Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program Announces More Than 460 New Fellows December 2007:

The Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program (IFP) officially announced the selection of 467 new recipients of its prestigious graduate fellowship. The most recent cohort of awardees brings to 2,842 the total number of fellowships for graduate-level study awarded to promising social justice leaders in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and Russia. This eighth round of IFP fellows was selected from a pool of nearly 8,500 applicants in 19 countries and territories.

IFP was designed specifically to target emerging social justice leaders from marginalized groups in developing countries. IFP fellows are chosen after undergoing a rigorous selection process that includes face-to-face interviews with an independent panel comprised of local social justice activists and academics in each country that the IFP Fellowship serves. Fellows are selected on the basis of their previous academic achievement, leadership skills and potential, and a clearly demonstrated commitment to solving some of the most critical development issues in their home countries and communities.

IFP fellows, though similar in their dedication to social justice, represent a wide variety of interests. For example, this year's cohort of IFP fellows includes a staff member of an Indonesian peace studies organization who designs conflict assessment training programs; a visual artist from Brazil who uses art to probe the legacies of slavery in Brazilian society; and a South African founder of an NGO focused on rural development.

"These unique fellows embody our belief that people matter -- that committed individuals, when connected to education and opportunity, can bring new solutions and new energy to the challenges facing people around the world," said Susan V. Berresford, president of the Ford Foundation. "IFP fellows are a vibrant addition to the world's leadership pools."

Launched in 2001, the success of the IFP program has been nothing short of extraordinary. With an initial investment of $280 million, IFP represents the largest single grant in Ford Foundation history. To date, nearly 2,400 IFP fellows have enrolled at 490 different universities in 44 countries. By the conclusion of the grant in 2014, approximately 4,400 fellows will have had the opportunity to undertake graduate study under the IFP Fellowship.

Over 1,300 fellows have successfully completed their studies. A recent alumni survey shows that over eighty percent of IFP alumni are now in their home countries and regions, where they are devoting themselves to social justice work and professional development. The data also show that virtually all of the fellows who remain in their host countries are completing their studies or pursuing additional training related to their social justice work. In April 2006, based on the overwhelmingly positive results of the program's first five years, the Ford Foundation announced an additional commitment of $75 million to extend the program through 2014.

The latest round of fellows were chosen from among applications received last year in Brazil, Chile, China, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, the Palestinian Territories, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, and Vietnam.

BACKGROUND :
Operating in Russia and 21 other countries and territories in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, IFP differs from other international fellowships in several key ways. First, IFP fellows are selected on the basis of their leadership record and commitment to their country or community as well as the strength of their academic achievement. Second, fellows come from disadvantaged groups that have limited access to higher education: about half of the current fellows are women; many are from ethnic, religious, or linguistic minority groups in their home countries; and most come from remote or rural areas distant from capital cities. Over 90 percent of IFP fellows are the first people in their families to attend college. Third, fellows can pursue graduate studies at universities anywhere in the world.

The Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program's secretariat in New York City coordinates work on IFP fellows' selection, placement, mentoring, and monitoring with the program's 21 international partners worldwide. IFP is a program of the International Fellowships Fund, an independently incorporated supporting organization of the Institute of International Education (IIE). For more information about the IFP and its alumni, go to: http://www.fordifp.org.

The Ford Foundation is an independent, nonprofit grant-making organization. For more than half a century it has been a resource for innovative people and institutions worldwide, guided by its goals of strengthening democratic values, reducing poverty and injustice, promoting international cooperation and advancing human achievement. With headquarters in New York, the foundation has offices in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and Russia. For more information about the Ford Foundation, go to http://www.fordfound.org