The Partnership with Africa Foundation e.V. (Stiftung Partnerschaft mit Afrika e.V.) is granting a fellowship to students and young professionals from Germany and Southern Africa. It will enable them to take part in a five-week exchange programme to be held in August 2013 in Germany and continued in March 2014 in Namibia.
By organising a five-week exchange programme – which, on the original initiative of the former Federal President Dr. Horst Köhler, is implemented for the seventh time – the Partnership with Africa Foundation e.V. intends to help overcome the lack of knowledge that exists between African reality and German perception and, vice versa, between German reality and African perception. The personal, intercultural encounter between young and upcoming academics and the interdisciplinary exchange are aimed at promoting advanced professional training and at acquiring multipliers for a German-African future that is based on the spirit of partnership.
The fellowship holders are invited to take part in an education programme that will encompass talks with political decision-makers, journalists, academics, and other personalities from civil society and business from both countries. Participants are moreover given the opportunity to take part in political and cultural events and excursions. Thereby, participants contribute towards implementing the programme by assisting in organising lectures and facilitating group discussions. In addition, they will also work on a common study paper focussing on an academic subject. The latter will be prepared during the programme phase in Germany and written between September 2013 and April 2014. As members of a vibrant Alumni network, the participants are moreover highly encouraged to stay involved after the programme by developing and implementing German-African partnership projects.
The programme is directed at students and young graduates from Germany and Southern Africa and will be held in English. Applicants should be between 21 and 28 years old and be studying or have a degree in political science, modern history, international relations, economics, business administration, African studies, cultural studies, media and communication studies, law, or equivalent academic programmes. The number of participants is limited to 24, twelve from Southern African countries and twelve from Germany. Please note that there will be an obligatory preparatory seminar for German participants from 21 to 22 June 2013. A further condition for receiving a grant is that applicants must be able to participate for the entire period. A willingness to take part in an intensive and compact programme schedule as well as continued commitment is expected.
Subject to the granting of funds, all basic programme costs will be covered. However, the Partnership with Africa Foundation e.V. is neither able to cover the German participants’ costs for obtaining visas nor for vaccinations. The acceptance of African participants to the programme only becomes final when the German Embassy in the participant’s home country has issued the relevant visa. It is not possible to legally claim participation in the programme.
Interested individuals are welcome to apply to the Partnership with Africa Foundation e.V. by submitting an essay comprising a maximum of three A4 pages (approx. 6.000 characters) written in English. The essay focusing on one of the two topics outlined below must be accompanied by a letter of motivation comprising no more than one A4 page, a curriculum vitae in tabular form, and a photograph. The following information must be provided: surname, first name, gender, date of birth, profession and/or field of study, place of study, place of work, and place of residence. Applicants are also asked to issue a declaration stating that they wrote the essay without any help from third parties. Direct and indirect citations must be marked and referenced as such and the source must be named. Plagiarism will disqualify an applicant from consideration.
Please e-mail your full application package (essay, letter of motivation, CV incl. photograph) to the Partnership with Africa Foundation e.V. at goafrica@german-african-partnership.org by 1 April 2013.
APPLICATION ESSAY:
In regard to the application essay, you may choose any one of the following topics (Cluster I or II). In each case, all three questions must be answered within your essay.
(I) Consumer Protection and Empowerment
Today, consumers are challenged by increasingly complex amounts of information as well as ever-wider choices of products and services in a globalised market. Yet, there is a growing awareness that empowered consumers are essential in a socially and environmentally sustainable economy. Consumers can play a pivotal role in a wide variety of topics, such as environmental protection, sustainable agriculture, fair trade, labour standards, intellectual property rights, or sustainable financial markets.
Consumer protection policies are traditionally subject to private and public regulation. But recently, consumer education, improved access to information, and the use of market-based mechanisms are increasingly promoted as a means to empower consumers. For example, the European Union’s legislative approach aims to “empower consumers and build their confidence by giving them the tools to participate actively in the market, to make it work for them, to exercise their power of choice and to have their rights properly enforced” (former EU Commissioner John Dalli, 2012). With the South African Consumer Protection Act entering into force in 2011, this approach also gained momentum in Southern Africa. The Southern African Development Community, too, recognised the opportunities involved and notably encouraged its members to safeguard consumer rights.
- Compare the state of consumer protection and empowerment in Namibia and Germany. Identify and discuss possible explanatory factors for similarities and differences.
- Food has always been a key issue for consumer protection organisations around the world. In the context of German and Southern African politics, evaluate different means of consumer education in the realm of food, such as labelling and social media advocacy.
- In the context of consumer protection and empowerment, compare the approach and mandate of both the European Union and the Southern African Development Community. Discuss risks and opportunities of regional economic integration in this regard and justify your assessment.
Overcoming social inequality is one of the key challenges for societies around the world. Namibia is classified by the World Bank as an upper-middle-income country, yet large parts of its population suffer from social inequality. The country has one of the most unequal income distributions in the world, as Gini-coefficient and HDI levels can attest. Germany, too, is facing rising social inequality as living standards of the poorest households have stagnated, while those of the rich significantly increased. Ongoing debates about a minimum wage, decent pensions, or the persistent growth of a “lower class” in society make this evident.
Both Namibia and Germany are trying to tackle the problem. Thus, the German Basic Law guarantees the fundamental right to a subsistence minimum that is in line with human dignity. According to the Federal Constitutional Court, this obligation – together with the principle of the social welfare state set out in Article 20 of the basic law – assures to each person the material prerequisites indispensable for his or her physical existence and for a minimum of participation in social, cultural and political life. Similarly, respect for human dignity (Article 8) and the possibility for redress of socio-economic disadvantages stemming from past discrimination (Article 23(2)) are deeply seated in the Namibian constitution of 1990. Yet, the “promotion of the welfare of the people” (Article 95) is merely stated as a guiding principle of state policy. The justiciability of economic and social rights within Namibia’s domestic legal system remains an issue of contestation.
- Compare the state of social and economic inequality within the societies of both Germany and Namibia.
- Evaluate the approach to guarantee social standards by law. Give examples from both German and Namibian jurisdiction and analyse their efficacy.
- In 2008, a pilot project to provide basic income grants was started by Namibian non-governmental organisations. Are basic income grants a successful model to counter social inequality? Justify your assessment.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
For queries/ submissions: goafrica@german-african-partnership.org
Website: http://www.german-african-partnership.org
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