Call for applications – Norway #Youth #Nordic #biodiversity #IUCN
The five French Institutes in the Nordic region (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Iceland) have decided to launch in 2020 a dedicated award: the «French Institute Nordic Award» (FINA). In partnership with the Research Council of Norway, the French Institute in Norway aims to promote young researcher in the field of youth and green innovation on the occasion of IUCN World Nature Congress.
In line with our shared commitment to implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the focus of the first FINA edition in 2020 will be on youth and green innovation. Each French Institute in the Nordic region will select, with local partners, one or a small team of young professionals committed on green innovation in the field of biodiversity and enable them to travel to Marseille and share their work at the IUCN Congress in January 2021.
Every four years, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) convenes the IUCN World Conservation Congress which is the world’s largest nature conservation event. It brings together leaders from government, civil society, indigenous peoples’ organizations, business and academia to determine the world’s most pressing environmental and development challenges, and actions to address them.
In 2021 (postponed from 2020), France will host the World Conservation Congress in Marseille «One nature, one future» (7-15 January 2021). Youth and young professionals will play a leading role in the Congress through the organization of a Youth Forum, with a view to proposing options for the post-2020 biodiversity framework that will be agreed at the CBD Conference of the Parties in China.
The 2020 IUCN Congress will cover seven themes: four related to major dimensions of nature (landscapes, water, oceans and climate change), and three cross-cutting issues (governance and rights, finance and economics, and knowledge and innovation).
Prize
The Norwegian FINA laureate will be sent to Marseille, together with the other Nordic laureates, to attend the IUCN Congress during the Youth Summit. The amount of the prize will cover the travel, accommodation, meals as well as access to the IUCN Congress of the laureate. The program will include opportunities for the laureate to present his work and enlarge his professional network.
Eligibility – How to apply (by September 13th, 2020)
Applicants should comply with the following requirements:
– be a PhD candidate or hold a PhD
– aged under 35
– be recognized as a young professional: affiliated with a Norwegian research institution or involved in a startup/NGO/foundation…
To apply for the FINA, please send the following documents to science@france.no by September 13th, 2020 (midnight):
– a motivation letter
– a CV
– a description of your project in green innovation and its progress (max 2 pages)
– letters of recommendation (maximum 3)
If you need further information, please write to: science@france.no
Key characteristics of a winning application
- The applicants’ projects should present ideas or solutions in the field of green innovation related to biodiversity protection useful when solving problems or facilitating tasks related to at least one theme of the IUCN Congress.
- The project should be alined with at least one of the 7 themes of the Congress: landscapes, water, oceans and climate change, governance and rights, finance & economics, knowledge & innovation. For further information on these themes, please check this article
