The International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) is looking for religious leaders, educators and dialogue practitioners who train future religious leaders from around the world to partake in its 2023 KAICIID Fellows Programme.

What is the KAICIID Fellows Programme? 

The one-year Fellowship offers training in dialogue facilitation and intercultural communication to religious leaders, educators, and interreligious dialogue (IRD) practitioners. Since the programme was launched in 2015, 515 Fellows from more than 75 countries have been equipped with the skills required to promote peace, social cohesion, and interreligious cooperation in their communities. 

Who can apply for the Fellows Programme?

The KAICIID Fellows Programme is designed for religious leaders, educators, and IRD practitioners of all faith backgrounds, including the Baha'i faith, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, and others. KAICIID Fellows are individuals who have the desire, courage, and conviction to promote peace, social justice, and intercultural harmony in their home countries.   

“Last year, we received 501 applications from 69 countries espousing at least 11 different religious traditions,” said Sneha Roy, KAICIID Fellows Programme Officer. “The need for dialogue in contemporary times cannot be emphasised enough, and in our mission to work towards combating violence and fostering peaceful coexistence we are delighted to launch the 2023 call for applications.”

Please visit our frequently asked questions for more information

What do the Fellows learn?

KAICIID’s Fellows Programme is a comprehensive expert-led one-year fellowship that gives participants the knowledge and the skills to tackle real-time issues associated with religious and cultural vulnerabilities and tensions in their communities. Split up into different modules, the programme offers training on a range of areas, including peacebuilding and conflict resolution, community transformation and reconciliation, mobilisation of partners and resources, and local project design and execution.

Over the course of the year, each Fellow will participate in three in-person trainings, including a residential training in KAICIID’s new headquarters in Lisbon, Portugal. The programme also includes online courses and interactive online sessions.

As part of the programme, Fellows are to implement small-scale grassroots IRD projects in their home communities. After the programme has been completed, graduates become part of the KAICIID Alumni Network: a growing community where Fellows continue to connect and collaborate with like-minded individuals across cohorts, countries, religious, and cultural lines to develop and conduct grassroots work with initiatives that promote dialogue in their respective contexts. Over the last twelve months, Fellows Alumni have reached over 9,000 people globally in this way.

“The KAICIID Fellows Programme helps you to develop your skills in the area of interreligious dialogue, and gives you the opportunity to meet other practitioners,” said Amanda Figueras, a graduate of 2020 Fellows Programme from Spain.

“As a KAICIID Fellow, it’s been important to acquire new skills, new models for dialogue, as well as developing a broader network of religious leaders and practitioners who are committed to dialogue,” said Rev. Matthew Allen Laferty, a 2021 KAICIID Fellow from the United States. 

                           APPLY HERE

                               The deadline to apply is 15 May.