Ukrainian President Zelensky reshuffles staff amid political crisis

Jason Melanovski

Ukrainian President Volodmyr Zelensky has fired Chief of Staff Andriy Bohdan as his administration struggles to make any significant headway in ending the now six-year-long civil war in eastern Ukraine that has claimed the lives of over 14,000 people, while implementing massive privatization efforts against widespread popular opposition.

President Volodymyr Zelensky [Credit: en.kremlin.ru]

Bohdan will be replaced by Andriy Yermak, a former movie producer who first met Zelensky in 2010 while working together in the entertainment industry. Yermak, in addition to meeting with President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, has been credited with reaching a surprise gas transit deal with Russia last year and several prisoner exchanges.

Yermak’s appointment took place simultaneously as Russia replaced its top official on Ukraine, Vladimir Surkov, with President Vladimir Putin’s new Deputy Chief of Staff, Dmitry Kozak, leading to reports that both sides are looking to move forward with a negotiated deal in eastern Ukraine.

Kozak had previously personally credited Yermak for taking part in gas transit negotiations in Minsk last year that he stated led to a “balanced, mutually acceptable, mutually beneficial decision.”

The replacement of Bohdan with Yermak is at least in part the result of an escalating political struggle between Zelensky and his former friend and financial backer oligarch Igor Kolomoisky.

Bohdan previously served as lawyer for Kolomoisky prior to becoming Zelensky’s chief of staff. He had recently fallen out of Zelensky’s inner circle as Kolomoisky had repeatedly pressured the Zelensky government and Ukraine’s National Bank to return PrivatBank, which was nationalized under the regime of former President Petro Poroshenko after Kolomoisky and fellow owner Gennadiy Bogolyubov were accused of embezzling $5.5 billion.

Following Zelensky’s election last April, many speculated that PrivatBank would be quickly returned to Kolomoisky. However, opposition from both the United States and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which nearly cut off negotiations with the Zelensky administration last spring over the PrivatBank issue, have so far prevented a complete reconciliation between the Ukrainian state and Kolomoisky.

The conflict sharply escalated this month with a raid by Ukrainian intelligence of the offices of the Kolomoisky-owned television station 1+1. The search came after recordings of Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk stating that Zelensky had a “very primitive understanding of the economy” were leaked on YouTube, reportedly by 1+1 Media Group staff linked to Kolomoisky.

Bohdan has also been criticized as ineffective by the imperialist backers of the Kiev government. In November of last year, the Washington-based think tank Atlantic Council, which shares close ties with the CIA and the military-defense establishment, called Bohdan “the wrong man for the time” and accused Bohdan of wasting the “transformative momentum” in enacting reforms that would be beneficial to Western imperialism.

Underlying the reshuffling of Zelensky’s staff and the crisis of his government are intense conflicts within the Ukrainian oligarchy over domestic and foreign policy.

Within the oligarchy and sections of the state apparatus, Zelensky has faced enormous opposition for his efforts to negotiate a settlement with Russia over Ukraine in alliance with Germany and France. Substantial sections of the oligarchy, including former President Petro Poroshenko, which oppose any lessening of the alliance with US imperialism, supported the mobilization of far-right elements that protested against the Paris Summit of last December. News reports have repeatedly pointed to divisions and conflicting views on foreign policy, in particular, within the Zelensky cabinet and his staff.

Above all, the political crisis is a result of growing class tensions as the Zelensky administration is pushing ahead with the most far-reaching privatizations in Ukraine since the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 and the restoration of capitalism.

Last fall, the Zelensky administration announced a major land reform bill which would end a longstanding moratorium on the sale of Ukrainian farmland, including its valuable black soil. The land reform bill is opposed by 73 percent of the population, according to a recent Rating poll. It has been repeatedly delayed in the Ukrainian parliament. There have also been countless amendments proposed to the bill. This is despite the fact that Zelensky’s own Servant of the People party holds a complete majority that could potentially overcome any parliamentary opposition.

Several small protests have already taken place against the bill. While the opposition to the hated bill is currently dominated by far-right forces, the oligarchy fears that social and political opposition will emerge within the working class.

The land reform bill is part of a large-scale privatization effort that has been pushed for by the IMF.

The Zelensky administration is set to privatize more than 3,700 major state-owned enterprises and liquidated at least 1,000 “ineffective” enterprises. In 2020 alone, the government is going to privatize 300 companies. Among them are the United Mining and Chemical Company and the generator manufacturer Elektrovazmash. These measures are putting tens of thousands of jobs on the line, if not more, in a country where 60 percent of the population are already living below the subsistence minimum.

In an indication of growing unrest within the working class, miners at state-owned companies went on a one-day strike on December 18, 2019, to protest the government’s failure to pay the significant debts state-owned companies owe to their miners. The miners are still waiting for the state companies to pay them.

Under these conditions, support for Zelensky in the population has been eroding in the past few months. A poll conducted in January by the Center of Social Monitoring and the Oleksandr Yaremenko Ukrainian Institute for Social Research Center showed that Zelensky’s approval rating now stood at just 49.4 percent. If accurate, such numbers would demonstrate a plummet from highs of 73 percent approval as recently as September of last year. It would be the first time that Zelensky’s approval has fallen below 50 percent. The poll also reported that 39.3 percent of Ukrainians “do not trust” Zelensky. Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk and his cabinet are trusted by just 23 percent of the population, according to the poll.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos launches $10 billion climate change fund

Kevin Reed

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the world’s wealthiest individual, announced on Monday that he is creating a $10 billion charitable fund with his own money to address climate change which will start issuing grants as soon as this summer.

In an Instagram post that included a photo of the Earth, the Amazon founder wrote that he was creating the Bezos Earth Fund “to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share.”

