Application Deadline: November 26th 2021
The BMZ African-German Leadership Academy (African Academy) is a dialogue and training programme targeted at
early to mid-career professionals. It is a space for joint learning and discussion on sustainability, governance and leadership.
With diversity at the core of its programme, the African Academy welcomes participants from a variety of sectors (civil society, academia and think tanks, public administration, business and media) to encourage transdisciplinarity and to promote networking and knowledge exchange among African and European actors.
Bringing together different perspectives and expertise, the African Academy offers the scope to exchange viewpoints and
experiences, as well as advance leadership skills, through peer learning. Furthermore, the African Academy allows for the collaborative creation of new knowledge, fosters mutual understanding and establishes trustful cooperation.
The Academy thus lays the foundation for long-term collaboration and partnership between institutions and champions of
change across sectors working towards sustainable development.
The African Academy is hosted by the German Development Institute/ Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Eligibility Requirements:
- The African Academy is targeted at early to midcareer professionals from Germany and African partner countries, namely Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia.
- The programme is conducted in English.
Potential participants of the African Academy should:
- be a national or permanent resident of one of the participating countries be 25 – 40 years old*
- work on issues relevant for sustainable development
- have at least three years’ work experience (non-remunerated experience is also recognised)
- have the support of their employer (written support required as part of application)
- have a very good command of the English language (equivalent to B2 level of the CEFR)
- be respectful of other cultures
- be open to teamwork, reflection and a broad variety of working methods
*older applicants, who have taken longer periods of parental leave, may be considered.
Benefits
In order to facilitate participation, successful applicants to the African Academy will be awarded financial support, covering the following:
- Subsidised travel to and from Germany
- Accommodation for the duration of their stay in Germany
- A monthly living allowance to cover living costs in Germany
- Health, accident and personal liability insurance for the duration of their stay in Germany
- Subsidy to help meet technical requirements of the programme
Please note that the financial support provided is not sufficient to cover participants’ families.
Participants
- Participation in an innovative academic and practice-oriented international dialogue format
- Capacity development on governance and sustainable development
- Strengthened leadership skills through collective peer learning, complemented by individual coaching
- Opportunity to become part of an international network of like-minded professionals
- Exchange and development of new ideas with peers from partner countries
- Work on innovative solutions for real-life sustainability challenges
- Engagement in different learning formats
- Opportunity to directly contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the African Agenda 2063
Sending Institutions:
- Capacity development of staff in the areas of leadership, governance and sustainability.
- The knowledge and skills acquired can be directly applied within the participants‘ home-institutions.
- Opportunity to propose real-life challenges from within your working environment to serve as case-studies for which participants find a solution as part of the innovation projects
- Become part of a growing crosssectoral network of institutions working towards sustainable development in the seven partner countries and Germany/Europe, opening up new and continued opportunities for cooperation in the future
- Opportunity to directly contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the African Agenda 2063
Schedule
- The 2022 edition of the African Academy will take place from April to June.
- The full schedule comprises a 10-week in-person phase in Germany – spent in Bonn and Berlin –, preceded by a twoweek part-time online preparatory phase.
- The joint work is followed-up in online exchanges.
How to Apply:
- Check that you meet all the requirements for participation as listed in the Who is the programme for?section.
- Read: Conditions for Participation.
- Compile your application documents:
- Application Form Part I: Applicant’s statement – to be completed and signed by you.
- Application Form Part II: Employer‘s statement of support – to be completed, signed and stamped by your employer.
- Diploma – A copy of your diploma or certificate (in English, French or English, or as a translation) of the highest professional qualification and/or university degree.
- Passport – A copy of the main pages of your passport.
- Language Certificate – Proof of English language proficiency (if available)
- Submit your application documents via the application portal.
- For any questions, contact the African Academy Coordinator: Julia Osada
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the African-German Leadership Academy 2022