Applications for the Ayoka Fellowship – Social Innovation Lab 2021-2022 are now open. Puerta de África and Casa África are excited to announce the launch of the 2022 Social Innovation Lab to bridge and train African, Afrodescent and European emerging leaders. They are committed to building a community of social entrepreneurs and activists driven by the commitment to change the realities of their communities, learn to relate as equals and accelerate social change.

The 2021-2022 Social Innovation Lab will bring together 12 exceptional, emerging African, Afrodescent and Spanish young leaders from civil society and private sector, who are tackling most pressing challenges. The goals for this first cohort of Ayoka Innovators are:

• Connect: Build a peer-learning community of social innovators on a shared vision of co-leadership.
• Research & Co-create: On the roots of the most pressing challenges, map global solutions and work on a collaborative innovation base to generate applicable solutions for your communities and capabilities.
• Share: Participate in national and global conferences explaining the innovations you are trying to build on to inspire more young people and generate a community of Afropean changemaker’s.

Program Content

• The Research Seminar that provides with founding principles of research and supports the young leaders to identifying the root problems of their targeted system & the most innovative global solutions to it. It includes a full-weekend virtual training session, a one month research and individual support. It will culminate in the presentation of the research to a broad public.
• The Social Innovation Training: that encompasses all the basic components of Social Innovation Training. It includes weekly Full-Group Sessions with the entire cohort. In these you should expect a mix of skill-building workshops and co-creation activities.
• The Implementation: during four months the young leaders will have to design an innovative path for their non-profit or social enterprise, in order to scale their impact and make a deeper change in their community. The Implementation phase includes monthly mentorship activities and peer-learning.
• The International Conference: in September 2022 the cohort of young leaders will participate in an international conference where presenting their impact and engaging with fellow leaders.

Eligibility

• You are a citizen of Africa/Spain; OR
• You are a permanent resident of Africa/Spain; OR
• You are a refugee or asylum seeker in Africa/Spain.
• Your work is geographically focused on creating positive change for your local community, country of residence or origin, and/or the broader region. You demonstrate a strong commitment to continue to focus your work in your community.
• You can demonstrate at least 2 years of relevant experience in your issue area.
• You will be between 18 and 35 years old on October 1, 2021.
• You are professionally proficient in English (spoken and written).
• You can commit to fully participating in the entire duration of the program from December 1, 2021 until September 30, 2022. The intense training will be done in non-working days, and the seminars from 19pm CET during the week.
• The ideal candidates need to have permanent internet connection during the duration of the fellowship.

Application

The form consists of 3 sections, which must be duly completed to finish the registration. They want to get to know you and your project, so the more information you provide them, more likely you are to be shortlisted.

Click here to apply

Deadline: October 31, 2021

For more information, visit Ayoka Fellowship.