Bezos also said that the fund would be a “global initiative” that would provide resources to “scientists, activists, NGOs—any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world.” He concluded, “We can save Earth. It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals.”

Jeff Bezos (right) and his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez [Credit: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File]

The $10 billion in philanthropy represents less than eight percent of Bezos’s estimated $130 billion net worth. In the world of billionaire charitable giving, the Amazon CEO would jump to third place behind Warren Buffet, who gave $36 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2006, and Helen R. Walton, who provided $16.4 billion to the Walton Family Foundation in 2007.

While there are many questions about the Bezos Earth Fund and how it will operate, one thing is abundantly clear: a significant portion of the $10 billion fund, if not all of it, will be subsidized by the US tax code. Therefore, Bezos’s charitable “global initiative” is in reality a massive American tax shelter that will drain critical government funding.

The launching of the fund is at least in part a response by the Amazon founder to growing protests by employees at the multinational technology company who have publicly criticized Bezos for his lack of response to climate change. According to its own sustainability report in 2018, Amazon is a massive polluter with a total annual carbon footprint of 44.40 million metric tons (mmt) of carbon dioxide equivalent.

This carbon volume—from fossil fuel-burning fleets of vehicles delivering packages around the world, immense amounts of electricity consumption at its Amazon Web Services data centers and many other sources, including its cardboard boxes and infamously wasteful bubble wrap packaging—is greater than that of Norway, Hong Kong, Ecuador and Sweden.

As reported on the World Socialist Web Site, the conflict between Amazon staff and company ownership came to a head on January 26 when more than 350 employees defied a corporate communications directive and spoke out publicly against its climate policy as well as other social and political issues.

A group called Amazon Employees for Climate Justice organized a worldwide walkout of 5,000 on September 20 of last year as part of the Global Climate Strike in which four million people participated internationally. In response to this event, Jeff Bezos issued a Climate Manifesto that aligned Amazon’s emission reduction goals with a Washington, D.C. initiative called the “Climate Pledge” that would make the company carbon neutral by 2040.

Large numbers of Amazon employees rejected this insufficient schedule and demanded a more aggressive plan that would make the company carbon neutral by 2030. They also pointed out Bezos’s hypocrisy on climate questions since he was contributing financially to the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a think-tank that engages in climate denial on behalf of the fossil fuel industry.

As activist employees continued to speak out and expose Amazon’s two-faced climate policies, the company mobilized its human resources department, which threatened to fire workers for violating its policies.

In response to the Bezos Earth Fund, the Amazon Employees for Climate Justice published a statement on Twitter that states, “As history has taught us, true visionaries stand up against entrenched systems, often at great cost to themselves. We applaud Jeff Bezos’ philanthropy, but one hand cannot give what the other is taking away. The people of Earth need to know: When is Amazon going to stop helping oil & gas companies ravage Earth with still more oil and gas wells? When is Amazon going to stop funding climate-denying think tanks like the Competitive Enterprise Institute and climate-delaying policy? When will Amazon take responsibility for the lungs of children near its warehouses by moving from diesel to all-electric trucking?

“Why did Amazon threaten to fire employees who were sounding the alarm about Amazon’s role in the climate crisis and our oil and gas business? What this shows it that employees speaking out works—we need more of that right now. Will Jeff Bezos show us true leadership or will he continue to be complicit in the acceleration of the climate crisis, while supposedly trying to help?”

There is no doubt that Bezos’s climate initiative is also aimed at trying to dull the growing bitterness and anger of the broader public over the exploding wealth of a tiny number of billionaires while the rest of the world’s people are struggling to make ends meet. According to an Oxfam report published on January 20, the world’s 2,153 billionaires have more wealth than a combined 4.6 billion people on Earth.

The corporate media has been mobilized to polish up the otherwise tarnished public perception of Bezos. Forbes, the enthusiastic publisher of an annual list of the world’s billionaires, has chimed in with unsolicited advice on how Bezos should spend his $10 billion, adding, “Jeff Bezos has a tremendous opportunity to become a true climate leader.”

On the other hand, the public commentary on Twitter is dominated by bluntly honest statements. In one tweet, a poster said, “Jeff Bezos didn’t ‘donate’ $10B to ‘fight climate change’ he’s setting up a $10B venture called the ‘Bezos Earth Fund.’ In other words, he’s founding a bank and using it to invest in ‘the green sector,’ thereby profiting from & influencing how transition happens.”

Another wrote, “If he honestly cared enough about an issue to sacrifice a significant amount of his wealth to it and significantly impact his life for the cause he would never have become a billionaire. ... They're horrifically flawed shells of people with no compassion for any cause.”

Under capitalism, the financial resources being applied to the “climate change industry,” such as the Bezos Earth Fund, are, above all, concerned with returns on investment. Groups of investors are competing with each other in research and development to find ways to earn a profit from green energy alternatives and methods for dealing with rising sea levels, record-breaking heat waves and uncontrollable wild fires.

The unfolding environmental catastrophe, along with the existential threats of nuclear war and deadly viral pandemics, are rooted in the capitalist system. Alongside these, the growth of extreme wealth inequality and the existence of super-billionaires such as Jeff Bezos are incompatible with the needs of billions of people on the planet.

These crises cannot be solved by wealthy individuals and their drop-in-the-bucket philanthropy. Solving the climate change crisis requires the dramatic and revolutionary reorganization of the productive forces of our global society carried out by the international working class on the basis of socialist economic planning.

EU agrees to new military mission against Libya

Peter Schwarz

The foreign ministers of all 27 EU countries agreed to launch a new military mission in Libya on Monday. In order to enforce the arms embargo agreed in Berlin in January, the EU intends to deploy warships and planes in the region together with satellites.

