Call for applications

We are looking for a group of participants that will bring a unique perspective to this transatlantic exploration of the diverse field of non-formal/extracurricular youth and young adult civic learning. This means anyone involved in work that develops the civic and political knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors of young people (12-29 years old). 

This may include, but is certainly not limited to youth workers; community organization and nonprofit team members; non-formal educators at community education centers, museums, historic sites, centers for civic engagement and social innovation, etc.; youth/civic researchers; and youth and civic learning decision-makers. Although the program is not intended for formal educators (i.e., K-12 teachers), we are open to those who incorporate community-engaged or extracurricular formats. 

In evaluating applications, we will be specifically looking at 1) relevance (is the applicant able to demonstrate their connection to youth civic development); 2) whether applicants are currently working in a capacity that would enable them to implement learnings/benefit from new partnerships; 3) a well/-considered motivation for taking part in the fellowship. 

Other specific eligibility criteria:

• You contribute to the civic development of young people through civic engagement, civic education, out-of-school time education, community education, youth development, youth organizing, youth research or policy, etc.
• You are interested in helping to shape the German-US exchange of professionals and can commit to attending and actively contributing to both online and in-person events
• You have a minimum 2-3 years of professional experience in respective field of work
• You live and work in either the United States or Germany
• Your English is sufficient for participating actively in the program
• We especially welcome applications from people of any gender and the BIPoC community

We know how diverse the actors working in this field are in the United States and Germany, which we are excited to reflect in our group of TECE Fellows. Please feel free to contact us if you have questions about your own eligibility.

As we have all experienced, flexibility is the name of the game these days!

We are monitoring the COVID-19 and resulting travel restrictions closely, and are hopeful that positive developments will enable us to hold in-person activities in Fall 2021 (between September and early December) or early 2022. Ideally, we will know more specific details by July 2021. In a worst case scenario, we will replace the in-person exchange components with engaging and interactive online programming.

Priority will be given to candidates who have the capacity to act as a multiplier, able to directly implement and share learnings with a sending organization and colleagues. As such, we recommend that the letter of support come from the applicant’s associated organization. 

However, we recognize the diversity of actors and working arrangements in this field, which is why we are also happy to accept letters of support from other sources, for example colleagues, clients, or a previous employer.

Please make sure to address:

• What topics you are most interested in exploring
• Why this opportunity would be beneficial for your personal and/or professional development as well as your organization
• How you expect to implement learnings in your work
• What skills and expertise you wish to share with international colleagues