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AMEL Institute Application Form - Spring 2026

(Click the 3 dots on the top of the screen to change to Arabic or French)

Thank you for your interest in joining the Institute of The African Middle Eastern Leadership Project (AMEL). The AMEL Institute Spring 2026 program will take place from the end of March until the end of May.

The AMEL Institute is a fully online academy that provides free training to young activists (18-36 years old) from anywhere in the Middle East and Africa. The AMEL Institute is the right program for you if you are a young leader already working to address discrimination, inequalities, injustices, persecution, human rights violations and conflicts in your community, country and/or region, or if you have an inspiring vision for doing this and are just getting started as an activist. We are looking for activists who recognize that every single human being on earth is equal in rights and dignity and that there is a critical need for new and creative approaches to ensure rights and equality for all. Our goal at the AMEL Institute is to provide you with knowledge, skills and networks that will help you to carry out your activism more safely and effectively.

The AMEL Institute program is an 8-week interactive online leadership program taught by experienced activists, seasoned practitioners, and top experts from prestigious institutions, such as Stanford and Harvard, who will help you build knowledge and skills in:
- human rights history and advocacy;
- activism self-care and safety, including digital security;
- genocide processes/prevention, including Holocaust and other regional case studies;
- conflict transformation and non-violent movement building;
- democratic development;
- communicating about your activism causes, including using new media tools;
- gender mainstreaming, engaging in cross-cultural communication and building allyship with activists across the Middle East & Africa.

The program will be spread across 8 weeks (6 weeks of lessons plus an introductory and conclusion week) with an estimated time commitment of 2 hours per week. Every week during the 6-lesson weeks, new video lessons will be available for participants to watch at their convenience in preparation for online discussions, quizzes, and assignments. The program will bring together young leaders from all over Africa and the Middle East, so the main language in the program is English, but some translations and assistance will be available in Arabic, French, and other languages. If you complete all the requirements of the program, you will earn a certificate.
 

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

If you would like to apply to the AMEL Institute, please fill out the application below. If you have questions or other inquiries, please email us at training@amelproject.org.

IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT USE CHATGPT/SIMILAR AI TOOLS - if you use them, you will likely be excluded from consideration. Since we are not evaluating applicants based on grammar or writing skills, there is no need to use such tools. We are interested in your personal motivation and experiences written in YOUR OWN WORDS because we want to learn about YOU! 
 
The application is available in English, French & Arabic (you can change the language at the top of the page). To maximize your chances of getting selected for the program, we recommend that you take time to think about and write/edit your answers, especially to the Essay Questions. To make that easier, here is a Word copy of the application in all 3 languages that you can use while you are drafting and revising your answers. We highly recommend doing this, especially if your internet is unstable. You cannot edit this document, please do not request edit access. Instead, click "File" then click "Download" (or "Make a copy"). NOTE: to apply for this program, you will need to copy and paste your answers into this online form and click submit.
 
Deadline to apply: February 21, 2026 at 11:59 pm GMT/UTC.
There are 36 questions in this survey.

Application Questions

Please answer the following questions to apply for the AMEL Institute training program.
First/Given Name
Surname/Family Name
What is your age?
What year were you born?
Email address
Re-enter your email address
We want to make sure that we have your correct email address so please write it again and check carefully that there are no mistakes.
What is your LinkedIn URL?
If you don't have one, write n/a.
What is your Facebook URL?
If you don't have one, write n/a.
What is your X/Twitter URL/handle?
If you don't have one, write n/a.
What is your Instagram URL/handle?
If you don't have one, write n/a.
Country you were born in (or most identify with)
If you selected Another Nationality, please specify which country here.
Are you living in a different country now?
In which country are you currently living?
What is the name of the city/town where you currently live?
Have you been displaced (are you a refugee, internally displaced person or have you been forced to flee your home)?
What is your gender?
How did you hear about this program?  
Did you see the announcement on social media (if so which one?) or hear about it from someone (if so, who?) or something else (if so, what)?  
What is your highest level of education completed?
Have you ever been part of an AMEL program or initiative before?   
Have you ever been part of an international leadership program before?
Which topic are you most passionate about? 
How long have you been active on this topic?
 
How long have you been taking action on the topic you selected in the previous question? 
Please list all the organizations or causes you have volunteered/worked/engaged with. 
Where is the main focus of your activism?
Which of these languages do you prefer to communicate in?
Which other languages can you communicate in?
Will it be a problem for you that the main language of the program is English, with translations/subtitles provided in Arabic and French?
Have you ever done an online course before?
Is there anyone or any group that you will NOT interact with? 
Are there any persons or groups of a certain political view, nationality, ethnicity, religion, etc. that you refuse to engage with?  
Who are you NOT willing to interact with?
ESSAY QUESTION 1: Why do you want to join the AMEL Institute?

Why are you an activist, what change do you want to make in your community/country/region, and how are you taking action to create this change? What kind of training/experiences/connections do you hope to get from the AMEL Institute? Please be as specific as possible.

Reminder: Please write your answers in your own words. Do not use AI tools, we want to understand your personal motivation and experiences. We will NOT be evaluating grammar or writing skills. Using AI may lead to exclusion. (SUGGESTED LENGTH: 250-300 WORDS) 

ESSAY QUESTION 2: How will turn the knowledge / skills you gain from AMEL Institute into action / impact in your community?

How are you planning to create change in your community in the next few years and how will the AMEL Institute training/experience help you? Be as specific as possible about your activism goals/ambitions and how AMEL Institute will help you achieve them.

Reminder: Please write your answers in your own words. Do not use AI tools, we want to understand your personal motivation and experiences. We will NOT be evaluating grammar or writing skills. Using AI may lead to exclusion. (SUGGESTED LENGTH: 250-300 WORDS)  

ESSAY QUESTION 3: Tell us about a time you demonstrated courage and/or leadership in confronting discrimination or exclusion, especially in a context where it was uncomfortable and/or unpopular. What did you do? What motivated you to take action? How did this experience impact you?

Describe a time when human rights values (the belief that at all human beings are equal in dignity and rights) were being challenged and what you did in the face of this challenge. Perhaps someone was being made fun of or discriminated against because of their identity (ethnicity, religion, gender, etc.) and you said something? Or perhaps someone's rights were taken away or violated and you took action? These are just two examples out of endless possibilities, and we know that standing up for human rights is very hard, so don't be afraid to tell us about a time that you tried to do this, but it didn't work. What is most important for us to understand is what was happening (without naming people), why you wanted to do something and what you did.

Reminder: Please write your answers in your own words. Do not use AI tools, we want to understand your personal motivation and experiences. We will NOT be evaluating grammar or writing skills. Using AI may lead to exclusion. (SUGGESTED LENGTH: 250-300 WORDS)  

Anything else you want to tell us?
Upload your CV (or resume)
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