International Parliamentary Scholarship Programme for African Countries 2023

Since 2020, the German Bundestag has been offering a scholarship program for politically committed young university graduates from South Africa, Namibia and Botswana who are interested in the German parliamentary system and who actively support basic democratic values ??in their home countries.

In a four-week compact program, eight fellows can get to know the German parliamentary system and political decision-making processes in the German Bundestag up close.

The program will take place in Berlin. The core of the program is a one-week internship in the office of a member of the German Bundestag.

The focus is also on events on the German parliamentary system as well as lectures, workshops and seminars, among other things, on parliamentary democracy, the way parliament works and its function. In addition, the topics of pluralism, protection of minorities and culture of remembrance are conveyed as a political mandate. A workshop on project management should help to develop your own project ideas with the aim of promoting democracy and civil society in the respective countries of origin.

• Table of Content
• About Deutscher Bundestag
• International Parliamentary Scholarship Programme
• Aim and Benefits of International Parliamentary Scholarship Programme
• Requirements for International Parliamentary Scholarship Programme Qualification
• Interview date, Process and Venue for International Parliamentary Scholarship Programme
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About Deutscher Bundestag

The Bundestag is the German federal parliament. It is the only body that is directly elected by the German people on the Federal level. It can be compared to a lower house similar to the United States House of Representatives or the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.

International Parliamentary Scholarship Programme

Aim and Benefits of International Parliamentary Scholarship Programme

The participants receive a grant of 500 euros. In addition, the costs for health, accident and liability insurance are covered. In addition, free accommodation is granted in a residential complex (two-person shared apartment). The costs of travel to and from Berlin will be reimbursed.

Requirements for International Parliamentary Scholarship Programme Qualification

• Citizenship of one of the three participating countries (dual citizenship possible)
• younger than 30 years at the beginning of the scholarship
• completed university degree
• very good knowledge of the German language
• Interest in political contexts as well as social / political engagement

Interview date, Process and Venue for International Parliamentary Scholarship Programme

The scholarship program is aimed at committed, open-minded, resilient and politically interested young professionals from South Africa, Namibia and Botswana who want to actively and responsibly shape the democratic future of their countries.

Applicants are invited to a personal selection interview in the German embassies in the participating countries and are selected by an independent selection committee of the German Bundestag with regard to their professional, social, linguistic and intercultural skills.

The cost of traveling to the interview will be reimbursed on a pro-rata basis, provided the interviews are not held in your home country

Application Deadline

How to Apply

Please send the complete online application documents in a PDF document, the file name of which consists of your surname and first name (ie “surname-first name”), by email to the German representation in your home country.

Your application should be sent in German and contain the following scanned documents:

• Passport photo (please insert on page 1 of the application form);
• Application form (on the Internet at: www.bundestag.de/ips_afrikanisch);
• Proof of very good German language skills
  (at least level B 2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages);
• Letter of motivation (maximum two pages);
• Copy of passport or copy of ID;
• Officially certified copy of the degree certificate 1 ;
• a letter of recommendation in German or English (from a university professor or from the employer, in which the professional qualifications of the applicant for the program are assessed).

1 Copies are certified if an official body (German or foreign authority, embassy or consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany, university office, notary, officially sworn interpreter) confirms with an official seal and signature that the photocopy matches the original. If there are several stapled photocopies, each individual sheet must be certified. If the documents are not duly certified, the application cannot be processed.

For more details, visit the website.