BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program

About the Scholarship and Educational Support Program:

The Scholarship and Educational Support Program is organized by the Alliance for Black Justice in Poland. The aim of the program is to support citizens of African countries who wish to pursue their education goals and ambitions in a higher education institution based in Poland.

We recognize that there are excellent opportunities for higher education in Poland. We understand the reality that a higher education degree from a European-based institution can make a difference in the opportunities that are available to graduates. We also support Poland opening up to the world by facilitating access to higher education institutions in Poland among citizens of African countries.

The BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program offers:

  • partial funding to cover tuition fees based on documented need of individual applicants,

  • non-financial support that aims to strengthen general academic learning skills, create opportunities to develop subject-specific knowledge, and facilitate connections and networking within a community of Black, African and Afro-descendant scholars and professionals in Poland.

For additional information or in case of any questions about the Scholarship and Educational Support Program, contact us at:

  • blackjustice@newvisions.me

  • https://www.facebook.com/BlackJusticeinPoland

If you wish to apply for support through the program, please review the Information and Guidelines for Applicants below.

Applications for the Scholarship and Educational Support Program are now open!

APPLY BY 31st of July 2023 at midnight (CET)

Please note:
The application form must be completed in English and by computer (please do not submit forms completed in handwriting). The completed application form should be sent by email as an attachment in .doc or .pdf format.

Thank you for taking the time and making the effort to prepare an application to the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program. All applications, which were submitted within the deadline, will be carefully evaluated by the Review Committee.

The members of the Review Committee for the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program are:

Chemutai Yegon

Chemutai is a Kenyan living in Poland.
She co-founded and is Executive Director of the Association of Multiethnic Families Family Voices. She is a community building professional and an educator with 11 years of experience, mostly in the Republic of Georgia (2012-2015) and in Poland (2015-present), with a focus on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in education. While in Georgia, Chemutai worked as a trainer to encourage young people to get involved in local revitalization initiatives in Shida Kartli, a war affected region of the country. She was also part of the One Caucasus initiative, an ongoing music festival and peace initiative run by the Poland-based Another Space Foundation in partnership with organizations throughout the Caucuses. Chemutai earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Kenyatta University in Kenya. She also completed the Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA) and the Norwich Institute for Language Education (NILE) Certificate in Teaching English in Pre-Primary Education.
Within the  Alliance for Black Justice in Poland (BJP), Chemutai is a member of the Advisory Board, Team Lead in direct support work as well as Project Manager.

Margaret Amaka Ohia-Nowak

Margaret is Polish-Nigerian racial justice activist and an expert on race and antiracism in Poland with 15+ years experience. She has advocated and organized for Black, African, and Afro-descendent communities in Poland.
She is Founder of the Centre for Intersectional Justice in Poland (Centrum Intersekcjonalnej Sprawiedliwości). She serves as a Board Member of the Polish People of African Descent Association (Stowarzyszenie Polaków Pochodzenia Afrykańskiego-SPPA). She is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Social Communication and Media Studies at the Marie Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin (Poland).

She co-founded the Alliance for Black Justice in Poland and is a member of the BJP Advisory Board.

Chizoba Ochei

Chizoba is a Nigerian activist and a humanitarian living in Poland. She founded the organization, Solace Heart Foundation, based in Nigeria, which has the mission of helping the poor, destitute, and homeless in Nigerian society. Chizoba prides herself on being a compassionate person who loves to see others happy.
She completed her Master’s degree at the University of Warsaw in the field of education (teaching English to young learners).

At the Alliance for Black Justice
in Poland (BJP), Chizoba is a member
of the Direct Support Team.

Katarzyna (Kasia) Kubin

Kasia has 15+ years of experience designing and managing projects and initiatives that advance social justice and human rights with a particular focus on racial justice, migration and refugee issues, and antidiscrimination and equality. In 2007, Kasia co-founded the Foundation for Social Diversity (Fundacja na rzecz Różnorodności Społecznej-FRS), for which she was distinguished with the Polcul Foundation Award in 2017. Kasia is also an editor and translator, and an advocate for independent publishing. She earned her MSc degree from the London School of Economics (2004), her MA degree from the University of Sussex (2013), and her PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)-University of London (2022). She is currently a post-doctoral researcher at the Centre for Migration Research (Centrum Badań nad Migracjami) at the University of Warsaw.

Within the Alliance for Black Justice in Poland (BJP), Kasia is as Project Manager and a member of the BJP Advisory Board.

Information and Guidelines for Applicants

  1. What can I expect from the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program?

Through the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program, we offer:

  • partial financial scholarships to help cover the tuition fees of study at an accredited higher education institution in Poland;

  • non-financial support that aims to strengthen general academic learning skills, create opportunities to develop skills and expertise in subject-specific areas, as well as facilitate networking and mutual support within a community of Black, African and Afro-descendant scholars and professionals who work in Poland.

2. Who can apply to the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program?

The program is open to applicants who fulfill the following criteria:

  • Citizenship of an African country;

  • Legal right to stay in Poland;

  • 18 years of age or older at the time of applying;

  • Have secured acceptance to at least one higher education institution in Poland;

  • Demonstrate financial need and are not able to pursue the chosen program of study without financial support from the BJP.

We regret that, at this time, the BJP is not able to offer financial support to students who were previously awarded a BJP scholarship in the 2022-2023 academic year. Although we cannot offer repeat scholarships in the 2023-2024 academic year we look forward to including previous BJP Scholarship awardees into non-financial forms of support.

3. What kind of studies do we support through the program?

Our aim is to support African students with accessing higher education in Poland. Through the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program, we offer partial funding to cover tuition fees based on documented need of individual applicants. At this time, we cannot cover full tuition fees for any individual applicant.

We welcome applications from students studying in diverse fields.