The military operation will not only escalate the war that has devastated Libya since the military alliance led by the United States, France and Great Britain bombed the Mediterranean country in 2011 and murdered its long-time ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi. The intervention also threatens to expand into an all-out war between the major and regional powers backing the rival militias in Libya.

The German government had invited the 16 powers and parties involved in the Libya conflict to a conference in Berlin on January 19, where they signed a 55-point plan that included a ceasefire, compliance with the UN arms embargo, the withdrawal of foreign armies and mercenaries, and the demobilisation of the various militias fighting one other.

German soldier in Afghanistan, August 2011 [Credit: US Navy, Flickr]

The WSWS warned at the time that the conference was pursuing imperialist goals and was “only the preliminary step to a military occupation of the country.” We compared the Libya conference to the Berlin Congo conference of 1884, which played a major role in deepening Africa's colonial domination and exacerbated tensions between the imperialist powers. These warnings have already been confirmed.

The conflict in Libya has only escalated since the Berlin conference as every party to the war seeks to gain advantage. The agreed ceasefire has been broken more than 150 times, and deliveries of weapons have skyrocketed. Huge quantities of arms have been transported to Libya by ship, plane and over land. “The arms embargo is a joke,” said Stephanie Williams, the UN special envoy for Libya.

Brussels and Berlin have used the situation as an opportunity to advance their interests militarily in the oil-rich country, which is important for access to Africa as a whole. If Europe cannot agree to enforce the arms embargo by military means, “we run the risk of becoming irrelevant,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote in a memo. In that case other powers would continue to shape developments in Libya “in a way that does not take our interests into account.”

There were disagreements in the EU over the issue of how to prevent warships deployed to the Mediterranean from taking on board shipwrecked refugees, which they are obliged to do under maritime law. A previous EU Mediterranean mission, Operation Sophia, which was originally supposed to combat smugglers and destroy their boats, was discontinued in September 2019 after its vessels had helped rescue 730,000 refugees over four years.

Austria, Hungary and Italy in particular insisted that this should not happen again. Therefore, the EU agreed to deploy warships in the eastern Mediterranean, where there are hardly any escape routes to Europe, but which is a route for the transport of weapons to Libya.

If the warships are nevertheless in a position to rescue refugees, the mission can be stopped immediately. “If pull factors (i.e. factors encouraging migrants to take to the sea in the hope of being rescued and taken to Europe) regarding migration are identified, the maritime elements will be withdrawn,” according to the agreement of the EU foreign ministers.

There is a “basic consensus” that what is required is “a military mission and not a humanitarian mission,” commented the Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg proudly.

How the EU intends to stop arms supplies without waging war against NATO allies or key trading partners remains unclear.

The most important weapons supplier to the “official” government of Fayiz as-Sarradsch, which controls the capital city of Tripoli, is Turkey, which in turn arms its allies in Libya by ship across the Mediterranean.

As-Sarradsch’s main rival, General Khalifa Haftar, receives weapons over land from Egypt and via air from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Haftar is also supported by Russia. According to SpiegelOnline, a huge transport plane takes off almost every day from Abu Dhabi heading for Benghazi, where Haftar's headquarters are located.

The Turkish government, which is already in conflict with EU members Greece and Cyprus over gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean, would hardly allow the EU to intervene against Turkish ships. “Without a robust control of suspect shipping by NATO warships in the Mediterranean, the lethal supplies will not be reduced,” commented the German weekly Die Zeit. The consequences will be even more devastating should the EU shoot down a transport plane supplying Haftar with weapons.

Ultimately, the deployment of a new naval mission to the Mediterranean is only a first step in the military occupation of Libya as part of a new “scramble for Africa.” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had already raised this prospect in January. “The key issue is to enforce our interests more powerfully and, when necessary, in a robust manner,” he told Der Spiegel. “If there is a ceasefire in Libya, then the EU must be ready to help implement and monitor this ceasefire—possibly with the use of soldiers, for example as part of an EU mission.”

Stop the right-wing terror in Germany!

Peter Schwarz

A right-wing extremist terrorist shot and killed nine people in the German city of Hanau in the state of Hesse Wednesday night. He injured a further six people, one of them seriously. The massacre occurred in two hookah bars overwhelmingly frequented by immigrants. Police officers later found the gunman and his mother dead in his apartment.

The alleged gunman is Tobias R, a 43-year-old who grew up in Hanau and studied economics in Bayreuth. In a 24-page document acknowledging his guilt, which he published online prior to the attack, R. displayed “a deeply racist outlook,” investigating federal prosecutor Peter Frank told the press.

In the text, the author declares himself to be a supporter of US President Donald Trump. He considers whether the “total destruction” of entire states in a future war would be legitimate. He speculates on what share of Germans are “pure bred and valuable,” and develops plans for genocide that go even further than Adolf Hitler. He lists over two dozen states whose populations he thinks should be wiped out, including half of Asia, various peoples in North Africa and Israel.

Candles and flowers placed on the floor during a vigil for victims of last night’s shooting in the central German town Hanau, at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, February 20, 2020 [Credit: AP Photo/Markus Schreiber]

In terms of the number of victims, the Hanau massacre is the largest terrorist attack in Germany since the 1980 Octoberfest bombing, which was also carried out by right-wing extremists. It is only the latest in a series of murderous right-wing extremist attacks in Germany:

• Between 2000 and 2006, the National Socialist Underground terrorist group murdered nine immigrants and a police officer;

• On July 22, 2016, the 18-year-old right-wing extremist David Sonboly killed nine people in Munich;

• On June 2, 2019, a neo-Nazi who was known to the police assassinated Walter Lübcke, the district president in Kassel, Hesse;

• On October 9, 2019, 70 attendees at a Yom Kippur service narrowly escaped a massacre; the gunman Stephan Balliet shot two passers-by after he failed to force his way into the synagogue;

• Last weekend, the police detained twelve men accused of planning simultaneous massacres at mosques throughout the country.

