Future Leaders Connect – The Global Network for Emerging Policy Leaders 2018, UK

Future Leaders Connect – The Global Network for Emerging Policy Leaders 2018, UK 

The programme

Future Leaders Connect (the “Programme”) is where exceptional young people from around the world will join a long-term network of emerging policy leaders (“Participant(s)”). They will develop their policy making expertise, make valuable connections and gain the skills to have real impact. Together they will discuss major global policy issues in the Houses of Parliament, engage with inspiring leaders, visit some of the UK’s leading global institutions and collaborate to produce innovative policy recommendations. The skills, experience and connections they make through Future Leaders Connect will support them to seize their leadership potential. 

Participants will come to the UK for approximately ten days between 22 October and 1 November 2018, and will stay in Cambridge and London. Approximately 50 Participants will attend. Participating countries are: Canada, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tunisia, UK and USA.

The Programme is run by the British Council.

Territory and eligibility

The Programme is open to individuals of the participating countries who meet all the criteria listed below. The participating countries are;

Canada, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tunisia, UK and the USA.

To meet the Eligibility Criteria, listed below, Participants must; 

• Be aged between 18 and 35 years old on the 13 May 2018.
• Be able to speak English at IELTS level 6 or equivalent (Generally, the applicant has an effective command of the language despite some inaccuracies, inappropriate usage and misunderstandings. The applicant can use and understand fairly complex language, particularly in familiar situations.)
• Hold a passport valid for at least 6 months from November 2018.
• Be based in one of the participating countries. In this case, being ‘based in’ means that the applicant currently lives in this country at the time of applying and have a long-term commitment to that country. The appliacnt's policy vision for change needs to match the country he/she is applying from. 
• Be available to travel to the UK for 11 days around the time of 22 October and 1 November 2018.
• Not be currently employed by the British Council, Gradcore or The Møller Institute or be an immediate family member of a British Council, Gradcore or The Møller Institute, employee. (In this case immediate family member is defined as one's spouse, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, siblings and immediate in-laws (mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law). Adopted children and stepchildren also counted as immediate family members.

Entry to the Programme is free of charge. The British Council shall arrange and pay for the travel of Participants to the Programme in the UK. During the duration of the Programme, Participants will be provided with free accommodation and food.

Programme application dates

The British Council reserves the right to extend the closing date. Any entry received before the opening date or after the closing date will not be included in the selection process. The British Council accepts no responsibility whatsoever for any technical failure or malfunction or any other problem with any system, server, provider or otherwise, that may result in any entry being lost, delayed or not properly registered.

Where possible shortlisted candidates will be notified by 30 June 2018. This notification will be made to the email address provided by the Participant when applying for the Programme in accordance with section 4 of this document.  In this notification, the British Council will inform each candidate about the outcome of their application the next steps of the selection process that they should follow.

Application

The Programme will be promoted through the Future Leaders Connect website and the Websites and Social Media of the British Council offices overseas.To apply, Participants must access the application link through the application link on the Future Leaders Connect website and then follow these steps:

1. Read and agree to the Terms and Conditions
2. Answer the contact and eligibility questions
3. Provide personal data
4. Answer the professional and academic background questions
5. Answer the application questions
6. Answer EDI questions (this is not compulsory)
7. Complete needs assessment questions
8. Submit the application form

Participants are responsible for ensuring they complete the form fully and correctly. Once submitted, there is no option to change or edit the entry, but Participants can save and return to their application later.

Proof of identity and references will be required at a later date.

Selection process

In most cases, the applications will be reviewed by Gradcore Ltd, an external agency, based on the Programme selection criteria provided by the British Council. Gradcore Ltd will provide a shortlist of candidates per country to the British Council which will then be forwarded to the relevant British Council country offices for final section. In some countries, a local agency may be contracted to review applications initially. This will not affect the way the applicant's data is handled.

Receiving a large number of applications, the shortlisting agency will review the following questions first on each application, and will only progress the applications of those who score a competitive mark in these questions:

Question 1: Please tell about one major global change you would like to see over the next five years. How will this impact your country? 

Question 2: How would you use policymaking or influencing to achieve this change? 

The final section of approximately 2 to 4 people per country will be determined through interviews and events. The process may differ slightly in each country, but in all cases, this will be communicated to Participants in advance and selection will be made based on a shared set of criteria. In many cases, the final decision will be made by a panel of British Council representatives and external stakeholders. All decisions of the panel will be final and binding.

The successful applicants will be asked, as a part of their long-term development, to stay connected to the Future Leaders Connect network and to the British Council, and to make themselves available for any further face to face or online learning opportunities as well sharing their learning and experience with their peers after their return to their home countries.  

Visas/ invitation letters and travel insurance

The British Council will provide letters of invitation for Participants’ UK visa applications.  If the Participants require a visa they should allow sufficient time for the application process. The British Council cannot guarantee that Participants will be given a visa.

The British Council does not provide travel insurance. Any successful Participant should take out Personal Accident Travel insurance for their time overseas. This should include the following standard elements of cover:

• Medical costs for treatment in case of illness or accidental injury
• Benefits for permanent disabling injuries, e.g. rehabilitation and living costs
• Benefits for death and costs of repatriation
• Cover for loss or damage to the participant's personal belongings
• Cover for cancelled flights, e.g. if the airline goes out of business or on strike
• Personal Liability cover. This provides legal support and covers financial costs if the participant cause injury or property damage to others and are found personally liable.
• 24hr emergency assistance helpline.

Many policies also have Legal Expenses cover, which is recommended in case the successful Participant needs legal assistance while overseas.

The Participant should remember to save the emergency contact number for their travel insurance to their mobile phone, keep a copy of the insurance policy in a safe place and give their insurance policy number and the emergency contact number to their next of kin.

Publicity and rights

The British Council may publish the names, photographs, and information about the successful Participants on the British Council’s websites, Facebook pages, Twitter pages, press releases and in other promotional and marketing material. In addition, in collaboration with the relevant Participant, the British Council may write and publish articles, edit Participant biographies for consistency and publically write about the successful Participants’ and the impact of the Programme on their professional life.  By entering the Programme, each Participant agrees to the use of their name and image and agrees to co-operate with any such publicity or marketing of the Programme.

All rights in the British Council’s name and logo, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter pages, press releases and other promotional and marketing material and all course and examination content and materials (together the “Council’s Materials”) shall remain the exclusive property of the British Council (or its licensors). By participating in the Programme, Participants agree that they will not use, broadcast, publish, export, exploit, reproduce nor copy part or all of any non-publicly available British Council Materials without permission.

For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.

This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:

https://www.britishcouncil.org/future-leaders-connect?utm_source=ARMACAD.info&utm_medium=ARMACAD.info