Applicants to the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program must have documentation that confirms they have been accepted into programs of study and courses that meet the following criteria:

  • The program of study or course of study is offered by an accredited higher education institution based in Poland (e.g.: universities, schools of higher education, institutes and research centers that offer certificates of higher education);

  • The program of study or course of study must culminate in a higher education degree (e.g. BA, MA, MSc, MPhil, MFA, etc.). We can also support students undertaking study at PhD level as well;

  • The fees for the program or course of study must be confirmed by an invoice or other official financial document issued by the accredited higher education institution based in Poland.

We accept applications from individuals interested in studying both part time and full time.

4. What can I expect during the application process?

The application process involves two stages:

Stage I:

Prepare and submit your application pack. Your application pack must include:

  • The completed application form, prepared in English and by computer and submitted by email as an attachment in .doc or .pdf format (please do not submit forms completed in handwriting);

  • Contacts to two individuals who agree to recommend you. Your referees must not be friends or relatives. Your referees can be, for example, former teachers or professors, current or former employers, mentors;

  • A letter from an accredited higher education institution in Poland that confirms your acceptance into the program of study or course of study that you wish to attend;

  • A formal document issued by the higher education institution confirming the tuition fee amount and deadline for payment of tuition fees, including the institution’s bank account details;

  • Scan of a document that confirms your legal right to stay in Poland.

The application form should be prepared in English and by computer. 

The completed application form and accompanying documents must be submitted by the deadline: midnight (CET) on Monday, 31 July 2023.

Applications should be sent by email as an attachment in .doc or .pdf format to the following address:

blackjustice@newvisions.me

Stage II:

The BJP Review Committee will carefully read all submitted applications and short-list candidates who will be invited to the second stage of the application process. Invitations to short-listed candidates will be sent by the end of August 2023.

The second stage of the application process includes:

  • An interview with the BJP Review Committee. Interviews will be held online or in-person as agreed with each individual short-listed applicant. The interview will help us to assess your candidacy with regard to the selection criteria, which are outlined below.

  • After the interview, the BJP Review Committee will contact the selected applicants’ referees who were listed in their application forms.

Decisions about the final selection of applicants who will receive a partial BJP scholarship toward their tuition fees in the 2023-2024 academic year will be released by Wednesday, 6 September 2023.

5. What are the selection criteria, how will my application be evaluated?

Applications are assessed according to the following criteria:

Formal criteria:

  1. Does the applicant meet the criteria outlined in the above point 2 of the Information and Guidelines for Applicants (i.e. “Who can apply to the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program”)?

  2. Does the application meet the criteria outlined in the above point 3 of the Information and Guidelines for Applicants (i.e. “What kind of studies do we support through the program?”)?

  3. Was the application received within the deadline?

  4. Is the application form completed in the English language, by computer and are the necessary supporting documents attached?

Substantive criteria:

  1. Are the applicant’s answers to the questions on the application form thoughtfully prepared, clearly presented and compellingly argued?

  2. Are the applicant’s education and career goals and plans thoughtfully prepared, clearly presented and compellingly argued?

  3. Were the applicant’s answers and overall presentation during the interview thoughtfully considered and well-prepared?

  4. Does the applicant demonstrate a need for financial support that justifies a partial scholarship toward their tuition fees?

  5. Is the application in line with the objectives of the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program?

Please note, we can offer partial funding for tuition fees based on documented need of individual applicants. At this time, we cannot offer to cover the full tuition fees for any individual applicant.

We regret that, at this time, the BJP is not able to offer financial support to students who were previously awarded a BJP scholarship in the 2022-2023 academic year. Although we cannot offer repeat scholarships, in the 2023-2024 academic year, we look forward to including previous BJP Scholarship awardees into non-financial forms of support.

6. When will I know the decision about my application and where can I get more information about the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program?

Applicants will be informed about the decision on their application by email no later than by Wednesday, 6 September 2023.

For more information about the BJP Scholarship and Educational Support Program, please write to us at: blackjustice@newvisions.me

 

About the Alliance of Black Justice in Poland (BJP):

The Alliance is made up of the following organizations:

  • Black is Polish: A collective of Polish women of African descent, who have been friends for years and who run the “Blackispolish/Czarnejestpolskie” page on Instagram to inform and educate about antidiscrimination and antiracism, inclusion, feminism, the body, and Black history.

  • The Association of Multiethnic Families Family Voices: The mission of Family Voices is to build and sustain a community of families of mixed background in Poland in order to ensure that young people of African descent who are growing up in Poland feel supported, confident and empowered. Education and advocating for equality, diversity and inclusion are integral to this mission.

  • Center for Intersectional Justice (CIS): CIS designs and implements antiracist education programs, which centers healing racial trauma through somatic and emotional work, and NVC (non-violent communication). This work is informed by Black feminism as well as a holistic approach to learning, empowering black identity, and embodying change through activism.

  • new visions: Based in Berlin, new visions is an educational collective that sees culture and the arts as both an inspiration and a medium for social change. Through its varied programing, new visions holds space for collective work that progresses equity and inclusion, empowers womxn in leadership, and brings us closer to a world of justice and love.

  • Foundation for Social Diversity (FSD): Founded in 2007, the mission of the FSD is to develop an open, diverse society by supporting intercultural dialogue and social integration, and by developing knowledge and tools that strengthen equality and empower minorities, migrants and migrant communities in Poland.

As a group of organizations that were created by people of African descent, Black and Brown and queer people, and their allies, the Alliance is committed to supporting Black people living in Poland by providing direct aid (e.g. accommodation, legal advice), fostering a sense of community and mutual support among Black people in Poland, advocating for equality and non-discrimination policies and practices, as well as by designing and implementing antiracist education programs. The Scholarship Program is one form of direct aid that we offer.