Representatives of the government and parliamentary parties stated their horror and disbelief at the attack. What hypocrisy! The same politicians who shed crocodile tears over this attack have created the ideological and political climate for right-wing extremist terrorism. If the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party functions as the political arm of the right-wing terrorists, then the domestic intelligence service functions as its state arm, enabled by the grand coalition government. The attack in Hanau occurred just two weeks after a minister president was put in power in the neighbouring state of Thuringia for the first time since the Second World War with the votes of a far-right party, the AfD.

As even the New York Times remarked, this represented an “outstanding victory” for the far-right. “Centrists and the far right share talking points on immigration. They share what they perceive as a common enemy in the left. And now, for the first time in decades, they even share a governor,” commented the newspaper.

Unlike during the last years of the Weimar Republic, there is no mass base of support in Germany today for a fascist movement. The overwhelming majority of the population, above all the youth, view the AfD politicians with disdain and outrage. The right-wing extremist party relies all the more on strong support from the military, the police and the state apparatus, from which many of its voters and members are drawn, and from the established parties, from which the majority of the AfD leadership came. Its rise to the dominant party in German politics is the outcome of a political conspiracy by the ruling elite.

With its decision to continue the grand coalition in 2017, the Social Democratic Party (SPD) consciously chose to make the AfD the official opposition, even though the AfD won only 12.6 percent of the vote at the last federal election. Ever since, the far-right party has been fully integrated into the work of parliament, including being appointed to lead several key parliamentary committees. The grand coalition has adopted the AfD’s refugee policy and is pursuing an agenda of militarism and attacks on social spending and workers’ living standards that can be imposed only with fascist methods, i.e., with the support of the AfD to break the population’s resistance.

At the same time, the AfD receives support and advice from the intelligence agencies. The former president of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz), the federal domestic intelligence agency, Hans-Georg Maassen, is now an open AfD supporter. The Verfassungsschutz directs and finances, with the assistance of a network of informants, far-right networks with ties to the military and police. Several dozen of these informants were active in the milieu around the NSU alone.

While the grand coalition and its intelligence agencies encourage the growth of the far-right and give it free rein, they wage a bitter struggle against the left. Since 2018, the grand coalition’s Verfassungsschutz Report has listed the Socialist Equality Party (Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei) as an “object of surveillance” because it wages an irreconcilable struggle against the AfD and German imperialism and its political parties, and advocates an anti-capitalist, socialist programme.

Ideologically, the way has been paved for the AfD and far-right networks by the systematic rewriting of history at the universities and the trivialisation of the Nazis’ crimes. A central role in this has been played by Humboldt University Professor Jörg Baberowski, who claimed that Hitler “was not vicious” and that he “didn’t want to know anything about Auschwitz.” Baberowski is himself part of a right-wing extremist network. He praises dictatorships as “alternative orders,” and describes terrorist attacks against refugees as “comparatively harmless.”

Three weeks ago, Baberowski physically attacked a university student after the student spotted the professor tearing down election placards for the International Youth and Students for Social Equality. Although the incident was documented on video, the president of Humboldt University, Sabine Kunst (SPD), defended the right-wing extremist professor and even said she found his behaviour understandable. The federal government has also backed Baberowski.

Under these conditions, right-wing extremist terrorist attacks like that in Hanau are not only possible, but inevitable. They are the product of the anti-refugee agitation and vicious anticommunism and militarism spearheaded by the grand coalition and supported by all parliamentary parties. Their goal is to reestablish fascism as a political force in Germany once again, so as to suppress the growing social and political resistance within the population.

The official mantra that the Hanau gunman is a “lone wolf” is absurd. The far-right networks enjoy close ties to the police, army and intelligence agencies. They maintain death lists with tens of thousands of names, and are able to operate virtually unhindered.

Following the Lübcke murder, the theory of a lone wolf served to suppress the extent of far-right terrorist activities. It is now known that the alleged murderer, Stefan Ernst, a neo-Nazi with a criminal record, and his accomplice Markus H., were involved in far-right politics for several years and had close contact with the Verfassungsschutz. The files that could bring clarity on this have been locked away for 40 years.

Following the events in Thuringia, the WSWS warned in its Perspective, “Sound the alarm! Political conspiracy and the resurgence of fascism in Germany”: “The political situation in Germany demands the attention of the European, American and international working class. In the light of the history of the 20th century, it is impossible to adopt a complacent attitude toward the resurgence of neo-Nazism in Germany.”

This warning has been confirmed in a matter of days. The Hanau attack confirms the conclusion we drew that as “throughout the world, a process of political radicalization is underway in Germany." We continued: "The events in Thuringia, which have shocked the public, will accelerate this process.”

The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei calls for the protests against the far-right to be expanded and armed with a clear political perspective. It is high time to put an end to the political conspiracy of the grand coalition, the state apparatus and the far-right. The Verfassungsschutz must be dissolved and the surveillance and persecution of left-wing groups must immediately stop.

Stop Germany’s return to an aggressive militarist foreign policy! For a socialist programme against fascism and war!

