Marianne Initiative – Call for applications 2023

You are committed to the promotion and defence of human rights in your country:

• You are a human rights defender in the sense recognised by the United Nations (https://www.ohchr.org/fr/special-procedures/sr-human-rights-defenders/about- human-rights-defenders), adult and of non-French nationality, regardless of your place of residence;
• You can provide document(s)/evidence, produced by others (recommendations, press articles, etc.), attesting to your commitment/action in favour of human rights;
• You can justify that participation in the Marianne Initiative’s French aid programme will strengthen your capacity for human rights action in your country and internationally, and that it will enable you to create or develop existing or planned links or projects with French organisations;
• You have a valid passport (with a validity of at least six months) or you are willing to follow the procedures to obtain one;
• You are not subject to any legal ban on leaving the territory;
• You are willing to travel to France from January 2023 to June 2023.

You can apply to be part of the 2023 class of the Marianne initiative by contacting:

• If you are abroad, ensuring the necessary security conditions: the French embassy/consulate or an organisation linked to the French embassy;
• If you are in France: a partner entity of the initiative or the interministerial delegation responsible for the reception and integration of refugees at the following address: contact-diair@interieur.gouv.fr

Your application will include the documents listed in the application form. It can be written in French, English or Spanish.

The deadline for the application is 14 September 2022.

The procedure

After submitting your application, an independent selection committee will select around ten laureates at the end of September / beginning of October 2022.

From January to June 2023, the selected men and women will benefit from the financing of their arrival in France (travel costs), accommodation if necessary for those coming from abroad, the payment of a monthly grant (conditional on active participation in the programme), support in daily life and support in their militant project including:

a) Group activities:

1. Project development: training in public speaking, communication, fundraising and project management; language courses ; access to certain courses at Sciences Po Paris as an auditor; networking with actors in France involved in the promotion of human rights, as well as with former winners of the programme;
2. Meetings/interviews: institutional visits, meetings and interventions of high-level personalities.

Cultural (visits, trips to France, etc.) and sports activities may also be offered.

b) Individual activities based on prior identification of needs:

• Connection with a mentor throughout the programme;
• Individualised meetings according to the cause and the needs expressed.

Psychological support will be offered if necessary.

Provisional timetable:

Personal activities include implementing the project or taking courses at Sciences Po.

Examples of activities for the year of 2022:

• Training in cyber security, advocacy, public speaking, project management and negotiation;
• Courses at Sciences Po: “Is a gender equal society possible?”, “How to Conquer, Govern and Leave Power: Methods and Practices of Political Communication”;
• Interviews with French senators from the friendship groups of the countries of origin;
• Interviews with the media (e.g. Le Grand Continent or Revue Esprit) for the publication of articles;
• Meetings with NGOs active in the field of human rights and experts related to the topics addressed by the laureates;
• Trip to Lyon with a French association for the defence of human rights and to Strasbourg for the Council of Europe.

Find the application form here: Marianne Initiative Application Form