Fellowship for a human rights activist - semester at Colby College in Maine (US)

Dear Colleague,

Can you think of a human rights activist (or an organization where one might be working) in need of a short respite from on the ground human rights work? I am pleased to announce a call for nominations for the 2011 Oak Human Rights Fellowship, sponsored by the Oak Institute for the Study of International Human Rights at Colby College in Waterville, Maine (USA). The fellowship is a one-semester appointment for a scholar-in-residence. It is designed to provide human rights practitioners doing "on-the-ground" work at some level of personal risk a respite from front-line duties to enable them to reflect, write, and communicate their work to our campus community. We are writing to ask your help in identifying the Oak fellow for the fall of 2011.

Each year, we target our search for a human rights activist either regionally or functionally. This year, the focus of our search is for a frontline human rights activist who works outside the USA on problems created by or associated with poverty.

In this call, we highlight our concern about the physical and emotional violence, the potential loss of security and dignity, often associated with deprivation. Our next Oak Fellow will work to promote human rights threatened by poverty. Such rights include but are not limited to: the right to work in safe conditions and earn an adequate and stable income; access to basic food and shelter; freedom from forced evictions; access to adequate health care and medical attention; access to basic services and infrastructure; the right to a healthy and safe living environment, including access to clean drinking water; access to education; freedom from discrimination based on class or income.

The appointment is for the fall semester of 2011 (September through mid December). Responsibilities include participation in a lecture series or symposium in the Fellow's area of expertise and regular interaction with Colby students through a one credit non-graded discussion class. The College provides a stipend of $32,000, plus transportation, housing, health care coverage, and other fringe benefits. We encourage the fellow to bring family through limited financial support for their travel as well.

To identify candidates for our annual search, we rely heavily on nominations from NGOs, other journalists, human rights lawyers, and academics -- you are most likely to know of the work of on-the-ground professionals. Since your network has been active in the field of human rights or migration, we would like to solicit your nominations for the fellowship. Please submit nominations to us no later than November 1, 2010. We will contact nominee(s) and encourage him or her to apply; you might also suggest that your nominee(s) apply directly. Your nomination letter(s) will become part of the applicant's file, underscoring your recognition of this person's important contributions to human rights. The deadline for completed applications is December 15, 2010. For more information and application materials, please access our web page atwww.colby.edu/oak ; we call your attention to the frequently asked questions sidebar to clarify terms and eligibility.

Sincerely,

Walter Hatch
Associate Professor of Government and Director of the Oak Institute for the Study of Human Rights
Colby College
5300 Mayflower Hill
Waterville, ME 04901