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Call For Nominations

Date: January 28, 2014


Nominations must be submitted by February 14

The Pan Valley Institute of the American Friends Service Committee announces a call for nominations for the Tamejavi Cultural Organizing Fellowship Program (TCOFP). Launched in the fall of 2011, TCOFP is a fellowship program designed to strengthen the cultural organizing skills of Central Valley’s emerging cultural leaders from underserve communities. Ten cultural leaders will be selected to participate in TCOFP second cycle starting April 2014 ending October 2015. Selected fellows will learn the basic principles of popular education, participatory action research, and cultural organizing. They are also provided with resources to inspire the collective artistic and cultural creativities within and beyond their own communities.

Since 1998, Pan Valley Institute (PVI), has been at the forefront of serving thousands of immigrants in California’s multicultural Central Valley. PVI’s work is grounded in the knowledge that immigrants bring enormous cultural capital and valuable perspectives to the Central Valley. By intentionally creating and opening public spaces to immigrants, we enhance expressions of creativity, stimulate a sense of belonging, and fortify immigrant contributions to the Valley's civic life. Our strategies of building collective leadership and cultural organizing nurture immigrant knowledge, talents and skills and allow them to expand and sustain cultural and artistic expression to create vibrant and engaged Central Valley communities.

Aspiring Tamejavi Fellows candidates are individuals who are:

  • Open to learning new and creative organizing strategies
  • Committed to community work yet are not already overcommitted to other community activities, given the 18-month program commitment
  • Understand and values popular education principles such, building collective learning for social change, and is committed to making the Central Valley a more just and democratic place.
  • Particularly concern in the cultural and artistic life of their community plus       understand and value Central Valley cultural diversities
  • Able to understand the daily issues in the community and also have a larger vision
  • Able to make links and connections between people, places, organizations
  • Are Able to ensure that the issues of the community are addressed
  • Bring people together

How Tamejavi Fellows Get Selected?

Aspiring candidates are nominated by a group of Pan Valley Institute partners who have a depth knowledge and understanding of our work plus share the core principles and goals of TCOFP. The nominations are submitted to a selection committee for a thoroughly review and the selection of 15 semifinalists. The semifinalists are then invited to submit a personal statement and to participate in person meetings with members of the selection committee. For the last stage the selection committee meets to review the personal statements, debrief on the in person meetings and select the TCOFP 2014 – 2015 cohort of fellows.

What fellows Gain by Participating in TCOFP?

Tamejavi Fellows get the opportunity to engage in a process of popular education with immigrant leaders from diverse ethnic communities. They get to learn from each other, share experiences, knowledge and participate in cultural exchanges. TCOFP also offer fellows opportunities to practice what they learned for example community engagement forming a learning group. In collaboration with their learning group fellows will conduct a community assessment and cultural inventory to gain a better understanding of pressing concerns, collective cultural assets, and the impact of migration and displacement on individuals, families, and cultures in their community. Fellows and their learning groups also receive capacity and resources for the production of public cultural projects to mobilize local capacities and address common concerns.

In addition to the above learning opportunities Fellows will receive an honorarium of $5,000 dollars as an award of their commitment to expanding and sustaining cultural and artistic expression and their present and future contribution to creating vibrant and engaged Central Valley communities. The $5,000 dollars honorarium is also intended to cover travel expenses related to their fellowship work and other expenses their participation in the fellowship may incurred

What is expected from the fellows?

  • Fellows will need to commit 18 months (April 2014 to October 2015) to participate in the program.
  • Fellows will invest about 360 hour during the 18month period between 18 to 20 hours per month.
  • From the total hours fellows will be required to allocate 6 hour a month for office work, a total of 104 hours engaging in a popular education process by attending 4 residential gatherings, 32 hours in capacity building, 12 hours participating and or hosting cultural sharings and the rest of the time in community work including planning a public presentation.
  • Fellows will have to agree to work in pairs through the learning journey and the practices of their learning
  • Fellows will have to demonstrate early in the process that they have a clear understanding on the core values, and principles of the program and that they are capable to communicate to others this information
  • Fellows will have to demonstrate early in the process clear understanding of what is expected from them
  • Fellows will have to demonstrate early in the process ability to use TCOFO communication outlets such as the Tamejavi blog, journal among others
  • Fellows will be in a six month probationary period in which they would have to opportunity to learn if they are benefiting from the program

 

For more information please contact:

Estela Galvan, PVI Program Associate

egalvan@afsc.org

(559) 222-7678

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