About the Initiative
The LOYOC Professional Internship and Fellowship for Emerging Young Leaders (PIFEL) is an inclusive professional development programme that offers young students, peace activists, civil society leaders and scholars from Cameroon the opportunity to join LOYOC’s team in any of the offices in Buea, Bamenda, Yaounde or Maroua to acquire hands-on experience on; design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and learning of peacebuilding initiatives as well as acquire skills in organisational management and operations.
Since the inception of the pilot phase in 2016, the program has successfully produced over 30 alumni who have become a strong pipeline of young talented women and men working in the space of International Development with several international organizations, government, think tanks, and academia.
The program offers three-month fellowships for practitioners and two-months internships for students to improve strategies and techniques to champion community development, peacebuilding and conflict prevention efforts. While interns and fellows will build on their experiences; design and implement initiatives; network; engage with stakeholders; conduct research and writing; consider best practices and lessons learned, and develop professional relationships within the national and global youth peace and security network, the Interns and Fellows are expected to complete a written product relating to their proposed area of interest. The programme will culminate in a formal presentation where interns and fellows will share their learnings and showcase their initiatives developed.
Why the PIFEY Programme
The rise of violent conflict in Cameroon has exposed Cameroon’s realities and key challenges of conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Continuously young Cameroonians witnessing these conflicts have grouped themselves into social movements or opted to acquire more academic knowledge to respond to the conflict plaguing their communities.
Unfortunately, despite young Cameroonians’ burning desire to respond to the root causes of these violent conflicts, there is a huge challenge of lack of capacity in designing, monitoring, and evaluating initiatives. Young practitioners leading youth movements have expressed a lack of skills in project and organisational management, idea articulation, resource mobilisation and financial management. Students and scholars have expressed both the need for a connection between theories and practice and the lack of opportunities to build practical skills. These challenges have prevented these young people from exploiting their full potentials and amplifying their initiatives.
Application Procedure
Prospective applicants may apply on either the practitioner or scholarly track.
- Practitioners Track (Fellowship)- Three Months
The practitioner track is intended specifically for activists, civil society leaders and scholars. Applicants applying for the practitioner track are expected to have substantial practical experience working to promote peace, prevent violent extremism, and prevent conflict. There are no specific degree requirements for the practitioner track. The program will focus on typically mid-career professionals with at least a year of voluntary experience working in the field of international development.
- Students Track (Internship) – Two Months
This track is basically for students either studying in related fields of international development or peace studies from any university from across Cameroon. Applications for this track are primarily for academic or professional internship opportunities. Applicants are expected to present a letter from their university, requesting an internship opportunity. The program is preferably for postgraduate students.
Eligibility Criteria
- Young Cameroonian between the age of 18 to 35.
- A practitioner with at least 2 years of voluntary or work experience in community and international development or peacebuilding related activities.
- Students currently undertaking postgraduate or doctorate degrees.
- Demonstrate proficiency in English and French Languages.
- Be available to commit at least 40 hours physically a week for the entire duration of the program in one of our offices across the nation.
- Must be based in Cameroon.
Application Requirements (to be submitted on the application platform)
- Cover Letter
- CV
- Letter of internship request from University/ Institution (for Student Track Internships).
Benefits
- Project design, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and learning
- Grants application, resource mobilisation and fundraising
- Conducting evidence-based research
- Procurement and logistics management
- Strategic communication and advocacy
- Drafting and managing budgets for development initiatives
- Administration of Non-profit organizations
- Stakeholder mapping and engagement
- Public speaking
- Non-profit management and operations
Apply using the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc7j14EH3v13dlVZ77ZUX1ObpuTzFi5M53OnpBWxNpqdnN0bA/viewform