One World Media Fellowship 2020 for Journalists in Developing Countries

Application Deadline: 2nd April 2020 (11:59PM)

Eligible Countries: International

About the Award: Working in film, print, audio or multimedia, our Fellows’ projects bring together integrity and creativity to present underreported stories that break down stereotypes and build cross-cultural connections.
We guide filmmakers and journalists on a single project, and provide a supportive network of mentors and peers through the production and completion of their project.
We seek to champion diverse emerging talent, and particularly encourage submissions from BAME applicants as well as from people from and based in developing countries.

Type: Fellowship

Eligibility:

• We are open to applications from all around the world.
• One World Media Fellows are aspiring filmmakers and journalists ready to take the next leap in their career reporting from developing countries. Looking for their first director role or solo investigation, our Fellows experiment and learn in a supportive environment.

Number of Awards: We select 12 Fellows each year, and we reserve at least 3 spots for international Fellows from and based in developing countries.

Value of Award:

• £1,000 production grant
• Executive Producer for your project
• Career mentorship
• Workshops and webinars by industry experts
• Fair Reporting and Security Guidance
• Introductions to commissioners
• Network of like-minded Fellows and Alumni

How to Apply: How To Apply

• It is important to go through all application requirements on the Programme Webpage (see link below) before applying

Visit Programme Webpage for Details

Matsumae Research Fellowship for Natural Science, Engineering and Medicine 2021

Application Deadline: 30th June, 2020 17:00 (Japan Standard Time).

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: International

To be taken at (country): Japan

Fields of Study:  Fields of study such as natural science, engineering and medicine are given first priority. Candidates are free to select host institutions (university research laboratories, national research institutions or the corresponding facilities of private industry)

About the Award: Upon the concept of the founder of the Matsumae International Foundation (MIF), “Towards A Greater Understanding of Japan and a Lasting World Peace”, MIF has started the Research Fellowship Program.

Type: Fellowship

Eligibility: To be eligible, candidates must:

• be of non-Japanese nationality;
• have a Doctorate degree;
• be 49 years old or under;
• not have been in Japan previously;
• have firm positions and professions in their home nations

Number of Awardees: Twenty (20)

Value of Scholarship: 

• Stipend for research and stay
• Insurance
• Air transportation (a round-trip air ticket to/from Tokyo)
• Lump sum on arrival

Duration of Scholarship: From three(3) to six(6) months.

How to Apply: Applicants should go through Application instructions on the the Program Webpage before applying.

Application Form

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Harambee Guadalupe Scholarships 2020 for African Women (Fully-funded)

Application Deadline: 26th March 2020

Eligible Countries: African countries

To be Taken at (Country): Each scholarship aims to enable the integration of the applicant into a senior research group, either in Spain, Italy, or an African country (different from applicant’s country)

About the Award: The “Guadalupe scholarship” Program, henceforth called “Becas Guadalupe” program, is a project that Harambee ONGD launched on the occasion of the Beatification of the Spanish scientist Guadalupe Ortiz de Landázuri on May 18, 2019. Its purpose is to promote and give greater visibility to female African scientists, so that they can collaborate effectively in the development of their countries. The program will award 100 mobility grants for African women researchers over a period of 10 years, calling for 10 annual grants that may be applied by women scientists from sub-Saharan Africa for stays of between 1 to 6 months in research centres and universities. The scholarships, financed by public and private sponsors, donations and own funds, will cover travelling expenses to and from the country of residence, accommodation, daily allowances and medical insurance.

Type: Research

Eligibility: African women, living in sub-Saharan Africa and active in some research group of one university, hospital or other institutions, located in African countries. Doctoral students will also be considered and, exceptionally, graduated students who wish to complete Master’s studies, postgraduate studies, or specialization programs.

• A) Predoctoral scholarships for stays in research centres and universities.
• B) Exceptionally, the possibility of carrying out specialization programs, a Master’s or postgraduate studies in those entities that have signed a previous agreement with Harambee, is also considered (see a list of agreements already active in this link www.harambee.es).
• C) Postdoctoral scholarships (applicant under 35 years old).
• The applications fall into the following categories:D) Postdoctoral senior scholarships (applicant over 35 years old)

• The applicants must certify their link with a research group in their own country (modalities C and D).
• Doctoral students must certify their registration in a doctoral program of their own university.
• In the case of applying for a stay of specialization, Master or Postgraduate studies and not being enrolled in a doctoral program, they must accredit the degree of studies required by the option requested.
• A level B2 of English or Spanish is required by the scholarships.

Number of Awards: 10 every year

Value of Award:

• Each scholarship aims to enable the integration of the applicant into a senior research group, either in Spain, Italy, or an African country, with the aim of acquiring or improving scientific and technical skills, and establishing future collaborations.
• The stay should be accomplished in a research group of a university different from their own for a period comprising between 1 and 6 months (the stay can be extended for 3 months more, if funding is available and with the agreement of the scientific committee).
• When an application has been made for a Master’s degree, Postgraduate studies or a program of specialization, the duration will depend on the conditions expressed in the agreement between the receiving institution and Harambee.
• Scholarships can be requested by women scientists from sub-Saharan Africa for stays (from 1 to 6 months) in international research centres and universities. The scholarships, financed by public and private sponsors, donations and own funds, will cover travel, expenses to and from the country of residence, accommodation, daily allowances and medical insurance.

