About the Fellowship Programs
Every Fellowship program takes themes that are timeless and global and looks at them through a lens that is timely and local.
Our Fellowship Programs
In each national program, Fellows learn from local experts and community members, visit museums and historical sites, and engage in practice-oriented workshops. Moreover, Fellows are constantly reflecting with one another and their program staff. Each program has a cohort of approximately 20 Fellows from different countries. They come from many different backgrounds – academia, the arts, activism – but share common values. Humanity in Action Fellows are collaborative, passionate, and open people. Above all, they learn to reflect on their own internalized biases, to think from the perspective of identity groups different from their own, and to advance change in their own communities.
2023 Dates
The US Mapping Democracy Fellowship | hybrid*
May 30 – June 19, 2023
>> June 11 – 19 in person in Washington, D.C.
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The Amsterdam Fellowship | in-person*
June 5 – 23, 2023
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The Berlin Fellowship | in-person*
June 5 – 23, 2023
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The Copenhagen Fellowship | in-person*
June 5 – 30, 2023
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*Due to COVID-19, we reserve the right to modify or cancel the program for reasons beyond our control.
The Mapping Democracy Fellowship
Accepting applications from
- Bosnia & Herzegovina
- Denmark
- Germany
- The Netherlands
- USA
- Poland
- ___
- The Mapping Democracy Fellowship accepts applicants from the countries mentioned above.
May 30 – June 19, 2023 | hybrid*
*May 30-June 7 consists of virtual programming. June 11-19 takes place in person in Washington DC.
The 2023 US Fellowship program, titled “Mapping Democracy”, convenes a group of approximately 20 American and European Fellows. Fellows begin their journey with online community building and mapping workshops before gathering in Washington D.C. for in-person programming.
Programmatically, the Fellowship consists of two distinct parts. In the opening virtual part, Fellows collaborate in small teams to identify and map an existing monument or space in Washington D.C. that was designed to epitomize democracy. Fellows map the monuments or spaces, incorporating their histories, stated objectives, and narratives. Fellows also address their public impact in regard to missions, myths, and truths.
The second part of the Fellowship, based in Washington D.C., focuses on developing maps that depict the fragility and/or strength of liberal democracy as revealed on January 6, 2021. A full range of mapping possibilities could include subjects such as what led to January 6th: white supremacy, housing inequities, and educational segregation, as well as maps of regret or aspiration.
Due to COVID-19, we reserve the right to modify or cancel the program for reasons beyond our control.
The Amsterdam Fellowship
Accepting applications from
- The Netherlands
- USA
- Germany
- Greece
- ___
- The Amsterdam Fellowship accepts applicants from the countries mentioned above.
June 5 – 23, 2023 | in-person Fellowship*
*June 5-6, 2023 consists of virtual programming with the international 2023 cohort of Fellows. June 8, 2023 is a travel day and June 9-23, 2023 takes place in person in Amsterdam.
In 2023, our Amsterdam Fellowship will focus on the Netherlands’ colonial past and its repercussions throughout the 20st century until today.
The Netherlands’ colonial past and active role in slavery have been – and are to this day – underexposed parts of our history. The Dutch government has recently stated an apology acknowledging their role in the horrors of the slave trade, but we can ask ourselves: What does an apology mean? And how do we receive it as we reckon with the racism and discrimination that are deeply rooted in our society, both at social and institutional levels?
During the Fellowship, we will investigate the ways in which colonial legacies have impacted Dutch society. What are the relationships between minority and majority populations and marginalized groups? How do we explore the topics of wealth inequality, ableism, fascism, and anti-migration rhetoric – and how do we protect our democratic values?
Through workshops, discussions, and community building, we aim to (re)discover ideas and find answers to tackle these human rights challenges. We invite you to think about the state of the world and address such issues by coming into action and developing your own Action Project.
The Berlin Fellowship
Accepting applications from
- Germany
- Poland
- The Netherlands
- USA
- Greece
- ___
- The Berlin Fellowship accepts applicants from the countries mentioned above.
Photo: ©Sharon Nathan, 2022 European Fellow
June 5 – 23, 2023 | in-person Fellowship*
*June 5-6, 2023 consists of virtual programming with the international 2023 cohort of Fellows. June 8, 2023 is a travel day and June 9-23, 2023 takes place in person in Berlin.
In 2023, our Berlin Fellowship will focus on Germany’s colonial past and its repercussions throughout the 20st century until today.
The colonial injustice and violence that the German Reich enforced on regions in Africa and Asia had a lasting impact for both the colonized and the colonizer. Yet the German colonial project has traditionally found little attention in the shadow of another dark chapter of the country’s history – the National Socialist regime, the Shoah, and the systemic terror that the Nazis inflicted on all those who did not fit into their ideology.
In the Fellowship, we will explore the ways in which colonial legacies play a central role for Germany’s national identity, social structure, and human rights realities. Why and how has this chapter of European and German history been silenced in the dominant discourses of remembrance? How is the way we remember the past connected with the many challenges our increasingly diverse democratic societies are facing, like Antisemitism, racism, hostility towards Muslims, trans- and homophobia, misogyny and other forms of discrimination? And how can we learn to counter group-focused hostility and protect democratic values?
Berlin does not only carry enormous historical significance as the center of the German Reich’s colonial empire. It continues to be a pivotal point for contemporary social justice struggles. It hence offers a unique landscape to bridge past and present, and to learn for the future.
Due to COVID-19, we reserve the right to modify or cancel the program for reasons beyond our control.
The Copenhagen Fellowship
June 5 – 30, 2023 | in-person Fellowship*
*June 5-6, 2023 consists of virtual programming with the international 2023 cohort of Fellows. June 7 and 8, 2023 are a travel days and June 8-30, 2023 takes place in person in Copenhagen.
The Humanity in Action Copenhagen Fellowship centers around a pivotal example of civil society acting in defense of human rights: the flight and rescue of the Danish Jews during World War II. Today, Denmark is still seen as a paragon of the successful progressive society: a beacon of wealth, happiness, and equality. The Copenhagen Fellowship investigates these narratives to reveal more complicated truths.
In a country lauded for its egalitarian healthcare, education, and welfare systems, political rhetoric against minority groups is on the rise, and nationalist sentiments simmering. The nation’s history has its darker sides, too.
In 2023 the Copenhagen Fellowship specifically explores issues of Climate Change, Human Rights, and Democracies in Crisis. The purpose of the 2023 Fellowship is to not loose sight of the climate crisis in the midst of all the other crises in the world today – the War in Ukarine, the energy crisis, inflation, covid-19, to name a few – and to preserve and strengthen democracy, pluralism and human rights. We will also explore how YOU can ACT to actively contribute to the CHANGES you want to bring about.
*Due to COVID-19, we reserve the right to modify or cancel the program for reasons beyond our control.
