Applications

The opportunity of a lifetime!

• Are you a change-maker committed to making a difference in your society?
• Are you a citizen of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus or Central Asia and aged between 25-35?
• Are you a leader working in the field of climate and sustainability, governance and justice, or equality, diversity and inclusion? Do you have ideas you want to develop about how to contribute towards building a fairer, more sustainable, and inclusive society in your home country?
• Do you want to enhance your leadership skills and gain detailed insights into the values, ways of working, and challenges faced by people and institutions in the UK?
• Do you want to build lasting connections with other forward-thinkers, becoming part of a collaborative community across Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia?

If you answered ‘yes’, you could be one of our next John Smith Fellows!

The next generation of John Smith Fellows are exceptional young professionals, working in the following fields:

• Climate and sustainability
• Governance and justice
• Equality, diversity and inclusion

They can work in the public sector, charity/non-profit sector, or private sector but their work must contribute to building fairer, more sustainable, and inclusive societies.

Check out the Our Fellows page to explore Fellows’ profiles and find out what they did for their action plans as part of the programme. You can also have a look at our News and Insights page where we post regular updates and opinion pieces from our Fellows.

To apply you must:

• Be a citizen of one of the 12 following eligible countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia,  Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine or Uzbekistan. Please make sure that you apply to the programme relevant to your nationality.
• Be resident in one of the 12 eligible countries.
• Be in permanent employment.
• Speak and write fluent English (preferably having already studied or worked in English).
• Demonstrate your potential as a leader in your chosen professional field, committed to building a fairer, more sustainable, and inclusive society in your home country.
• Demonstrate a clear professional interest in one or more of these areas, and a broad interest in all three: climate and sustainability, governance and justice, and equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Demonstrate a commitment to the John Smith Trust’s shared values of tolerance, respect and openness towards one another at all times. Please see our Fellows’ Charter for more detail on what we expect from Fellows. 
• Propose an ‘action plan’ addressing a challenge in policy or practice in your field of expertise aimed at contributing to the development of a fairer, more sustainable and inclusive society, which you intend to implement on your return home, and which will be informed by your experience in the UK.
• Be prepared to make a substantial commitment if selected as a Fellow: to take part in a 12-day residential programme in the UK and regularly scheduled online events throughout the rest of the 6-month programme, and to participate actively in the Fellows’ Network in the long-term. 
• Be aged 25-35. Applicants who submitted applications for the 2020/1 programmes will still be considered for the next relevant programme, as long as you were within the age range when you first submitted your application. 

Check out the Fellowship Programmes page for more information.