‘The LOYOC Professional Internship and Fellowship for Emerging Young Peacebuilders (PIFEY) is an exclusive professional development internship program that offers young students, peace activists, civil society leaders, and academics from Cameroon the opportunity to join the LOYOC team in one of our offices in Buea, Yaoundé or Maroua to gain practical experience in designing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating and learning from peace-building initiatives, as well as organizational and operational management skills.

Since the start of the pilot phase in 2016, the program has successfully produced around 30 alumni who have become a strong pipeline of talented young women and men working in the international development space with several international organizations, government, think tanks, and academia.

This program offers three-month exchange programs for practitioners and two-month internships for students to improve strategies and techniques for leading peacebuilding and conflict prevention efforts. Interns and fellows engage in a variety of tasks that include: building on their experiences to design and implement initiatives, networking, engaging with stakeholders, conducting research, writing articles, examining best practices and lessons learned as well as developing professional relationships within the national and global youth network on peace and security. The program will conclude with an official presentation at which the interns and fellows will share their learning and present the initiatives they have developed.

Purpose of the PIFEY Program

The growth of violent conflict in Cameroon has highlighted the realities and major challenges of conflict resolution and peacebuilding in Cameroon. Young people in Cameroon who have been affected by these conflicts have continued to band together in social movements or have chosen to acquire more academic knowledge in order to respond to the conflict in their communities.

Unfortunately, despite the fervent desire of young Cameroonians to tackle the root causes of these violent conflicts, there is a huge problem of lack of capacity to design, monitor and evaluate initiatives. The young people at the head of the movements expressed their lack of project and organisational management skills, as well as the difficulty of articulating ideas, mobilising resources and financial management. Students and universities expressed both the need for a link between theory and practice and the lack of opportunities to develop practical skills and manage peace initiatives. These challenges prevent young people from fully exploiting their potential and expanding their initiatives.

How to Apply

Interested candidates can apply for either the professional field or student field.

Professional Internship (research grant) – Three months

The professionals stream is specifically aimed at activists, civil society leaders and academics. Candidates for this program must have substantial practical experience in peace promotion, the prevention of violent extremism and conflict prevention. There are no specific degree requirements for this course. This program is aimed at mid-career professionals with at least one year’s voluntary experience in the field of international development.

Two-month student internship

This program is aimed at students studying international development or peace studies at any university in Cameroon. Applications for this stream are primarily for academic or professional internship opportunities. Applicants must submit a letter from their university requesting an internship opportunity. The program is preferably aimed at postgraduate students.

Eligibility criteria

• Young Cameroonian aged between 18 and 35.
• Practitioners with at least one year’s voluntary or professional experience in the field of international development or peace-building.
• Postgraduate or doctoral students.
• Have a good mastery of English and French.
• Be available to commit at least 40 hours per week for the duration of the program.

Application conditions (to be submitted on the application platform)

• Cover letter
• CV
• Application letter from the university/institution (for student placements)

Benefits

• Project design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and learning
• Grant applications and fundraising
• Conducting evidence-based research
• Procurement and logistics management
• Strategic communication and advocacy
• Developing and managing budgets for development initiatives
• Administration of not-for-profit organizations
• Stakeholder mapping and engagement

Apply using the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc7j14EH3v13dlVZ77ZUX1ObpuTzFi5M53OnpBWxNpqdnN0bA/viewform