CFPs: Migration and Technology Fellowship Program

Among their aims is a collaborative, intellectual, and advocacy community committed to border and migration justice. They prioritize opportunities for participatory work, including the ability to pitch unique and relevant projects by affected communities themselves.

Their fellows so far have worked on projects ranging from the utilization of WhatsApp and social media for resource sharing, to a chatbot designed to facilitate access to legal services, research and reporting on the surveillance of mobile and occupied communities, educational programs on digital rights and ICT skills, technical support for people on the move at borders, a social media platform dedicated to the memories of people on the move, and social media information services for migrant workers, among others.

Program Specifications

• The active participation in their monthly 90 to 120 minute webinars, in which they offer training regarding project development and implementation, finances, public outreach, media, ethical research and storytelling, as well as other topics. Their guest speakers are highly trained professionals who are interested in learning from you and connect with you as well.
• The MTM wants to support mobile communities, but also build bridges between you and existing professional communities. Therefore, they would like you to attend at least one public event (e.g. a conference or a workshop) to present your project and build your network. They are happy to help you find the right event but cannot offer additional financial support.
• Become an active alumni of the MTM and support their future fellows. This might include your participation in choosing the next fellows, offering your expertise, becoming a guest speaker for one of the webinars, or represent MTM in the media or at an event.
• They work with a participatory approach. This means also that the current fellows will be an equal part of the selection process of the new cohort and that you, as a fellow, will be part of selecting the following cohort.

Funding Information

• $30,000 USD for 12 months.

Eligibility Criteria

• Lived Experience:
  • Are you currently in an active situation of forced migration, displacement (externally and internally), or occupation?
  • Have you arrived in your host community and find it hard to get access to resources for the implementation of an idea?
  • Has your lived experience of migration or displacement inspired you in the development of a project that will have a positive impact on mobile or migrated communities?
• Interplay of Technology and Migration:
  • Technology already has and will have an ever-increasing impact on the life of all people. They are interested in a wide range of ideas that center the intersection of technology and migration, such as:
    • Research: Do you need financial support for a research project that deals with the impact of technology on mobile, migrated, or occupied communities?
    • Journalism: Are you a displaced, migrated or currently migrating journalist? Or are you a member of a community under forced occupation? Do you want to report on how technology is used in the field of migration? Please explain how.
    • Culture: As a person with lived experience of migration, displacement or occupation, do you want to make the use of technology in these communities visible through a cultural project?
    • Education: Do you want to use your story of migration, displacement, or occupation to teach future generations how to use and to protect themselves against technology? Do you want to use the intersection of migration and technology in order to create awareness in an educational setting? Tell them what you want to do.
    • Tech-in-use: Do you have first-hand experience with how technology has made the life of people on the move or under occupation more difficult? Are you inspired to develop systems and projects that want to use technology in support of mobile communities?
    • Tech and the Environment: Are you a person with lived experience of migration and/or occupation and have you witnessed how the development of technology for the global North is causing environmental issues with serious repercussions for your community? Do you witness the exploitation of workers in mines producing materials that are needed for the production of technology? Share with them.

Application Requirements

• Project field: Research/Journalism/Culture/Education/Tech-in-use/Tech and Environment
• What is your project about? Please give them a brief description of what you have in mind?
• What is the intended effect of your project? Let them know.
• Where, how, and possibly with whom do you want to implement your project?
• What would you use the money for? Give them a vague idea of how to spend your grant. Traveling? Equipment? Personnel? Additional Education? Living expenses can also be factored into this calculation. A rough estimate is enough, they do not need an explicit budget.
• How will mobile or migrated communities benefit from your project? Let them know about your vision.

For more information, visit Migration and Technology Monitor.