The Ford Foundation is committing $50 million in a new program designed to support 240 social justice leaders around the world over the next 10 years.
The inaugural class of 24 fellows of the Global Fellowship program, launched Monday, includes social justice leaders from the United States, Brazil, Africa, and the Middle East.
The group represents a range of backgrounds and approaches to address inequality in communities most affected. Among those are Teresa Njoroge from Kenya, founder and CEO of Clean Start Solutions, a social enterprise focused on transforming the lives of formerly imprisoned women and their children; Mónica Ramírez from the U.S., founder and president of Justice for Migrant Women; Daiene Mendes from Brazil, a journalist and human rights advocate; and Hashem Adnan from Lebanon, a theater professional and political activist.
The program curriculum, created in partnership with the Institute of International Education, is organized by Adria Goodson former chief program officer at Pahara Institute, a non-profit that supports leaders reimagining public education, and founding director of Hunt Alternatives’ Prime Movers fellowship program, a program that supports social movement leaders in the U.S.
Each program lasts 18 months, with fellows participating in convening virtually or in various regions if safe and appropriate. Each fellow will receive funding and resources to advance their own leadership development, as well as a no-strings-attached $25,000 stipend.
The program is more important than ever as the Covid-19 pandemic has laid bare the crisis of inequality, the Ford Foundation said.
“This program is an investment in reimagining solutions to global challenges that respect no borders,” Hilary Pennington Ford Foundation’s executive vice president of programs, said in a statement. “By connecting fellows to each other and to the broader Ford network, we hope to create a catalytic effect that accelerates the impact of their individual and collective work, to address challenges during the pandemic and beyond.”
Future fellows will be selected from around the world, including Mexico and Central America; the Andean region; West Africa; Southern Africa; India, Sri Lanka and Nepal; Indonesia; and China.
Established more than 80 years ago, the Ford Foundation’s primary mission is to reduce poverty and injustice globally.
