Application Call for Climate Fellowship Grant 2024

Youth Innovation Lab

Youth Innovation Lab (YI-Lab) is a not-for-profit civic tech company that works at the intersection of emerging cutting-edge technological tools and their applications by equipping young professionals to solve emerging challenges in our community. YI-Lab’s mission statement is, ‘to engage young people to bridge science to people and policy through innovation’. YI-Lab harnesses indigenous knowledge, citizen science approach, develops low-cost technological solutions, promotes open data, promotes entrepreneurship, and conducts evidence-based advocacy campaigns. YI-Lab provides a conducive environment for young people to co-create solutions for inclusive development.

Details / requirements:

Application Call for Climate Fellowship Grant 2024

Program Overview

Youth Innovation Lab (YI-Lab) in the consortium of Restless Development, CREASION, and Center for Disaster Management Studies (CDMS) is implementing Nepali Yuwa in Climate Action and Green Growth (NYCAGG) project in Madhesh, Karnali, and Sudurpaschim provinces from 2022 to 2025 through the funding from the European Union. The project aims to promote Nepali youth inclusion in climate action and green economy in the post-COVID recovery of Nepal through their engagement in disaster and climate governance, entrepreneurship, and advocacy. It focuses on working with young people and empowering and providing them with a platform to aid towards the post-COVID recovery and development process. Furthermore, the activities under Climate Fellowship, Climate Smart Entrepreneurship, Mentee-mentorship, Digital Advocacy, and Youth Sounding Board work towards empowering young people, providing them employment opportunities, and generating innovative ideas to address climate and environmental issues, and advocating for policy changes to promote environmental protection. 

Climate Fellowship Grant

Climate Fellowship provides an experiential platform for young people who are interested in pursuing their career in the field of climate change, governance, and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM). It provides opportunities for young, qualified, and enthusiasts to work closely with the provincial and municipal governments to gain in-depth experience in DRRM, Climate Change and Adaptation (CCA) and Disaster Information Management System (DIMS). Through Climate Fellowship, young people will be engaged in policy making for DRRM and climate resilience at local level, strengthening technical capacity of the provincial and municipal officials to use Building Information Platform Against Disaster (BIPAD) portal, https://bipadportal.gov.np/, mapping of critical infrastructures and capacity transfer on DRRM and CCA to the provincial and municipal officials.

Through Climate Fellowship Grant, it provides an opportunity for young people to work with the provincial and local government to strengthen their climate and disaster related plans and policies. With the increasing and intensifying extreme climate events, DRRM has been a priority of all three tiers of governments. However, there is a gap in the implementation and localization of the prepared plans and policies on DRRM and CCA. Through Climate Fellowship, young people will act as a connecting bridge to transfer the technical capacities and bridge the data gap that exists at the provincial and local level to support informed decision making. Young people are the critical stakeholders to fight climate change, respond to extreme climate events, and transform a better world for living as they are at the forefront of climate action. They are also the ones to face the collective impacts of climate change actions and inaction. They can be advocates to revitalize public connections, raise awareness, and generate innovative ideas to adapt to the climate crisis.

Application Summary

Application must be completed online and consists of the following components:

  1. Personal Information 
  2. Motivation Letter (Max. 300 words)
  3. CV/Resume (CV no longer than 2 pages)
  4. One Reference letter (Academic Recommended)

While preparing for the application process, please ensure the following:

  1. Motivation letter stating your interest and qualification for the Climate Fellowship Grant
  2. Your CV/Resume in pdf
  3. Recommendation letter from your academic institution or workplace in pdf format

Project Municipalities

In 2024, the Climate Fellowship will be implemented in Sudurpaschim Province.


Note: One Climate Fellow will be stationed at the province ministry.

