Rainbow Advocacy Program

InternationalRFSL

Rainbow Advocacy Program (RAP), implemented with kind support of ILGA World, Sida, and OutRight Action International, is a 13-month-long fellowship for LGBTIQ+ activists from Global South and East to affect change at home through UN advocacy. The program is visionary as well as unique in its approach to combining both the human rights and the development frameworks, especially the Agenda 2030. Participants will gain hands-on advocacy experience by engaging with UN processes, learning from experts and peers, and by implementing an advocacy project in their constituencies.

Call for application for Rainbow Advocacy Program (RAP) 2024 – 2025

First Phase: September 03 – 16, 2024, Geneva, Switzerland (tentative)

Second Phase: October 2024 – September 2025

Third Phase: One week in July 2025, NY, USA

Deadline for application: March 10, 2024.

Thank you very much for your overwhelming response to the call for applications, which has now closed. We are assessing the applications and will reach out to the shortlisted candidates by April 05, 2024. Please be informed that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Due to lack to capacity, we will not be able to reach out to all the applicants. Thank you for your understanding.

A visionary training program

Rainbow Advocacy Program (RAP) is a unique opportunity for underrepresented LGBTQI activists from the Global South and East to learn, network, collaborate and gain hands-on experience in UN advocacy. Each cycle of the program is divided into four phases: an intensive training coinciding with a UN advocacy forum, a follow-on advocacy project, a final convening during another high-level advocacy forum and the project reporting period.

A very important aspect of RAP is the hands-on advocacy experience. Each cycle of the program is planned to coincide with the Human Rights Council (HRC) session and the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development Agenda. Participants will be spending a good portion of their training period by being present in those forums and by actively engaging in a manner that suits their needs and context best.

All selected participants also get:

  • Access to a mentor, assisting you with their expertise when you are implementing your own advocacy project;
  • A small-scale financial support for implementing your advocacy project;
  • Coverage of all the costs related to the training, except local travel within your own country e.g. to and from the airport;
  • Access to experts, diplomats, and other stakeholders; 
  • Opportunity to network with likeminded activists, share and learn from each other;
  • Membership in RFSL’s Alumni Program.

Requirements

You are eligible to apply for the Rainbow Advocacy Program if you:

  • Are ready to commit to the full 13-months period of the program;
  • Are from a country in Global South and East according to the list of Development Assistance Committee (DAC). See if your country is listed under DAC.
  • Self-identify as part of the LGBTQI community;
  • Have 1-3 years of advocacy experience, locally, nationally, regionally or internationally;
  • Have basic knowledge about international human rights mechanisms;
  • Belong to an LGBTIQ organization;
  • Have a role in the organization which includes advocacy work;
  • Your organization is working, or planning to work, with international advocacy as part of its strategy for the coming years;
  • Can freely communicate in English, both in written and oral form.

Priority will be given to underrepresented groups, especially women of color, trans, and intersex individuals from the regions.

The training and all the materials will be in English.

The Application Process

Eligible applicants are welcome to fill out the online form, which cannot be saved but can be worked on for as long as the tab is open. So please make sure you have stable internet, power connection and other documents ready before starting to fill out the form.

Initial screening will be based on the quality of the application. Make sure to submit a complete application package including:

  • the completed form, 
  • CV/Resumé
  • Recommendation/nomination letter from the organization and
  • A proposal for the Learning on the Spot Advocacy project.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Applicants selected during the initial screening will go through an oral interview in March 2024 before they are informed about the final selection in April 2024.

Timeline

The first phase will tentatively take place from September 03 – 16, 2024 coinciding with the Human Rights Council session in Geneva, Switzerland. The following months will be the second phase i.e the implementation period of the LOTS advocacy project. All participants will reconvene for the third phase during the High-Level Political Forum in New York, the USA in July 2025 and the final phase i.e the reporting of the project will take place in in September-October 2025.

The Organizer

RFSL, the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Rights, is a non-profit organization founded in 1950.

RFSL works locally, nationally and internationally and is an ever-growing organization with about 7000 members and 38 branches all over Sweden. Internationally, RFSL is recognized and respected as an experienced and accomplished organization. Our international work has been built upon more than 35 years of experience and lessons learned from our commitment to global LGBTQ rights when RFSL joined ILGA in 1979.

Please fill out the Application Form: https://forms.gle/ZKS4pbMdq7e9XNJx8

Use the following link to download the template for Learning on the Spot Advocacy Project (will download file instantly): https://www.rfsl.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/RAP-Project-Template-1-3-2.docx

Contact us to get access to our brochure for detailed information about the program.

Contact: 

Shakhawat Hossain Rajeeb

Training Program Manager

rainbow.academy@rfsl.se