Call for Applications: Amplify Trans Advocacy Fellowship

Building on the successful fellowship initiative launched in 2020, APTN is committed to expanding their standing Amplify Trans Advocacy Fellowship programme, taking into account the evolving landscape of activism and the changing needs of trans communities across the regions. In light of the status of trans rights of in the region, the Asia Pacific Transgender Network (APTN) 2nd series of the Amplifying Trans Advocacy Fellowship aims to support emerging trans and gender-diverse movement leaders and organizers from across Asia and the Pacific to:

• Amplify and strengthen their fresh and creative advocacy ideas, youth activism and foster intergenerational dialogue to address contemporary and emerging issues affecting trans and gender diverse individuals nowadays.
• Change harmful narratives against trans and gender diverse people in societal and grassroots contexts, as well as tackling anti-right and gender right movements through storytelling and campaigning.
• Utilize the national judicial and non-judicial mechanisms and international human rights accountability mechanisms, such as UPR, treaty monitoring bodies for amplifying their existing advocacy work around trans rights at national and international levels.
• Enhance their leadership, movement building, and project and social entrepreneurship management skills to forge stronger collaboration of trans and gender diverse people, across intersectional identity groups as well as allies and likeminded stakeholders.
• Address challenges of burnout, mental health, and well-being within trans communities and movements.

Benefits

• After the completion of the virtual workshops and performance assessment, 16 fellows will be given a fully funded scholarship to participate in an in-person series of workshops for 10 days in Bangkok, Thailand between March to May 2025.
  • Following the in-person workshops, a selected number of fellows will then receive at least one of following opportunities based on their proposed interventions:
    • A seed grant to implement their interventions centered around international human rights mechanisms, national legal advocacy, movement building and/or campaigning. Fellows will receive guidance and technical support from APTN as they implement their interventions.
    • A chance to participate, learn and engage with peers in a fully sponsored trip to selected regional and international advocacy human rights conferences and convening’s.
    • Internship opportunities with APTN and other National NGOs and CBOs working on trans and gender diverse issues.

Terminologies

• The following terminologies will be used to describe the beneficiaries, and guide the implementation of the fellowship programme:
  • Transgender person/trans person is used to describe someone who identifies as a gender that is different from the sex assigned to them at birth. Some trans people identify within the binary as men or women, while others have a non-binary identity.
  • Trans man is used to describe someone who identifies as a man or boy but was assigned female at birth.
  • Trans woman is used to describe someone who identifies as a woman or girl but was assigned male at birth.
  • Non-binary person is used to describe someone who doesn’t identify exclusively as a man or a woman (or as a boy or a girl) and may identify as neither.

Eligibility Criteria

• Between 18 to 35 years old.
• Identify as a trans and or non-binary person.
• Residing and working in Asia and Pacific countries.
• Staff members/volunteers from APTN’s partner organizations are eligible to apply for the fellowship programme. To avoid conflict of interest, those who are direct implementers of an existing APTN project or grant must declare this conflict of interest at the time of application. Specifically, applicants who are directly involved in project management and coordination will not be eligible.
• Available and committed to participate in the fellowship programme 6 virtual training sessions across November 2024 – March 2025, and 10 days in-person workshop in Bangkok between March – May 2025.
• Have a strong command of both written and spoken English, demonstrating the ability to effectively communicate and understand complex ideas and information in English.
• Demonstrate a track record of engagement with activism and advocacy in progressing trans rights. If you are fairly new in this work, provide them with a short statement on how you will take this knowledge and acquired skills back into the community and country.

For more information, visit Asia Pacific Transgender Network.