Young Scholar Program

Inter-American Program on Education for Democratic Values and Practices, Department of Education and Culture, Organization of American States

Description
The Young Scholar Program's objective is to provide an opportunity for youth from the Americas, and other regions, to work actively in the Inter-American Program's activities, as part of their college coursework or as an independent initiative. This work may include research, meeting participation, translations, planning and participation in Program events within and outside the United States, among others. For more information on Program activities, see http://www.educadem.oas.org

Terms of Reference for each Young Scholar will be drafted in negotiation with each of the participants before beginning the Program.

Candidate Characteristics
We prefer candidates with interest in the field of democratic citizenship education and related areas. Preferably, with some course work and work experience in this field. Candidates should be from one of the 34 member states of the OAS, but we also consider candidates from outside the Americas with a clear interest in the region. Candidates must speak at least one (two or more is preferred) of the organization's four official languages: English, Spanish, French and Portuguese.

Benefits
The Program cannot provide economic support to youth at this time. Although the OAS may provide office space for Young Scholars, it is not necessary to work from Washington, DC, to participate in this Program.

Application
We cordially invite all interested young scholars from the Americas to apply by sending their curriculum vitae to education@oas.org . The Program reviews applications as an on-going process.

To date, we have received over 56 applications from over 10 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and United States.

Young Scholars  - 2008

	Tara Brian Hi, my name is Tara Brian and I am a 21 year old student from British Columbia, Canada. I am currently in my second year at Colby College in Maine where I am studying International Development and Psychology. Along with academics I am very involved with music at my college where I study the violin and play in several orchestras. I have volunteered with several community development projects overseas. I spent one year in São Paulo, Brazil where I worked with young children living in a favela, as well as taught violin and English to adolescents and adults. Last year I was in Northern India for one month teaching music in a rural school. I am excited to participate in the Young Scholar program and hope that it will enable me to gain experience in development work on a larger scale.
	Augusto Galeano My name is Augusto Galeano Morinigo from Paraguay. I am 24 years old and I am in my last year of law school and social science in Asuncion University, I was selected to be part of the Young Scholar initiative and came to Washington DC in December 2007. I will be working at OAS with non-formal democratic citizenship education, supporting the Program's activities, specifically in the area of research and professional development. This has been a very good experience for me I have met people from other countries; shared experiences, opinions and ideas regarding non-formal citizenship education.
	Todd Lester United States. Todd is the founder and Executive Director of freeDimensional, a global network of community arts spaces that provides services for human rights defenders during periods of distress – www.freedimensional.org .  Todd was recently named a Fellow in Forced Migration & Refugee Studies at the American University of Cairo and a Young Scholar with the Organization of American States (OAS). He holds a Masters of Public Administration from Rutgers University and is candidate for Doctorate of Public & Urban Policy at the New School for Social Research from which he recently received a Film Production Diploma.
	Maria Fernanda Materón Colombia. Specialist in Political Affairs, Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law. Work experience in rural and urban communities, in contexts of violence and victims of the armed conflict. Experience in educational processes of formation, training and education. Work with afro-, indigenous communities, peasants, displaced population, and women as head of family, youth and children at risk.
	Claudia Liliana Vargas Guevara My name is Claudia Liliana Vargas; I was born in Bogota, Colombia. I am a psychologist and have a master's in Psychosocial Research. My professional experience has been in the social and educational field. My research work has been related to vulnerable populations, specifically children and youth that have been involved in armed conflict by illegal armed groups and displaced by violence. I am author of “A school of opportunities for children in armed conflict”. This book is the product of a research project that aimed at the design educational proposal to train teachers in areas of armed conflict.

Young Scholars  - 2007

	Carla Jiménez Costa Rica. Carla is completing her MA in Intercultural Service, Leadership and Management with a specialization in International Education at the School of International Training in Brattleboro-SIT-, Vermont.  She participated in the Program from June – December, 2007; and is currently a consultant in the Program's offices in Washington, DC.
	Joao Salm Brazil. PhD candidate at the School of Justice and Social Inquiry at Arizona State University. He participated in the Program from June 19 – July 19, 2007 in the Program's offices in Washington, DC and continues supporting the Program from Arizona.

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