Climate Fellowship Duration

Five months

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

To be eligible as Climate Fellows, the individual must:

  • Be 29 years old or younger Nepali citizen at the time of nomination
  • Have a Bachelor's degree in Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change, Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Geomatics Engineering, Development Studies, Natural Resources, Crisis Management, or related field
  • Preferably local from the project municipalities or anyone willing to relocate to the project municipality
  • Prior knowledge in Disaster/Climate/DRRM/CCA and related discipline
  • Interested to work with government officials (Provincial and Municipal)
  • Have a strong knowledge of technology that includes mobile apps, web app, MS Office packages
  • Have excellent communication skills with fluency in Nepali and English language. Knowledge of local language would be a plus. preferably in local language of selected municipalities as well
  • Be passionate to learn Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) through DRRM/CCA
  • Poses outstanding personal character and integrity
  • Have teamwork and collaborative skills
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and proven ability to work in a cross-cultural and multidisciplinary team
  • Have ability and willingness to raise awareness among minority communities
  • Passionate to work with local communities and people belonging to minorities. 
  • Maintain high ethical standards and treat people with respect and dignity.
  • Flexible to adapt to challenging working environments.

Key Responsibilities of the Climate Fellows

Climate Fellows will be responsible for: 

  • Supporting assigned municipality to strengthen the Climate Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan
  • Conducting Vulnerability Capacity Assessment (VCA) at assigned municipality together with the municipal government
  • Supporting the development of Local Disaster and Climate Resilient Plan (LDCRP) of the assigned municipal government
  • Supporting assigned province or municipal government to administer and operationalize level Bipad portal (https://bipadportal.gov.np/ )
  • Collaborating with the IT Officer(ITO) and DRR Focal Person for day-to-day capacity transfer
  • Working closely with Provincial and Municipal personnels to compile DRR related datasets and standardize and integrate them into Bipad Portal
  • Working with provincial and municipal personnels to map and validate critical infrastructure datasets like education, health, finance, governance, tourism, industry, communication, and more
  • Reporting and documenting the progress/challenges and sharing the lessons learnt

Benefits for Climate Fellows

  • Climate Fellowship Grant of NPR 300,000.00* (Three Lakhs Nepalese Rupees) 
  • Note: Inclusive of Monthly Stipend, Travel Allowance, Meeting Facilitation, Training Cost etc.)
  • Capacity building training and orientations including a five-day residential training on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM), Climate Change Adaptation (CCA), Vulnerability Capacity Assessment (VCA), Local Disaster and Climate Resilient Plan (LDCRP), Disaster Information Management System (DIMS) and Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI)
  • Opportunity to work closely with Mayor, CAO, elected representatives, IT professionals, and Government officials at working stations
  • Opportunity to participate in workshops/trainings/seminars organized by Government of Nepal (GoN), and respective municipality
  • Opportunity to broaden understanding on social issues and enhance their ability to engage in meaningful dialogue with people from different backgrounds
  • Opportunity to explore intersectional approaches in Disaster management through vulnerability reduction and resilience building.
  • Graduation ceremony at the end with the completion certificate
  • Potential job placement within YI-Lab, partners, and related organizations

Online Application

The interested candidates for the Climate Fellowship Grant should submit the application in the online form provided. The online form has two main sections:

  • Personal Information – Provide personal information such as contact details and your educational and professional background and upload your picture (Passport size photo, no larger than 2 MB)
  • Written section – Write about your motivation to apply for Climate Fellowship and upload CV/Resume and a recommendation letter

Guidelines for Reference

  • The duration of the time and context in which they have known the applicant,
  • Their opinion of the applicant’s background, qualifications, experiences, achievements and accomplishments
  • Their opinion on the applicant’s leadership quality and capability
  • Letter could be written in English or Nepali
  • Ensure that recommendation letter is received prior so that you have enough time to upload in the online application
  • Draft the letter in the file format MS Word Document or PDF
  • Sign their name, official position and contact information

Applying Procedure

Please complete the online form (https://bit.ly/climate_fellowship_2024 ) to submit your application. For more information on Climate Fellowship Grant, please visit https://theyouthcan.org/climate-fellowship and if you have any inquiries, please contact Fellowship Secretariat at fellowship@youthinnovationlab.org.

We highly encourage all the interested applicants, especially youth from project municipalities including those who identify as women and indigenous community members/ minority caste groups in joining Climate Fellowship. 

Application Timeline

Application Opens- 10 February 2024

Application Deadline- 10 March 2024 (midnight)

Overview

Category Development and Project, Expression of Interests, Tender Notice, Bid, Development / NGO
Openings 1
Position Type Full Time
Experience Please check vacancy details.
Education Please check vacancy details
Posted Date 13 Feb, 2024
Apply Before 10 Mar, 2024
City Kathmandu