How to Apply: The following documents must be sent by e-mail to becasguadalupe@harambee.es :

1. Completed application form provided in the web-page www.harambee.es.
2. Curriculum Vitae (following the model provided in the web).
3. Exclusively for modalities A and B: Academic record with the grades obtained prior to inscription in the doctoral program. It must include the average mark.
4. Recommendation letter of the main researcher in the African research group (modalities C and D), or the thesis director, or the tutor of the PhD program. This letter should highlight the importance of the stay for the candidate’s professional future. In the case of graduates who wish to access programs of specialization, a Master or Postgraduate studies, and are not enrolled in a doctoral program, they must provide 2 letters of recommendation from an academic professor of the degree performed.
5. Acceptance letter of the host group or centre. If this letter is not ready on application, it can be sent later on, before the beginning of the stay. Also a change of destination can be admitted if it is justified in writing to the Scientific Committee.
6. Brief memory of the Research Project to be developed during the stay (maximum 2 pages) (for those who apply for a research stay). The applicant must demonstrate her capacity and experience to carry out the proposed project, which must be integrated within the research lines of the host group. The expected contribution of the stay to the reinforcement of her own research must also be justified.
7. Return commitment letter to their origin institutions (follow the template sited in the web page www.harambee.es).
8. Earliest budget of travel expenses.
9. Copy of ID/Passport.
10. Declaration of veracity of the data and documents enclosed (follow the template sited in the web page www.harambee.es).

Visit Award Webpage for Details

Digital Lab Africa 2020 for Creative African Artists and Startups (€3,000 Cash Prize and Mentorship in France)

Application Deadline: 1st March 2020

Eligible Countries: Sub-Saharan African countries

To be taken at (country): France


About the Award: Digital Lab Africa call for projects is open to anyone, professional or not, from the sector of multimedia content creation: artists, producers, developers,, start-ups, SMEs, collectives, students or entrepreneurs, based in sub-Saharan Africa. The applicants have to be based in this region or being nationals of one of the Sub-Saharan African countries, provided the project development is mostly implemented locally. The objective of Digital Lab Africa is to provide a springboard for African talent in multimedia creation and to make their project happen with the support of French leading companies (studios, producers, broadcasters, distributors) such as ARTE (web creation), Okio-Studio (virtual reality),CCCP (video game), and 1D Touch/Believe Digital (digital music).

Eligible Fields: Digital Lab Africa is looking for projects at initial stage of development, in need of partners and financial support and innovative in terms of narration, content or technologies.

• Web Creation: This category is dedicated to all linear and non-linear format which offer an innovative storytelling and/or an immersive/interactive experience for the audience.
  This category includes all content,  irrespective of the genre – fiction, documentary, series, TV format, magazine, entertainment, news… – produced to be viewed mainly online (first digital content). Projects which combine several media (transmedia) or offer a cross media strategy and which aim to attract an audience, engage with it and retain it will be considered first.
  Examples: an interactive web documentary, a web series including a chat or a video game, a news show in 360°, a thematic web channel etc.
• Virtual Reality: The virtual reality category is open to any content which offers an immersive experience to the public, on any type of support (computer, tablet, smartphone and virtual reality headset), using virtual reality technologies, augmented reality, mixed reality, 360° video, and 3D interactions.
  Examples: journalism report, fiction or documentary movie, musical clip, museum visit, video game…
• Video Game: the video game category is open to all prototypes/concepts of video game for mobile application or full screen.
  Examples: action, strategy game, a game which aim to inform, train or educate.
• Digital Music: the digital music category is open to all projects which offer an innovative and enriching user experience using multimedia tools, solutions and content, based on one or several African artists, musical genres or African territories.
  Example: creating an app offering a multimedia world and an interactive community around an artist.
• Animation:  the Animation category is open to all projects/content which mainly use animation technics (2D, 3D, paper, film, sand, modeling clay, painting, figurine etc).Examples: an animated short film, an animated web-series, an animated comic, an animated application, etc.

Type: Contest

Eligibility: 

• DLA call for projects targets artists, producers, designers, start-ups, students in the media and creative industries. The call is open to any professional or individual from Sub-Saharan Africa having an innovative project in 5 categories of multimedia production: WEB CREATION, VIRTUAL REALITY, VIDEO GAME, ANIMATION and DIGITAL MUSIC.
  
• All submitted projects should be set down in French or English. They should target an international audience. It is about developing projects, researching partners and financial support. The projects should be innovative in form, narration, content or technologies employed.

Selection Criteria: The projects will then be evaluated by the DLA selection committee based on criteria of artistic/technical quality, technological/creative innovation and feasibility/economic potential.

Value of Programme: 

• The platform will allow creative multimedia projects to come to light with the support of French and Sub-Saharan African partners.
• Selected applicants will take part in a Pitch Competition. The winning projects win a 3,000 € cash prize and a Digital Lab Africa Incubation Pass to support the project development.
• The DLA project incubation includes mentorship and project development support by French and Sub-Saharan African partners for each category. Additionally, the Incubation Pass comprises residence time in France/South Africa within digital cluster and participation in benchmark multimedia events.

How to Apply: To apply visit: http://digilabafrica.com/submit-a-project/

Visit Scholarship Webpage for details

DAAD In-Country/In-Region Strengthening Advisory Capacities for Land Governance in Africa (SLGA) Scholarship Program 2020

Application Deadlines:
Master Candidates: 29th February, 2020
PhD Candidates: 9th June, 2020

Eligible Countries: African countries

To be Taken at (Country): Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II (IAV Hassan II) Rabat, Morocco

About the Award: As part of the “In-Country/In-Region Scholarship Program” DAAD in close collaboration with the GIZ assisted program “Strengthening Advisory Capacities for Land Governance in Africa (SLGA)” is able to offer scholarships for postgraduate studies within the Network of Excellence for Land Governance in Africa (NELGA)”. The program is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) within the framework of the special initiative “One World – No Hunger”.

Field(s) of Study: The In-Country/In-Region Scholarship Program supports studies in subject areas with strong relevance to land governance.

