ERRC Human Rights Education opportunities for Romani activists

11 July 2000

For further information, please contact Human Rights Education Director Angéla Kóczé at the ERRC on

1386 Budapest 62, P.O. Box 906/93, Hungary; fax: (36-1) 428-2356; e-mail: angela@errc.org

Scholarships for Romani Students of Law or Public Administration

The European Roma Rights Center offers scholarships to eligible Romani students of law or public administration. Scholarships normally cover tuition at accredited schools, books and fees, and miscellaneous expenses related to higher education. In exceptional cases, the ERRC will also cover accommodation. Criteria for selection include academic promise, financial need and a demonstrated intention of working in the field of human rights. Recipients of scholarships are required to submit a report at the end of each semester to the ERRC indicating their academic progress. Scholarships are awarded for one year. Successful recipients are not guaranteed scholarships for the following years of study; they must re-apply to the ERRC.

Application procedure

Each candidate for ERRC legal scholarship should submit the following:

1. A letter of interest;
2. A certificate from an accredited higher education institution: a) confirming that the applicant is enrolled for the current academic year; b) specifying the size of tuition and exam fees for the current academic year (if applicable); and c) the applicant's grades from the previous academic year (if applicable);
3. An itemised annual budget showing law school expenses (tuition, books, fees, etc.) which cannot be covered by sources other than an ERRC scholarship;
4. Name, title, and contact number/ address of at least one person who can recommend the applicant. This may include secondary school teachers, university professors, local community leaders, or others.

At some point during the scholarship period, recipients of ERRC legal scholarships are expected to perform:
a) human rights outreach work in Romani communities; or b) a summer human rights internship arranged by or in co-operation with the ERRC. Scholarship applications will be considered in two cycles, corresponding with the academic calendar. Deadlines for for submission of applications are as follows:

1. For the autumn semester 2000, all applications must be received no later than August 30, 2000;
2. For the spring semester 2001, all applications must be received no later than March 15, 2001.

Scholarships for individual extra-curricular projects for Romani law students who are recipients of basic ERRC scholarship covering their tuition: The ERRC would like to encourage those Romani students to undertake individual projects related to Roma rights. They can do research, work in law offices on cases, or undertake certain responsibilities in Romani organisations. We herewith open competition and invite our students to submit applications for these extra scholarships. The amount of the extra scholarship will depend on evaluation of the proposed project costs. There is no deadline.

Long–term internships (6-9 months)

• Internships at the ERRC

These will be internships offered on a competitive basis for periods of six to nine months, to Romani persons who meet certain educational, language and other criteria. The interns will be hosted at the ERRC office in Budapest. The interns will work with one of the ERRC Departments (Research, Advocacy, Legal, or Human Rights Education). Individual projects undertaken by the interns will be supervised by the heads of the departments.

• Externships at selected human rights organisations

The ERRC offers the opportunity to Romani human rights activists to undertake an individual project in one of a short list of selected highly professional human rights organisations. Interns will "shadow" professional human rights activists, learning from the tutor. Alternately, the intern can be hosted by an appropriate human rights organisation working in a language that she understands and supervised by a member of the host organisation. Prominent human rights activists will act as role models in the education of young Romani rights activists. The external internships at local rights organisations will attempt to meet the needs of those who don't speak English.

Short-term internships (3-6 weeks)

• The ERRC offers short-term internships in the ERRC in order to strengthen the relationship between the ERRC and the scholarship recipients. Selection will be based on language skills and university performance.

Interested parties should send a curriculum vitae, letter of interest, description of requested internship and/or externship project, and, where applicable, requested budget to:

Human Rights Education Director Angéla Kóczé at the ERRC on 1386 Budapest 62, P.O. Box 906/93, Hungary; fax: +36-1-4282356; e-mail: angela@errc.org

WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE RECIPIENTS OF THE ERRC SCHOLARSHIPS TO APPLY FOR INTERNSHIPS.