Salzburg Global Seminar and The Walt Disney Company have joined forces to launch Public Policy New Voices Europe.
This year-long Fellowship will connect, support, and empower a new generation of diverse leaders in public policy across Europe.
The Fellowship will provide participants with opportunities to build their capacity through virtual and in-person meetings, peer learning, mentorship, networking, and internship opportunities.
Across Europe, the profiles, backgrounds, and demographics of public policy professionals often fail to reflect our societies’ growing pluralism and multiculturalism. As governments, corporations, and communities grapple with regional and global challenges, we need diverse perspectives and bold, innovative ideas to reimagine and redesign the future of public policy in ways that are more equitable, inclusive, and effective.
Dorothy Attwood, Senior Vice President, Global Public Policy, The Walt Disney Company, said, “We know that inclusion of voices from all communities produces better policy outcomes.”
Public Policy New Voices Europe will bring together an interdisciplinary cohort of 25-30 students, graduates and early career professionals based in Europe wishing to understand more about opportunities to effect change through public policy or aspiring to pursue careers in public policy. In 2021/2022, the cohort members will work towards the common public policy challenge of building inclusive communities at the local, national, and international level.
Salzburg Global has launched an open call for applications and will accept submissions until September 30. Salzburg Global actively encourages applications from communities that have been historically less visible in the field of public policy. We especially welcome applications from people of color, disabled people, those who identify as LGBT*, people from low-income backgrounds, and those from ethnically diverse and migrant communities.
On September 23, the program will officially be launched during a special edition of Salzburg Global’s Designs on the Future online program series titled Why Do We Need New Voices in Public Policy? This lively exchange of views between three leading European public policy experts will explore why empowering new and diverse leaders in the field of public policy is vitally important, how we can open up opportunities for historically marginalized voices to access leadership positions, and how the inclusion of all voices supports the development of more equitable and effective public policies.
In November, successful applicants will participate in two online sessions to co-design the Fellowship goals and better know one another.
Then, one month later, Fellows will be matched with experienced professionals from within the broader Salzburg Global Fellowship as part of a mentoring scheme.
Between February and September 2022, Fellows will meet once a month online, exchange ideas with thought leaders, and discuss how they can apply the knowledge shared. Among other topics, they will explore how to influence public policy and institutional change, develop and gain traction for new ideas, and align local and national priorities with global movements.
In October 2022, they will meet in person at Schloss Leopoldskron, home of Salzburg Global Seminar, and identify potential solutions to community challenges they presented in their initial applications.
Faye Hobson, Associate Program Director at Salzburg Global Seminar, will work on the program alongside Program Development Associate Antonia Boemeke.
Hobson said, “We’re very excited to launch this Fellowship designed to support the next generation of leaders in the field of public policy. We believe that more must be done to ensure public policy is an inclusive and viable career path for people from historically underrepresented communities and to create opportunities for emerging and new voices in public policy to practice leadership through their projects, institutions, and communities.”
Apply for the Fellowship, or, for further information, visit Public Policy New Voices Europe’s program page.
