DMV Democracy Fellows
CALL FOR DMV DEMOCRACY FELLOWS:
HELP BUILD A DEMOCRACY LEARNING COMMUNITY IN METRO DC
ABOUT LEARNING LIFE
Learning Life is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit lab devoted to innovating education, democracy and diplomacy by spreading learning in everyday life beyond school walls. In our increasingly interconnected yet divided world, we develop innovative learning communities in order to widen and deepen participation in democracy and diplomacy.
With this mission in mind, we run two programs. The Family Diplomacy Initiative (FDI) connects families worldwide across lines of country, class, race and religion via the internet to share and learn together with an eye to training family diplomats to advocate for a more caring world. Our DMV Democracy Learning Community (DMV DLC) is a nascent association of individuals and organizations in the Washington DC or DC-MD-VA (DMV) metro area working together to strengthen democracy by developing engaging events, products, services and spaces that nurture fun, learning, networking, collaboration and wider, deeper citizen participation. More about DLCs here.
ABOUT THE DEMOCRACY FELLOWS
Learning Life is now recruiting 3-4 DMV Democracy Fellows, and accepting resumes from Master’s and Ph.D. students in or from metro Washington DC interested in volunteering as DMV Democracy Fellows to help build the DMV DLC. Fellows volunteer 6 hours per week preferably as soon as possible, to mid-January 2023. Fellows will work strictly remotely, with meetings via Zoom, unless the Fellow lives in metro DC and logistics as well as Covid allow meeting in-person.
In 2022, Learning Life is leading monthly planning meetings with the goal of developing a DMV DLC action plan by the end of the year that builds on what exists, and allows participating stakeholders to hit the ground running in 2023. Fellows will accordingly: (a) interview diverse metro DC democracy stakeholders, that is, individuals and organizational representatives working in politics, business, education, community development, urban planning, etc. to build a database of what exists and identify willing DLC contributors; (b) contribute to research and writing to advance the DLC concept, (c) participate in weekly progress meetings with Learning Life’s Director, Paul Lachelier, to go over work completed and assign new tasks; and (d) attend monthly DMV DLC planning meetings with Learning Life staff and metro DC democracy stakeholders.
Benefits include: (a) making meaningful connections with many professionals working in democracy-related fields; (b) enriching your understanding of democracy, community and education; (c) contributing to an innovative initiative to strengthen democracy in the nation’s capital region; and (d) a reference, recommendation letter, and informational interview connections upon request, given satisfactory performance of the Fellow’s duties.
APPLICANTS WE ARE LOOKING FOR & HOW TO APPLY
Applicants should be Master’s or Ph.D. students in or from the metro DC area with demonstrated interest in politics, education and/or community, whether via study, volunteering and/or work. Experience conducting interviews, and writing for popular or academic publication are pluses, but not required.
To apply, send your resume and a writing sample to email@learninglife.info. No need for a cover letter unless there are details you wish to share not covered in your resume. Please indicate in your email when you can start, and if you are willing to serve as one of our DMV Democracy Fellows until mid-January 2023. We will contact you to schedule an interview if your application matches what we are looking for. Thank you for your interest!