Overview
The Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa (LAWA) Fellowship Program was founded in 1993 at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., in order to train women's human rights lawyers from Africa who are committed to returning home to their countries in order to advance the status of women and girls in their own countries throughout their careers. Over 50 women's human rights advocates from Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe have participated in the LAWA Program, and we hope to include Fellows from additional countries in the future.
The entire LAWA Fellowship Program is approximately 14 months long (from July of the first year through August of the following year), after which the LAWA Fellows return home to continue advocating for women's rights in their own countries. The LAWA Program starts in July, when the Fellows attend the Georgetown Law Center's Foundations of American Law and Legal Education course. From August through May, the LAWA Fellows earn a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree at Georgetown with an emphasis on international women's human rights and complete a major graduate paper on a significant women's rights issue in their home countries. After graduation, the LAWA Fellows have an opportunity to engage in challenging work assignments for several months at various public interest organizations to learn about different advocacy strategies to advance women’s human rights, before returning home to continue advancing women's human rights in their own countries
The LAWA Program helps defray the costs for women's rights attorneys from Africa who would not otherwise be able to afford a Master of Laws degree focusing on international women's human rights and the additional leadership training. The LAWA Fellowship provides the tuition for the Foundations of American Law and Legal Education Course (a U.S. $2,200 benefit) and for the LL.M. degree (a U.S. $42,065 benefit) at the Georgetown University Law Center, as well as professional development training. Candidates who are admitted to the LAWA Program must be prepared to cover the costs of all additional expenses (such as their visas, travel, housing, utilities, food, clothing, health insurance, books, etc.), and must be able to demonstrate to the U.S. Embassy for visa purposes that they have the funds available to cover those expenses (approximately $25,000). Due to the intensity of the LAWA Program and academic studies, LAWA Fellows are not permitted to work throughout the academic portion of the program. They must also affirm that they will return home after the LAWA Fellowship and continue to promote women's human rights in their countries throughout their careers.
Qualification Requirements:
1. Must be a women’s human rights lawyer from Africa.
2. As a requirement of participation in the LAWA Program, all applicants must commit to return home to their own countries upon completion of the Fellowship, and to use their best professional efforts to advance women’s human rights in their counties throughout their careers.
3. Candidates who are awarded a LAWA Fellowship must be prepared to cover the costs of all additional expenses (such as visas, travel, housing, utilities, food, clothing, health insurance, books, fees, etc.), and must be able to demonstrate to the U.S. Embassy for visa purposes that they have the funds available to cover these expenses (over U.S. $25,000).
Submit All of the Below to Apply:
1. Complete the Application Form, including all three essay questions.
2. Current Resume, indicating your employment history (both paid and volunteer positions, including the name of your employer, location of your employment (city, country), dates of your employment (start and end dates), and description of your work for each position you have held); your education from high school to the present (including the name and location (city, country) of the institution, dates attended (including date of graduation), degree awarded, grade point average or your class rank and number of students, and your participation in any extracurricular activities); titles of any published materials (articles, books, reports, etc.) or significant research papers; any special honors, awards, scholarships, or fellowships; and any memberships in organizations or community activities in which you have been involved, including any leadership roles.
3. Two Letters of Recommendation from persons who are well acquainted with you, your commitment to advancing women’s human rights in your country, your legal abilities, and your work. At least one should be a person who has expressed a willingness to assist you in a professional manner upon your return to your country.
4. Official Law School Transcript or indicate the date on which you requested the registrar’s office at your law school to send your transcript to us: ________________. THE LAWA PROGRAM CANNOT CONSIDER YOUR APPLICATION UNTIL WE RECEIVE YOUR OFFICIAL LAW SCHOOL TRANSCRIPT(S). PLEASE INCLUDE AN EXPLANATION OF THE GRADING AND RANKING SYSTEM.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
Send your completed application via e-mail to wlppfp@law.georgetown.edu by Wednesday, February 1, 2012. Your letters of recommendation may be scanned and sent as e-mail attachments, or may be mailed separately. Your official law school transcript (stamped/sealed) must be sent as a hardcopy in the mail. Please use only one method – do not send multiple copies. If you applied to the LAWA Program last year, you do not need to re-send your transcript or letters of recommendation, but you must resubmit your completed application form with your responses to questions 1-17 (including your updated resume). We cannot consider your application until your official stamped/sealed law school transcript is received. Photocopies are not sufficient.
Mary Hartnett, Executive Director
Leadership and Advocacy for Women in Africa Program
Georgetown University Law Center
600 New Jersey Ave, NW, Room 5024A
Washington, DC 20001
E-mail: wlppfp@law.georgetown.edu
http://www.law.georgetown.edu/wlppfp/LAWA/index.html
Please quote Scholarization.blogspot.com on your application when applying for this scholarship
0 comments:
Post a Comment