The Future Rising Fellowship supports young leaders ages 17-25 who are working at the intersection of climate change, environmental justice, and gender equity.
Each fellow creates a narrative project during the course of their Fellowship with practical support from the Future Rising team as well as external mentors and advisors.
These narrative projects can be fiction or nonfiction and can be created in any medium. To date, Fellows have made short films, podcasts, graphic novels, photo essays, and long-form articles all related to climate change, environmental justice, and gender equity.
Fellows are carefully selected from an international pool of exceptional individuals who demonstrate a deep commitment to environmental justice and gender equity. They come from diverse backgrounds and bring unique expertise and a shared dedication to building a just and sustainable future.
Examples of suitable projects could be:
- A photo essay following the work of a cooperative of women who are growing and replanting the mangroves near their coastal village.
- A short film about a group of school girls who set out to plant a million trees.
- A short animation about a local community’s campaign to prevent the creation of a dam that would cause a local forest to be flooded.
- A comic book about an Indigenous girl’s search for a rare species of coral in the ocean where she lives.
- An article about a group of young women volunteers in a crowded, polluted city, who work together to clean up a river.
- A podcast about young biologists’ research on elephants and how to help protect them despite their diminishing habitat.
Each fellow will receive a stipend of US$5,000.
Focus AreasThe program seeks out individuals passionate about making a difference and creating storytelling projects in these areas of focus:
- Women and Girls in Conservation
- Local Solutions
What do they mean by ‘Girls and Women in Conservation?’
All over the world, girls and women are innovating and implementing new practices of conservation, or rejuvenating and sustaining time-tested indigenous practices. When women take part in managing natural resources and conservation efforts, there is an increase in collaboration, solidarity, and conflict resolution. A growing body of evidence shows that when women and girls participate in conservation programs, there are improved outcomes and more equitable benefits for all—collaboration, solidarity, and conflict resolution all increase. Therefore, the 2023 Future Rising Fellowship seeks to support young leaders working on conservation projects with a gender equity lens, AND/OR young storytellers working on a project that tells a story about girls and women leading in conservation.
What do they mean by ‘local solutions?’
Climate change is a global phenomenon but its impacts are local. The solutions to climate change must therefore be local as well in order to meet the needs of specific environments and people.
They are interested in supporting projects about local initiatives, innovations, and projects by, for or about girls and women, that are intended to address the needs of a specific community (urban or rural) and its population AND/OR young storytellers working on a story about local solutions that are by, for or about girls and women or gender justice in a local community
Eligibility Criteria
- The Fellowship is open to applicants from all countries. While the Fellow’s storytelling projects can be in any language, all Fellowship meetings and discussions are in English.
- This is not a full-time or residential fellowship. It is designed to dovetail with candidates’ existing or ongoing work/studies and commitments.
- At the start of the Fellowship (in August 2023), they will require a weekly commitment of 15 hours per week. Subsequent months will require up to 5 hours per week.
- In order to participate in the program, applicants must have access to the Internet to enable them to attend regular virtual meetings and workshops.
- Though individual projects may use or may be created in any language, meetings and group communication will be held in English. Any special arrangements for travel, access to subjects, or for living arrangements related to the creation of Fellows’ pieces of work, must be made and paid for independently by the Fellows themselves.
- In addition, fellows will be invited to apply for a small additional grant for direct project expenses and materials.
- Girl Rising is an equal-opportunity organization. All qualified applicants will receive consideration without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status, or disability.
