The International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX) is pleased to announce an open competition for the FSA Contemporary Issues Fellowship Program. The deadline for this application is November 23–2001.
The FSA Contemporary Issues Fellowship Program–a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs–US Department of State–under the Freedom Support Act–and administered by IREX–provides opportunities for experienced professionals and specialists in the New Independent States (NIS) to conduct policy-oriented research in the United States for four months.
This is a fully funded fellowship–covering travel–housing–stipend–medical insurance–and a professional development allowance. Fellowships are available to citizens of all 12 NIS countries–including: Armenia–Azerbaijan–Belarus–Georgia–Kazakhstan–Kyrgyz Republic–Moldova–Russian Federation–Tajikistan–Turkmen’stan–Ukraine–and Uzbekistan.
All applications must contain developed and focused research projects that are policy-driven and have practical application in the NIS. Research projects must address one of the five following categories:
Sustainable Growth and Development of NIS Economies in Transition
Democratization–Human Rights–and the Rule of Law
Political–Military–Security and Public Policy Issues
Strengthening Civil Society
Communications Revolution–and Access to Information
Professionals eligible for the program include (but are not limited to) the following: government officials on the national–regional–and local level; leaders of nonprofit–no-governmental organizations; library and information science specialists; public health administrators; economists; journalists; managers; environmentalists; consultants; political analysts; foreign policy experts; lawyers; Internet specialists; law enforcement specialists and other practitioners. Persons who are primarily working in an academic role should consider applying for the Regional Scholar Exchange Program–instead of the FSA Contemporary Issues Fellowship Program. Applications are available at: http://www.irex.org/rsep or contact an IREX representative.
At the time of the deadline–applicants must be at least age 24 but no older than age 55–have an academic degree of diploma or above–have at least three years of professional experience in the topic of their research–and possess a level of English language proficiency adequate to conduct independent research in the United States. Other eligibility requiremen’s apply. Refer to the program application for more details.
Applications for the FSA Contemporary Issues Fellowship Program can be obtained and submitted by contacting IREX field offices and representatives in the NIS. Applications are also available at Educational Information Centers (EIC) and at IREX administered Internet Access and Training Program (IATP) Public Access Sites throughout the NIS and can be downloaded from www.irex.org or www.irex.ru.