Background:
There have been recent outcries regarding civic participation of young adults and women. This led to the formation of all kinds of coalitions and networks. There is widespread call for more youth involvement in party politics leading to the passage of the Not-too-young-to run Act in May 2018.On the other hand, women’s rights activists observed how the effort to operationalise the Affirmative Action has nose-dived and are also mobilising furiously. Thus, the challenge remains that most of the young peer influencers who run blogs, have huge twitter followership and women have not been prepared with the right education and skills to engage in the political arena and influence or cause change to happen especially in those areas that constitute the litmus test. The questions that arise are: how are the weakest – women, girls, sexual minorities, persons with disabilities – of our society treated? How is the environment treated or valued? Are there laws and policies that protect them? Is there political will to address issues of concern regarding these? Are resources being allocated and used adequately to address their issues? What is the representation of minorities in decision making spaces? There is need for capacity building for women, youths, persons with disabilities, LGBTQIs and other minorities if they are to engage meaningfully and give credit to the call resonating from every quarter, for their involvement. They need to have knowledge on the issues and skills to influence policies, leadership and governance both from outside and within. Women and youths, and other sexual minorities must be prepared to engage within civic spaces with positive and measurable gains.
To this end, INCRESE[1] is mobilising participants between the ages of 18 and 35 years old for the workshop on SRHR and Civic Participation for Social Change, within the framework of her programme – Connecting the Dots.
Connecting the Dots is a Feminist institute focused on the intersectionality of rights and social change through advocacy, capacity strengthening and civic participation. Our goal is to build alliances and develop capacities across movements and socio-economic sectors; for enhanced, broad-based and integral sexual rights advocacy and effective civic engagement, towards sustainable social change. The programme hopes to achieve increased civic participation and engagement, to foster sustainable development.
The thematic areas of the programme include:
- Political Economy of Globalisation
- Sustainable Livelihood and Environmental Justice
- Political Restructuring and Social Transformation
- Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights
For more information about Connecting the Dots, please visit our website: https://www.increse.org/connectingthedots/.
The workshop:
The workshop is scheduled to hold from 25th March – 5th April2019. Every details of the workshop or any changes will be communicated to selected participants by 1stMarch 2019.
Admission:
FREE on merit.
Candidates are admitted upon the presentation of their Permanent Voter’s Card.
Scholarship:
Scholarships may be provided, in full or part, to deserving successful applicants. This may include accommodation, food and travel to the workshop location. If an applicant wishes to benefit from this scholarship opportunity, it should be clearly stated with justifiable reasons, in a separate request for scholarship.
Who may apply[2]:
- Candidates between the ages of 18 and 35 years.
- Candidates who have a minimum of senior secondary school education and certified.
- Candidates who can demonstrate interest in LGBT, Women, Youth and Disability rights.
- Candidates able to demonstrate interest in civil and human rights, including in the promotion of the intersectionality of rights.
- Candidates actively engaged in program development, advocacy and policy development, is an added advantage.
How to apply:
Interested candidates should send their application package, in a single PDF document, including a 2-page Curriculum Vitae, a 500-word essay on “the intersectionality of Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and Civic participation” and a request for scholarship, if needed. Applications should be sent to connectingthedots.increse@gmail.com. Deadline: 11th February, 2019 by 5pm (Nigerian time). Young women, people with disabilities and sexual minorities[3] are strongly encouraged to apply.
[1]https://increse.org/home/
[2]Applicants does not have to fulfil all criteria.
[3]Sexual minorities include people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans*, intersex, sex workers and injection drug users.
