DUSAHNBE, June 21, Asia-Plus -- The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) invites applications to its Reagan Fascell Democracy Fellows Program, according to information from the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe.

Established in 2001 to enable democracy practitioners and scholars from around the world to deepen their understand­ing of democracy and enhance their ability to promote democratic change, the program is based at NED’s International Forum for Democratic Studies, in Wash­ington, D.C.

The program offers five-month fellowships for practitioners to improve strategies and techniques for building democ­racy abroad and five- to ten-month fellowships for scholars to conduct original re­search for publica­tion. Practitioners may include activists, lawyers, journalists, and other civil society professionals; scholars may include professors, research analysts, and other writers. Projects may focus on the political, social, economic, legal, and cultural aspects of democratic development and may include a range of methodologies and approaches.

The fellows program is intended primarily to support practitio­ners and scholars from new and aspiring democracies.  Distinguished scholars from the United States and other established democracies are also eligible to apply.  Practi­tioners are expected to have substantial experience working to promote democracy.  Schol­ars are expected to have a doctorate, or academic equiva­lent, at the time of application.  The program is not designed to pay for professional training or to sup­port stu­dents working toward a degree. 

The fellowship year begins October 1 and runs through July 31, with major entry dates in October and March.