Apply for AfaRise Fellowship Program 2025–2027 (Empowering African and Diaspora Leaders in Racial Justice)

Application Deadline: 31 July 2025

The AfaRise Fellowship, hosted by the African Futures Lab (AfaLab), is now open for applications. This transformative two-year remote program is crafted to support visionary African and Afro-descendant changemakers committed to dismantling racial injustice through reparatory justice, decolonial frameworks, and Afro-feminist leadership.

Launched in response to the African Union’s declaration of 2025 as the Year of Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations, AfaRise offers an intentional and strategic platform to nurture grassroots-driven racial justice work across Africa, Europe, and the global diaspora.

About African Futures Lab

Founded by Liliane Umubyeyi and Amah Edoh in the wake of the global reckoning on racial injustice in 2020, the African Futures Lab is an initiative dedicated to fostering justice through research, advocacy, and global solidarity. AfaLab focuses on dismantling colonial and imperial systems, amplifying decolonial thought, and restoring dignity and agency to historically marginalized communities.

The fellowship is rooted in cross-continental collaboration and supports work that critically engages with histories of oppression while reimagining just futures.

Fellowship Goals and Focus Areas

The AfaRise Fellowship seeks to support early-stage projects at the intersection of:

• Racial and gender justice
• Economic equity and climate action
• Decolonial organizing and reparations
• Creative resistance and policy reform

Whether you’re crafting a research paper, producing a podcast, organizing a campaign, or launching an art-based initiative, AfaRise offers tailored support to elevate your vision and expand your reach.

Program Structure and What You’ll Gain

Timeline: 2025–2027
Format: Fully remote with bi-monthly virtual engagements

Core Components:

• Strategic Peer Exchange: Fellows participate in collaborative online sessions to share updates, troubleshoot challenges, and build collective strategy.
• Fellow-Led Learning Sessions: Explore themes such as AI and race, climate justice, economic equity, and reparatory futures.
• Collaborative Projects: Fellows are encouraged to co-create with one another or with AfaLab’s in-house team.
• Public Representation: Opportunities to speak, present, or publish via AfaLab platforms and networks.
• Alumni Access: Continued support post-fellowship through events, collaborations, and publication opportunities.

Financial Support:

Fellows receive €200 per working session to honor their time and expertise.

Who Can Apply?

This opportunity is ideal for emerging leaders—including researchers, artists, activists, and community practitioners—based in Africa or Europe, with a passion for dismantling systems of racial oppression.

Eligibility Requirements:

• A strong commitment to racial justice and decolonial thought
• An early-stage initiative with a clear strategy for impact
• Lived or contextual knowledge of Africa, Europe, or Afro-diasporic realities
• Collaborative mindset and systems-change orientation

Bonus Qualifications:

• Multilingual fluency, particularly in French and English
• Cross-sectoral or interdisciplinary experience

Application & Selection Process

Applicants will be evaluated based on relevance, originality, and diversity. Shortlisted individuals will undergo virtual interviews. A total of eight fellows will be selected to reflect a range of perspectives, geographies, and thematic areas.

Applications lacking authenticity or heavily AI-generated content will not be prioritized.

For more information and ro apply, CLICK HERE