
where they are employed, supporting their
application to the program and indicating
how the Fellowship would be a benefit to the
organization/institution.
-
At least one recommendation from an
individual outside the nominating
organization/institution.
-
A description of a project that the
applicant would like to work on during the
first semester of the program, ideally with
practical significance to their work upon
return home.
-
A copy of the applicant’s law school
transcript.
-
A copy of the applicant’s bar association
membership, if available.
-
Information on the nominating
organization/institution and additional
recommendations are also encouraged,
although not required.
Submission via
e-mail of application materials is strongly
encouraged, though materials may also be
submitted via regular mail. INCOMPLETE
APPLICATIONS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. If an
application is submitted without one of the
required components, it will be disqualified,
unless the applicant can justify why he/she
cannot obtain the required information.
The
DEADLINE
for receiving applications at PILI is
April 20th,
2009.
For more information and application forms,
please contact Peter Rowland, Program Manager,
by e-mail:
pilifellowship@pili.org.
Printed applications can be sent via mail to the
address on the application.
Please note, PILI cannot
provide any financial or logistical assistance
for accompanying family members, including
securing suitable family housing. Moreover,
Columbia University requires evidence of
financial support for accompanying family
members prior to issuing official invitations to
them. In the 2007/2008 academic year, this
amount was equal to $700 a month for an
accompanying spouse and $350 a month for
each dependent child. Providing proof of the
requisite financial support for accompanying
family members will be the responsibility of the
applicant.
Click
here
to download the Application form |