The scholarships at IAV are available in the following fields:

• 1 scholarship for MSc in Land Surveying Engineering
• 5 (2 In-Country / 3 In-Region) scholarships for PhD

at the Centre for Doctoral Studies in Science Engineering Domain

Type: Masters, PhD

Eligibility: Applicants should:

• – have successfully completed generally with above average results (upper forth of class):
  • at least a three-year university degree within IAV Hassan II for Msc candidates in surveying Engineering
  • an Engineering certificate or a Master degree certificate (five-year degree program) for doctoral candidates.

• – clearly show motivation and strong commitment
• – have thorough knowledge of the language of instruction
• – have completed their last university degree not more than 6 years ago at the time of application
• – must be nationals or permanent resident of an African country
• – should generally be a) staff member of a public university, b) candidate considered for teaching or research staff recruitment, c) from the public sector

Female applicants and candidates from less privileged regions or groups are especially encouraged to participate in the program.

Number of Awards: 6

Value of Award: The scholarship covers the following items: 1. Annually Tuition fees, 2. Annually Study and research allowance, 3. One Printing allowance at the end of the program, 4. Monthly Scholarship (Accommodation, Food etc.) 5. In-Region only: Two Travel allowances (beginning/ end of scholarship) 6. Insurance (In-Region only)

Duration of Award: The duration

• – of the Msc. program is generally three years, starting in September 2020,
• – of the PhD program is generally three years, starting in January 2021.

Please note that the maximum duration of the scholarship is based on the time that is left until the scholarship holder has reached the regular period of studies in that program; i.e., if you apply for a DAAD scholarship starting in your second year of studies of a three-year program, the maximum duration of the scholarship will be two years.

How to Apply:

• It is important to go through all application requirements in the Award Webpage (see Link below) before applying.

Visit Award Webpage for Details

Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) Grants 2020

Application Deadline: 30th April 2020

Offered annually? Yes

To be taken at (country): West African countries

Fields of Proposal: OSIWA seeks proposals covering the following specific themes:

• Economic Governance and Advancement
• Justice Reform and the Rule of Law
• Free, Quality and Independent Media
• Equality and Anti-Discrimination
• Democratic Practice

For a breakdown of these areas into sub-themes, kindly consult the proposal template.
The detailed OSIWA strategy is available here.

About the Award: The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) is a grant making and advocacy foundation that is part of the global Open Society Foundations Network. OSIWA works to support the creation of open societies in West Africa marked by functioning democracy, good governance, the rule of law, basic freedoms, and widespread civic participation. Its headquarters is in Dakar and it has offices in Abuja, Monrovia, Freetown and Conakry.

Type: Grants

Eligibility: OSIWA primarily awards grants to local organizations based in West Africa. In rare and limited circumstances, it provides support to West Africa-based international organizations with a strong commitment to transfer knowledge to local groups they partner with. It provides grants to government institutions as well as regional and sub-regional organizations working in its core priority areas. OSIWA requires all organizations seeking funding to submit a complete proposal, budget, and other relevant documents including leadership information (list of Board members, trustees and management staff who will be involved in the project), proof of registration and banking details.
Applications that are not submitted with all the relevant documentation may be delayed.

Selection Criteria: Selection criteria and process applications are evaluated on the extent to which the organization possesses the vision, drive, experience and skills required to create and sustain a project that will advance OSIWA’s objectives.

Value of Program: There is no set maximum amount for OSIWA funding. OSIWA operates a limited budget for the ten countries it covers and its regional program. In the event that OSIWA cannot fund the entire project budget, it may choose to fund part of it and request the grant seeker to source for the outstanding balance.

How to Apply: Proposals should be sent preferably online via the online submission form or to: proposals@osiwa.org. Proposals will be accepted until April 30^th 2020. OSIWA encourages early submission of proposals and submitted proposals will be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis. Proposals received after the due date will not be considered. In order to assess diversity and inclusion in our grant making, kindly indicate in the application if the proposal is focused on women, youth or persons living with disability.

Visit Program Webpage for details

British Federation of Women Graduates (BFWG) Scholarships 2020

Application Deadline: 22nd February 2020

To Be Taken At (Country): Britain

About the Award: The British Federation of Women Graduates scholarships are for women who will be in their third year of doctoral studies or part time equivalent at the time when the awards are given out n October/November of each year. The awards are given on the basis of evidence of academic excellence as shown on the application form, referee reports and, for those shortlisted, brief presentations of their research to a panel of academics.

Type: Doctoral

Eligibility: To be eligible to apply for a BFWG award for the year, candidate must be:

• A female postgraduate student who commenced full time doctoral studies (PhD, DPhil, DMus etc.) between September 1st 2017 and October 31st 2018 or a part time student at an equivalent stage of her studies.
• Registered at a university in England, Wales or Scotland (not Northern Ireland).
• Awards are given to help with on-going doctoral work rather than as prizes at the end of doctoral studies so please do not apply if you expect to submit your thesis before the end of February 2021 at the earliest.
• Awards are not given out unless fees for the year from October 2020 have been paid or are covered by available funds or waived by the university.

Selection Criteria: BFWG Scholarships (Academic Awards) are awarded in competition on the basis of overall academic excellence. In effect they are prizes for outstanding academic excellence. They are not intended to meet financial need.

Number of Awards: The number of awards made each year depends on the funds available and on the quality of the applications but six to ten awards are usually given.

Value of Award: The amounts offered in awards range upwards from £1000 with the average award being around £3000 and the maximum being £6000.

How to Apply: Only email applications will be accepted.

