Soros Justice Fellowships Program Announces Call for Applications
The Soros Justice Fellowship Program seeks applications from outstanding individuals, including lawyers, advocates, grassroots organizers, activist academics, journalists, and filmmakers, to implement innovative projects that address one or more of the criminal justice priorities of the Open Society Institute's U.S. Justice Fund (www.soros.org/initiatives/justice). These fellowships may be of particular interest to NCDD researchers and practitioners involved with restorative justice, victim-offender mediation and alternative dispute resolution. The deadline for applications is September 13, 2006. Visit the OSI's Web site for complete program guidelines and information on the U.S. Justice Fund criminal justice priorities. Click on the link below to read more about this program.
Projects should seek to accomplish one or more of the following: advance death penalty reform and abolition efforts; improve public defense services; combat racial profiling; promote leadership in progressive justice reform efforts among people who are or have been imprisoned; encourage systemic reforms that create incentives for community-based solutions over parole and probation revocation; challenge unreasonable civil and legal barriers to the reintegration of people returning from prison; redirect criminal justice monies to strengthen community resources and responsibility for public safety and justice; advance sentencing and drug policy reform efforts; curtail prison expansion; empower communities most affected by mass incarceration to develop and advocate for alternative policies that address underlying social, racial, and economic inequality. Projects also may emphasize the intersection of the above priorities with the particular needs of communities of color; immigrants; gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities; and women and children.
The Soros Justice Fellowships fund individuals through two programs:
1) The Soros Justice Advocacy Fellowships fund outstanding individuals, including lawyers, advocates, grassroots organizers, and activist academics, to initiate innovative policy advocacy projects that will have a measurable impact on one or more of the U.S. Justice Fund's criminal justice priorities. Advocacy Fellowships are eighteen months in duration and may be implemented in conjunction with not-for-profit organizations.
The U.S. Justice Fund expects to award six Advocacy Track I Fellowships and six Advocacy Track II Fellowships by the end of 2006. The award for Advocacy Track I Fellows includes a stipend of $56,250; the award for Advocacy Track II Fellows includes a stipend of $71,250.
2) The Soros Justice Media Fellowships support mid-career and veteran print and radio journalists, filmmakers, and individuals with unique voices proposing to write books or complete other writing projects. The program seeks to improve the quality of media coverage and representation of issues at the core of the U.S. Justice Fund's criminal justice priorities. Media Fellowships are one year in duration and support print and radio journalism, film and video post-production and dissemination, and book projects. The U.S. Justice Fund expects to award five Media Fellowships by the end of 2006. The award for the Media Fellows includes a stipend and project budget of up to $45,000.
