CODESRIA/SSRC/NRF
CALL
FOR APPLICATIONS
The
Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), the
Social Science Research Council (SSRC)/American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), and the South African National Research Foundation
(NRF) are pleased to
announce the 2003-2004 programme for research and
training on “Understanding Exclusion, Creating Value: African Youth in
a Global Age”. The theme for this year is Youth, HIV/AIDS and Social
Transformation.
Applications are invited from junior researchers, whether academics,
practitioners, or independent researchers. The fellowship includes support for
field research and
participation in pre- and post-fieldwork workshops. Approximately twelve
research fellowships will be awarded this year.
SYNOPSIS
Demographic
trends reveal that about 50% of Africa’s population is
below the age of 18 years and an extraordinarily high percentage is between the
ages of 15-25. This makes Africa the most ‘youthful’ continent in the world.
Despite this, young people in Africa are often placed in the margins of the
public sphere and major political, socio-economic and cultural processes. The
challenging political and socio-economic situation and the devastating public
health constraints on the continent make young people particularly vulnerable to
poverty, disease and death. Many
have little or no access to education, employment, health care and basic
nutrition. In the last two decades, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has constituted a
crisis of virtually unprecedented proportions confronting younger generations of
Africans. Africa is the most affected area in the world, with more than 23
million people thought to be infected with HIV or to have developed full-blown
AIDS. While AIDS touches all parts of the population, it has especially powerful
impact on the lives of youths – the present and future productive members of
society. How are young Africans being affected by the epidemic? How are they
coping and imagining their lives and future in these difficult conditions?
Greater
reflection, knowledge and analysis are required to better understand the lives
of young Africans today – their vulnerability, strengths, aspirations and
prospects for the future – as well as the broad conditions shaping their role
in society. The fellowship programme especially seeks projects that examine the
impact of HIV/AIDS on the lives of African youth and the ways in which young
people creatively organize and redefine their lives to deal with the pandemic.
Research relevant to this theme would address not only the personal and
interpersonal dynamics of transmission and infection but also the broader
transformations at household, community and institutional levels. Research
topics include, but are not limited to the following: youths’ sexual
ideologies and changing patterns of behaviour regarding sexuality and marriage
practices; changes in intergenerational relations, households
and families (care-giving, the transfer of knowledge, wealth and social
power, AIDS orphans, gender relations); the impact
of HIV/AIDS on the educational and health care systems in relation to
young people (access to schools, training and learning;
access to treatment); economic impact (employment, labour markets,
productive capacity); the role of young people in programs related to prevention
and care, or in social movements for access to treatment and support; and
youths’ understanding of local, national or global responses (or lack of such
responses)
to their situations. The fellowship puts emphasis on empirical social science
research informed by theory and analysis from a wide range of perspectives and
disciplines – historical,
anthropological, sociological, economic, demographic, public health and
others.
The
programme does not seek to impose a rigid definition on youth, since
demographic, legal and cultural definitions may differ. Proposals should specify
what definition they are using and justify why that is appropriate, given the
purpose of their research. Proposals should also address the theoretical and
practical implications of the research as much as possible.
FELLOWSHIP
Fellows
will attend a five-day orientation workshop prior to field research (in October
2003), receive a grant of up to USD10,000 for their field research and attend a
final workshop at the conclusion of their fieldwork. Field research entails
extensive original
research (whether quantitative, qualitative, or a combination) that will
produce new knowledge relevant to analysis and/or practice.
ELIGIBILITY
African
researchers based in the region, who hold at least a Master’s degree and who
are not more than five years beyond a Ph.D, are eligible for this program. While
the principal purpose of the program is to support junior researchers and
practitioners based in an African institution, a few fellowships are also
available to
Ph.D candidates based in other regions who need field research funding
for their dissertations.
APPLICATION
Applications
are due no later than Friday, May 2nd,
2003. Fellows will be notified in July 2003. Applications will be accepted
in English, French and Portuguese and
should include a research proposal (not more than 10 pages long), 2 letters of
reference, graduate level academic transcripts, a detailed budget, a one-page
abstract summarizing the applicant’s
research agenda, and a comprehensive curriculum
vitae. Please consult our websites at www.ssrc.org
and www.codesria.org
or contact us for more information prior to submitting an application. Questions
should be directed to:
Funmi
Vogt
at the SSRC Africa@ssrc.org
Tel:
212-377-2700 ext. 452;
or
Virginie
Niang
at Codesria virginie.niang@codesria.sn
Tel:
221–825-9822/3;
or
Mpumi
at
the NRF mpumi@nrf.ac.za
Tel:
27-12-481-4000.
Complete
applications should be sent to any of the following:
CODESRIA/SSRC/NRF
Youth Fellowships Programme
(Attention:
Virginie Niang)
CODESRIA
BP 3304 – Dakar, Senegal
Or
National
Research Foundation
The
Manager
Socio-Political Impact of Globalization:
The Challenge for South Africa
P.O.Box 2600 - PRETORIA, 0001 - South Africa.
Or
Social
Science Research Council
Africa
Program
810 7th Avenue; 31st Floor
New
York, NY 10019, USA
