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		2008 Hiroshima Fellowship for Afghanistan

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2008 Hiroshima Fellowship for Afghanistan

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Source: Footage from Shamshat TV, Kabul, 22 April 2008

Application and Selection Process for the 2008 Cycle of the Fellowship for Afghanistan

English and computer tests for applicants for the 2008 Cycle of the UNITAR Hiroshima Fellowship for Afghanistan were held on Monday, 10 March 2008, by the UNITAR’s partner in Afghanistan, the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission. Some 130 applicants have attended tests.

FELLOWSHIP OBJECTIVES

The UNITAR Hiroshima Fellowship for Afghanistan is a long-term initiative aimed at capacity building and enhancing leadership, executive and professional skills of a core group of senior Afghan government officials, academics and practitioners. Its two long-term objectives are:

a) To support and improve Fellows’ knowledge and expertise in contributing to the transformation of their ministries and organizations through:

Management of training and capacity building ;

Achievement of mandates and objectives using limited resources;

Modelling effective team work and coordination within the organization;

Networking and collaborating with stakeholders and other organizations.

b) To build a committed and capable Fellowship community in Afghanistan, which can serve as a resource for planning and implementing capacity-building and training activities at the local and national levels.

MAIN ELEMENTS OF THE FELLOWSHIP:

The Fellowship is structured around the following elements:

1. Fellows;

2. Mentors and Coaches;

3. Team Projects; and

4. Combination of different training methods (i.e. distance learning tools plus on-site instructor-led workshops).

FELLOWS – FELLOWSHIP PARTICIPANTS

Each year, around 25 participants (‘Fellows’) are selected by UNITAR to participate in the Fellowship cycle. Participants are selected based on specific criteria established by UNITAR and partners, such as their professional background, motivation, and ‘human resource development role’ in specific areas of professional responsibility within the government or in civil society. In addition to an appropriate level of English language and computer skills, participants should have at a minimum a Bachelor’s degree (preference will be given to candidates with post graduate qualifications), and be within the age group of 25 to 50 years. Once selected, Fellows continue to work at their jobs in Afghanistan throughout the Fellowship period and will have to meet requirements underlined in the Fellows’ Terms of Reference.

MENTORS AND COACHES – FELLOWSHIP RESOURCE PERSONS

Mentors are experts, practitioners, or academics in various disciplines, and are based in different countries. They help Fellows meet their professional goals, respond to their questions, offer feedback on work submitted, and give advice where needed. Coaches are the mentoring arm based in Afghanistan, selected each year from the committed and capable pool of professional graduates of the previous Fellowship Cycle, and provided further training to act as facilitators for the Fellowship activities at the group level. Each Mentor/Coach team commits to oversee at least one group of four to five Fellows for the duration of the Fellowship.

TEAM PROJECTS

Based on their professional backgrounds, Fellowship participants are divided into groups consisting of Fellows, a Coach (or Coach team) and a Mentor (or Mentor team) and are required to identify a team project they will work on during the course of the Fellowship Cycle. Throughout, Fellows are required to complete three main assignments (starting with conducting a training needs assessment within their department/organization), relating to different stages of their team projects. This work is guided by Mentor(s) and Coach(es). Projects are related to the Fellows’ own work and departments, and focus on training/capacity-building and organization development/change.

COMBINATION OF DIFFERENT TRAINING METHODS

The Fellowship undertakes a combination of different training methods and a series of skills-building activities throughout the year, such as on-site workshops, online training seminars through video-conferences (web seminars), Mentor/Coach/Fellow communication, audio-web conferences (AWCs), video conferences (VCs) and project work sessions (PWSs). Fellows are required to work on their projects with team members, and are provided access to computers and the internet in order to communicate with their Mentors.

The Fellowship starts with a two-day orientation session, through a mixture of video-conferences and on-site sessions in Kabul, with presentations by UNITAR, Coaches, Alumni and special guests. Fellows are assigned to groups and introduced to their Mentors through a “getting acquainted and planning ” meeting via video-conference. During the orientation sessions Fellows are also briefed on the Fellowship’s first assignment, which is their focus leading up to Workshop I.

At least three (3) workshops are held as part of the Fellowship, alternating with web seminars and AWCs/PWSs for project work. The first two workshops are held in Kabul or in the region, while the final one takes place in Hiroshima. Each workshop is about four days long and focuses mainly on a single subject so that the particular set of skills can be fully developed and absorbed by the Fellows. Topics are, in part, determined by the requests and needs of the Fellows, but in general are selected from the following key themes:  

• Organization development and change;

• Project design and proposal writing;

• Project management and reporting;

• Accounting and budgeting;

• Leading and mentoring teams for development and change

• Team-building and teamwork;

• Communication skills; and

• Strategic planning.

 The ways in which workshops are conducted depend on the resource person involved but mostly include: lectures, case-studies, examination of best practices, discussions, presentations by Fellows, one-on-one consultations, and experiential exercises. Fellows are given assignments at the end of each workshop to meet the team project requirements.

Web seminars are two hour seminars (on topics supplemental to the workshop themes, or requested by the Fellows) delivered through video-conferences, followed by a one hour discussion facilitated by Coaches and/or Alumni.

During the AWCs/VCs each group of Fellows, Coach(es) and Mentor(s) have approximately one hour of “face-to-face” communication to exchange information about the projects, provide updates, ask questions and offer advice. In addition computer lab sessions are made available for up to three hours once in two weeks, during which Fellows have access to computers/internet and are expected to work with their team members, and through email, on their projects.

The Fellowship, with the input of UNITAR’s partner the University of Texas at Austin, is accredited for a set number of graduate level credits. The requirements and obligations of the Fellows to successfully complete the programme and earn these credits will be spelled out in a separate Terms of Reference agreement.

LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT OF CAPACITY BUILDING

A key goal of the Fellowship is to encourage the further transfer of capacity to the Afghan professional community – which is pursued by placing special emphasis on methodology and skill development related to leadership and mentoring. The intent is to develop the capacity of each Fellow to be a leader and facilitator able to develop teams and conduct training and capacity building activities within

ministries and organizations. In addition to offering the required skills through training to achieve this goal, UNITAR also places special emphasis on the involvement of committed and competent alumni as Coaches.

UNITAR will invite selected 2008 Fellows to become UNITAR Coaches for future Fellowship Cycle based on the following criteria:

• Good performance throughout the Fellowship cycle; 

• Active involvement in the team project; and

• Commitment to the Fellowship community.