Research Fellowship on African Youth in a Global Age
2003-2004

The Social Science Research Council (SSRC) and the American
Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), in partnership with
the Council for the Development of Social Science Research
in Africa (CODESRIA) and South Africa's National Research
Foundation (NRF) is pleased to announce the 2003-4 program
for research and training on Understanding Exclusion,
Creating Value: African Youth in a Global Age.

The theme for this year is Youth, HIV/AIDS and Social
Transformation. Applications are invited from junior
researchers, whether academics, practitioners, or
independent researchers. The fellowship includes support
for field research and participation in pre and
post-fieldwork workshops. Approximately twelve research
fellowships will be awarded this year. Funding for the
program is provided by the Education for Democracy and
Development Initiative of the U.S. Agency for International
Development, CODESRIA, the Open Society Initiative for
Southern Africa (OSISA), and the NRF.

Synopsis

Demographic trends reveal that about 50% of Africa's
population is below the age of 18 years and an
extraordinarily high percentage of it between the ages of
15-25. This makes Africa the most 'youthful' continent in
the world. Despite this, young people in Africa are often
placed in the margins of the public sphere and major
political, socio-economic, and cultural processes. The
challenging political and socio-economic situation and the
devastating public health constraints on the continent make
young people particularly vulnerable to poverty, disease
and death. Many have no or little access to education,
employment, healthcare, and basic nutrition.

In the past two decades, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has
constituted a crisis of virtually unprecedented proportions
confronting younger generations of Africans. Africa is the
most affected area in the world, with more than 23 million
people estimated to be infected with HIV or to have
full-blown AIDS. While AIDS touches all parts of the
population, it has especially powerful impact upon the
lives of youth - the present and future productive members
of society. How are young Africans being affected by the
epidemic? How are they coping and imagining their lives and
futures in these difficult conditions?

Greater reflection, knowledge, and analysis is required in
order to better understand the lives of young Africans
today - their vulnerabilities, strengths, aspirations and
prospects for the future - as well as the broad conditions
that shape their role in society. The fellowship program
especially seeks projects that examine the impact of
HIV/AIDS on the lives of African youth and the ways which
young people creatively organize and redefine their lives
to deal with the pandemic.

Research relevant to this theme would address not only the
personal and interpersonal dynamics of transmission and
infection but also the broader transformations at
household, community and institutional levels. Research
topics include, but are not limited to the following:
youth's sexual ideologies and changing patterns of behavior
regarding sexuality and marriage practices; changes in
intergenerational relations, households and families
(care-giving, the transfer of knowledge, wealth and social
power, AIDS orphans, gender relations); the impact of
HIV/AIDS on the educational and healthcare systems in
relation to young people (access to schools, training and
learning; access to treatment); economic impacts
(employment, labor markets, productive capacity); the role
of young people in programs related to prevention and care,
or in social movements for access to treatment and support;
and youth's understandings about local, national or global
responses (or lack of them) to their situations.

The fellowship puts emphasis on empirical social science
research informed by theory and analysis from a wide range
of perspectives and disciplines - historical,
anthropological, sociological, economic, demographic,
public health and others.

The program does not seek to impose a rigid definition on
youth, since demographic, legal and cultural definitions
may differ. Proposals should specify what definition they
are using and justify why that is appropriate, given the
purpose of their research. To the extent possible,
proposals should also address the theoretical and practical
implications of the research.

Fellowship

Fellows will attend a five-day orientation workshop prior
to research (in October 2003), receive a research grant of
up to $10,000 USD for their field research, and attend a
final workshop at the conclusion of their fieldwork. Field
research entails extensive original research (whether
quantitative, qualitative, or a combination) that will
produce new knowledge relevant to analysis and/or practice.

Eligibility

African researchers based in the region who hold at least a
Masters degree and who are no more than five years beyond a
Ph.D. are eligible for this program. While the principal
purpose of the program is to support junior researchers and
practitioners based in an African institution, a few
fellowships are also available to Ph.D. candidates based in
other regions, who seek field research funding for their
dissertations.

Application

Applications are due no later than Friday May 2nd, 2003.
Fellows will be notified in July, 2003. Applications will
be accepted in English, French, and Portuguese and should
include a research proposal (not more than 10 pages long),
2 letters of reference, graduate level academic
transcripts, a detailed budget, a one page abstract
summarizing your research agenda, and a comprehensive
curriculum vitae. Please consult our websites at
www.ssrc.org and www.codesria.org or contact us for more
information prior to submitting an application. Questions
should be directed to:

Funmi Vogt at the SSRC ([email protected]), Tel:
212-377-2700 ext. 452, Virginie Niang at Codesria
([email protected]), Tel: 221-825-9822/3, or Mpumi
at the NRF ([email protected]), Tel: 27-12-481-4000
Send complete applications to any of the following:

Social Science Research Council
Africa Program
810 7th Avenue; 31st Floor
New York, NY 10019

CODESRIA
Avenue Cheikh Anta Diop
Canal IV, BP 3304
Dakar, Senegal

Or
National Research Foundation
The Manager
Socio-Political Impact of Globalization: The Challenge for
South Africa
P.O.Box 2600 PRETORIA, 0001.

Funmi E. Vogt
Africa Program
Social Science Research Council
810 7th Avenue; 31st Floor
New York, NY 10019
Phone: 212-377-2700 ext. 452
Fax: 212-377-2727
Email: [email protected]