Application Form
2015 International Summer School on Pluralism, Development and Social Change
The Kosmopolis Platform of the University of Humanistic Studies (the Netherlands), in cooperation with HIVOS (Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries), the Center for the Study of Religion & Democracy (PUSAD – Pusat Studi Agama & Demokrasi), ParamadinaFoundation, and the Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies of Gadjah Mada University (Indonesia), the Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice of the University of the Free State (South Africa) and a to be confirmed university in India, welcomes applicants for the 2015 International Summer School on Pluralism, Development and Social Change.
For Who and How? – Who is eligible and how to apply?
You can only apply if you fit into one of the categories listed below. We welcome applications from:
Staff members of Hivos Head Office in the Netherlands or its Regional Offices in Southern or Eastern Africa, India or Indonesia
- Graduate students from the University of Humanistic Studies (only MA Humanistic Studies) with current (or recent) relevant work – and study/internship experience in civil society practices of social change
- Graduate students from universities in Indonesia with current (or recent) relevant work – and study/internship experience in civil society practices of social change and NGO staff members who work in the field of Pluralism, Development and Social Change in Indonesia
- Honours, Master or PhD students from the University of the Free State in South Africa with current (or recent) relevant work – and study/internship experience in civil society practices of social change
- More information will follow with regard to eligible applicants from a university in India (currently under negotiation)
How to apply: All eligible applicants may download their application form from the English-medium home page of the University of Humanistic Studies in Utrecht, the Netherlands:http://www.uvh.nl/english. Indonesian applicants may download the application form fromhttp://www.paramadina-pusad.or.id/ or http://crcs.ugm.ac.id/.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
PLEASE NOTE: The Recruitment and Selection deadlines vary per country/sector group. Please read carefully. Applications should be submitted by e-mail to ONE of the coordinators mentioned below. Please make sure that you send your application to thecoordinator of your own country/sector. Candidates are selected by local coordinators in dialogue with the central coordinator at the University of Humanistic Studies in the Netherlands.
All applicants will be notified of the outcome of the selection process, approximately 2 weeks after the deadline for each of the countries/sector. Selected participants will be personally contacted by the country coordinators and central coordinator.
- The Netherlands – UvH: Applications will be considered between April 2 – 17 2015
More information can be obtained from Caroline Suransky via c.suransky@uvh.nl . Please send you application form to c.suransky@uvh.nl - Indonesia: Applications will be considered between April 21 – 15 May 10 2015
More information can be obtained from Ayu Mellisa via summer.school@paramadina-pusad.or.id. Please send your application form to summer.school@paramadina-pusad.or.id - International Hivos Staff: Applications will be considered between April 28 and May 12 2015.
More information can be obtained from Vera Kleine Staarman via vkleinestaarman@hivos.org. Please send you application form to vkleinestaarman@hivos.org - South Africa –UFS: Applications will be considered between April 20 – May 10 2015
More information can be obtained from JC van der Merwe via vdmjc@ufs.ac.za Please send you application form to vdmjc@ufs.ac.za - India: More information will follow asap.
General information:
The program will be conducted between 28 July and 13 August 2015. It is internationally coordinated by the University of Humanistic Studies in the Netherlands and hosted in Indonesia by the Center for the Study of Religion and Democracy (PUSAD – Pusat Studi Agama & Demokrasi) Paramadina: http://www.paramadina-pusad.or.id/en/ and the Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies of Gadjah Mada University http://crcs.ugm.ac.id/. The summer school will be conducted in Puncak, Indonesia. It involves a 17 day full time program of lectures, excursions, seminars, literature study, discussion, guided individual – and small group work and assignments. The maximum group size will be between 20 – 24 people. Selected participants are required to prepare a pre-summer school assignment. The course will be completed with a group presentation and a design for a pluralism workshop which participants are required to conduct after they return home. Upon successful completion, participants will receive a Kosmopolis/University of Humanistic Studies Certificate in Pluralism, Development and Social Change.
The summer school aims to:
- bring together a diverse and international group of participants who are interested in social change and wish to enhance their critical understanding of social theory of change, practices of pluralism and the politics of difference at local and global levels
- intensify links between development practitioners and scholars in order to (1) enrich both their knowledge bases with new perspectives, insights and skills, and (2) stimulate the creation of international networks of civil society initiatives around issues of social change and pluralism
- facilitate international dialogue on theories and practices of pluralism and professional and personal experiences with cultural- and other forms of diversity and difference, leading to a critical international comparative analysis of pluralism approaches in various social, political, economic and ecological contexts
- integrate theoretical and practice-based knowledge of all participants and help them to translate it into new insights, strategies, policies and/or practices for pluralism
- create a learning environment in which participants simultaneously learn about as well as simultaneously live with difference in a pluralist, international and intercultural setting. Critical reflexivity, reading and writing, dialogue, experiential learning, active participation and skills training are central to the program.
Brief information about the content of the Program:
The last few decades witnessed significant changes across the world, mediated by technological revolutions, economic liberalisation, political upsurges, the rise of new identity politics, aspirations of regime change, grave concerns about ecological crises and movements for a broader understanding of ‘gender’ equality, including the rights of the LGBT persons. In an increasingly interconnected world, societies and communities become more diverse and complex, that is: more plural. Theories and practices of ‘pluralism’, or ‘living with difference’ and how they relate to social change, are central in the program. We depart from the idea that pluralism can enhance an ethos of democratic engagement and that differences can be a creative source for social change. We focus on three interrelated and intertwined perspectives: (1) worldview/religious perspectives which focus on how states, societies, NGOs and religious communities themselves, address challenges of religious co-existence as well as new meanings and manifestations of secularity (2) social-politicalperspectives which address the social tensions, inequalities and conflicts that often accompany diversity and difference and (3) ecological perspectives which refer to diverse ways in which humans interact with their environments by drawing on pluri-cultural values and their modes of symbolic awareness of the human–earth relationship. The summer school program brings together activists, academics and social practitioners from Southern Africa, India, the Netherlands, Indonesia and Kenya to exchange knowledge about pluralism and social change and reflect on its implications for social practices and academic research.
Costs:
The summer school is co-funded by all participating universities and institutions. The funding includes room and board for all selected candidates during the summer school, as well as participation in the program, including the excursion. The program will also fund your international travel/ – and visa costs.
You will need your own budget for incidental/private expenses. Selected participants (or their organizations) are obliged to take out and pay for medical insurance cover for the duration of the summer school and you need to submit proof of this.
Application Form Summer School 2015
See the Tentative Program here
