Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) Youth4AfSol Conference 2017 – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (Fully Funded)

Application Deadline: 10 March 2017.

The Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) is looking to create such a space for young Africans through its own Youth4AfSol event. With a focus on peace and security, this platform will be solely dedicated to giving an opportunity for young Africans to share their ideas in shaping African solutions to Africa’s problems. Youth4Afsol is grounded in the understanding that only locally generated ideas that connect Africa to the global community, and one led by Africa’s youth, can ensure sustainable change.

Agenda 2063 of the African Union and the Sustainable Development Goals view the role of
young people in Africa as vibrant and crucial. Ensuring a stable and prosperous Africa is also the responsibility of young Africans, who account for more than 50% of the current African population. Young Africans are ready to lead the continent, and young voices need to be heard and acknowledged so that African solutions to Africa’s problems do not remain a rhetoric of the 21st century.

Through bringing together bright visionaries from across Africa, IPSS aims to champion the
cause of young people, who lie at the core of African solutions. An experts’ workshop hosted by IPSS on “African-Centered Solutions for Peace and Security (AfSol)”, held in September 2014, identified ownership, commitment and shared values as areas
of common understanding. These values will serve as a common ground for future discussions and research. Applicants are encouraged to review this document in order to shape and anchor their proposed ideas in the current AfSol debate.

Requirements:

Applicants should:
1. Be between the ages of 21-35 at the time of application.
2. Complete the application form available on the IPSS website (www.ipss-addis.org)
3. Submit a 1,000-word essay on one of the following themes:

• African youth, migration and poverty
• Natural resource governance in Africa
• Citizen participation in governance
• Peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction in Africa
• The challenges of terrorism and violent extremism
• State building in Africa
  If you have other thematic ideas that fall outside of the following themes, please communicate it to us and we will let you know if the proposed theme is acceptable.

4. Submit a recommendation letter from a supervisor, or from a lecturer if in school.
5. Submit a resume/CV (maximum 3 pages).
6. Anchor ideas in “African solutions to Africa’s problems” that are innovative, unique and
practical.

Benefits:

• Flights to Addis Ababa and accommodation will be covered for selected participants.
• Selected participants will be given approximately 15 minutes to speak and present their
  idea of an African solution to an African problem in front of a live audience at Addis Ababa University.
• The highlights of the presentations will be displayed at the 6th Tana Forum, an annual
  security conference featuring Heads of State, prominent African figures, and representatives from the private sector and civil society.
• A certificate of participation will be awarded to all participants.

Timeline:
Important dates to remember

• 10 March 2017 Youth4AfSol application closes
• 13 March 2017 Shortlisted applicants will be notified
• 14-15 March 2017 Interview of shortlisted applicants
• 16- 17, 2017 Selected participants will be notified
• 31 March 2017 Youth4Afsol event date in Addis Ababa University

Application Procedure:

• Send all documents to beza.d@ipss-addis.org no later than 10 March 2017.
  Incomplete and late applications will not be accepted.

For Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the IPSS Youth4AfSol Conference 2017