• To make an application for a BFWG award, download and complete the application form.
• Email this back to awards@bfwg.org.uk  giving the subject heading of your email ‘AWARD APPLICATION’ and at the same time ensure that you have followed the instructions for sending a £20 non-refundable administration fee through PayPal as described on the form.
• Please make sure that you record the reference number of your PayPal transaction, the date of the transaction and the name on the Paypal account from which the payment is made if this is not yourself or if it is under a different name from the one you use on your application form.  (This is to clarify who has sent a payment We do not use the information for anything else).

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Australia Awards John Allwright Fellowship 2020 for Developing Countries

Application Deadline: 30th April 2020.

Eligible Countries: Developing Countries

To be Taken at (country): Australia

About the Award: The Australia Awards John Allwright Fellowship is a scholarship offered by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and co-funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. John Allwright Fellowships are awarded to partner-country scientists involved in ACIAR supported collaborative research projects to undertake postgraduate training at Australian universities.
The primary aim of the John Allwright Fellowship is to enhance research capacity in ACIAR’s partner country  institutions. Whilst individual awardees will benefit from the Scheme, it is important to note that partner country institutions are the key targets.
The study and research opportunities provided by Australia Awards Scholarships develop skills and knowledge of individuals to drive change and contribute to the development outcomes of their own country.

Type: Fellowship

Eligibility: Applicants must be citizens of the country in which they are working.
To be eligible for selection, a candidate must:

• at the time of applying, hold qualifications that would be assessed to be equivalent to at least an Australian bachelor’s degree in a discipline that is relevant to the proposed area of postgraduate study;
• be a scientist or economist from the developing country partner, who is actively involved in a collaborative research project supported by ACIAR at the time of application (in some cases, ACIAR will consider supporting researchers from “advanced pipeline” projects, i.e. in cases where a full project proposal has been approved by ACIAR);
• be jointly supported in the application by the Australian and partner country Project Leaders;
• obtain approval from the employing institution who must agree to the absence of the candidate should he/she receive a Fellowship for the period involved in obtaining the postgraduate qualification; and
• demonstrate that he/she is employed on a permanent rather than short-term contract basis.

Within the Fellowship Scheme, ACIAR strives to meet the Australian government policy on gender equity, and reflect ACIAR’s training policies and strategies.

Value of Award: The following benefits generally apply:

• Full tuition fees
• Return air travel—payment of a single return, economy class airfare to and from Australia, via the most direct route
• Establishment allowance—a once only payment of A$5,000 as a contribution towards accommodation expenses, text books, study materials
• Contribution to Living Expenses (CLE) is a fortnightly contribution to basic living expenses paid at a rate determined by the department.
• Introductory Academic Program (IAP)—a compulsory 4-6 week program prior to the commencement of formal academic studies covering information on life and study in Australia
• Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) for the duration of the award (for award holder only)—provided to cover the student’s basic medical costs (with the exception of pre-existing conditions)
• Pre-course English (PCE) fees—if deemed necessary PCE may be available for students for in-country and/or in-Australia training
• Supplementary Academic Support may be available to ensure a Scholar’s academic success or enhance their academic experience
• Fieldwork (for research students only)—may be available for eligible research students for up to two return economy class airfares for a Masters student or up to three for a PhD student, via the most direct route to their country of citizenship

Duration of Program: The Awards are offered for the minimum period necessary for the individual to complete the academic program specified by the Australian higher education institution, including any preparatory training.

How to Apply: 

• Go to the Online Australia Scholarships Information System (OASIS) here. The first step is to register in OASIS as this will enable you to logon, create and complete an application.
• For instructions on how to register and create an application in OASIS please see the OASIS Applicant User guide here.
• It is important to go through the Application and eligibility requirements before applying.

Visit Program Webpage for Details

US Government Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) 2020

Application Deadline: 28th February 2020

Eligible Countries: International

About the Award: The Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) provides small grants to teams of past and current participants of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs to carry out public service projects using the skills and knowledge they gained during their exchange experiences.
This year, teams must submit a justification explaining all proposed budget expenditures. The budget justification will help you think through your project and budget more carefully by providing greater detail and explanation of budget items.

• A budget justification helps the reviewers better understand the costs of your project.
• Not sure what a budget justification is? Check out the AEIF Help Desk for examples.

With this change, a complete application package consists of: a proposal, alumni team information, and a budget with a budget justification.

Themes: One theme: Women, Peace, and Security
The theme of Women, Peace, and Security includes projects that:

• Strengthen the role of women in peace, security, and governance;
• Engage women as partners in preventing terrorism and countering radicalization and recruitment;
• Promote protection of women and girls from violence, abuse, and exploitation; or,
• Support women’s political, economic, and civic participation.

Type: Grants

Eligibility: 

• Alumni must be verified members of the International Exchange Alumni (IEA) global online community and form teams of at least three (3) IEA community members (this number includes the team leader).
• Alumni who are U.S. citizens may not submit proposals but U.S. alumni may participate as team members in a project.
• All project activities and initiatives must take place outside of the United States.
• Proposed projects must address one of the five AEIF themes below.
• To participate in AEIF, you must log into the International Exchange Alumni site (IEA), then go to alumni.state.gov/aeif, and click on the “Apply for AEIF” button. This will take you to the AEIF application on FluidReview where you may begin the proposal form. Only by signing into IEA and navigating to the Fluid Review platform will you be able to successfully participate in the AEIF competition and submit your proposal and budget. Need an account or don’t remember your password? Get help with your account here.
• In order to successfully submit your proposal, you must fill out the entire online form and attach the budget form. You may save your edits and complete your proposal in more than one sitting, but once you submit your proposal, you may no longer make changes.
• Proposals and budgets sent via email will not be accepted.

Number of Awards: Not specified

Value of Award: $25,000

How to Apply: Apply Here

Visit the Program Webpage for Details

Award Providers: US State Department