The INK Fellows Program: Change Makers 2015

Deadline: May 17th, 2015 at 11:59 PM IST   

The INK Fellows Program is a young, global and cross-disciplinary community of path-breakers who we believe will be the shapers of tomorrow. Every year, INK identifies the minds that are redefining their field of work, and the world around them. The Program aims to provide them the support necessary to leverage their impact.

Their Goals:

• To create a community of like-minded peers on unconventional ‘career’ paths, from any field. The experience of being a change-maker is often isolating, as it can lack the financial security, clarity of direction and social network that come with traditional jobs. Being an INK Fellow provides the peer-support necessary to take brilliant work to the next level.
• To leverage their impact, through mentorship, support, networks and specially designed opportunities.
• To provide them a platform for discovery and exposure like no other, so that our change-makers gain access to potential customers, funding opportunities, accolades and other forms of support critical to their development and success.

Benefits:

• A scholarship to attend the INK Conference during the Fellowship year
• The opportunity to network with speakers and attendees
• The potential to speak on the INK stage
• The potential to have their talk posted on www.inktalks.com and reach thousands of viewers
• Participation in the Fellows Pre-Conference, including in-depth coaching in effective public communication

Requirements

• Candidates must be between the ages of 18 and 40
• INK prefers Fellows to be based in young economies, but great candidates from any location will be considered seriously and competitively
• Candidates must be present for the entire duration of the INK2015 Conference, and arrive in Mumbai two days earlier. Fellows will be in Mumbai from October 14th–19th, 2015
• Candidates should be change makers specializing in any field, for example (but not limited to) technology, entrepreneurship, health/medicine, architecture and design, science, art/culture/literature, energy and environment, research and academics, education, sports, film/music, and social impact.
• A candidate's actions must speak louder than their words. Humility is important, and self-promoters will not be accepted

Website:  http://www.inktalks.com/fellows/about

The 2015 Summer Institute for Disaster and Risk Research: Beijing Normal University

July 27 – August 7, 2015,

Call for Application
The series of Summer Institute for Disaster and Risk Research is part of the implementation of the Hazard and Risk Science Base at Beijing Normal University, funded jointly by the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, Ministry of Education, and the Beijing Normal University.

Who can apply?
The Summer Institute is designed primarily for junior faculty and young researchers, post-docs and advanced doctoral students, who have shown strong interests and possessed research experience in the disaster and risk field. The application is open to researchers from all disciplines and the admissions are based on individual’s qualification and research relevance to the overall focus of the summer institute. Preference will be given to applicants who are in the stage of finalizing and publishing research. Excellent oral and written communication skills in English are required. The summer institute is international in scope with about 20 participants, of which an equal share of Chinese and international participants is expected.

Research Area Focus
The broad research area for the summer institute series is the inter-linkages of disaster, risk, and development. The overall research question is how to understand the dynamics and characteristics of disaster and risk in a changing world, with special focus on China.

Programme Structure
The two-week intensive summer institute will focus on co-creating a research discussion and writing environment where participants can closely interact with mentors and each other to develop research paper. In addition to core lectures by world leading scholars, much time is given to individual sessions where participants can present their own research, as well as self-organized group works and individual mentoring.

Scholarship and Financial Support
Partial financial supports as scholarship are provided to all accepted participants. For participants from China, domestic travel cost and accommodation are covered by the summer institute. For international participants, the summer institute offers free accommodation and partial support for international travel with a fixed amount of “travel scholarship award” up to $800, depending on the region-from and anticipated travel cost.

How to apply?
The application form can be downloaded from the homepage of the Hazard and Risk Science Base at Beijing Normal University http://www.espre.cn/111/index.asp, the CV and a cover letter are also needed.

- For international applicants, the deadline for application is 15 May 2015; and decisions by the end of
May.
- For applicants from China, the deadline is 01 June 2015, and decision will be informed by the mid-June.

Contacts
For all questions concerning the 2015 Summer Institute for Disaster and Risk Research, please contact:
Dr. Wei Xu
Tel/Fax: +86-10-58806695
Email: hrsb@bnu.edu.cn
Postal Address: No.19, Xinjiekouwai Street, Haidian District
Academy of Disaster Reduction and Emergency Management
Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China, Zip Code: 100875

WHO MESSED WITH MOTHER NATURE?

When it is raining we complain and cry of floods but when it is not raining we join hands to complain and cry of drought, What do we really want? what are we not doing right? What did we do wrong to Mother Nature? The moment we find answers to this questions and the root cause of all this questions is the day we will be safe from all this calamities and disasters related to climate change.

Deforestation, clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use, that is per the online dictionary and the below picture is the practical definition.

This happened few days ago at Narok, Kenya and there is more to come if we don’t protect our forests and plant more trees wherever we may be.

Despite the immense value of forests, we are losing nearly half of Kenyan forest. The more we destroy our forests the more our children and their children will suffer they will cry more than we are currently lamenting. We have to safe the trees for a better future and better generations to come.

Deforestation has occurred and is still occurring for many reasons in Kenya most of them being selfish reasons: trees have been cut down at greater rates each year to plant crops, graze cattle and generate income from timber, fuel in the form of charcoal and other forest products.

Human encroachment in forests and water catchment areas is another major concern that has diversely affected reforestation efforts which has led to damage to habitat, biodiversity loss and aridity in many parts of the country.

Lets all try to make the country and the world green, Plant a tree. Together we can safe the world

Google Science Fair Competition 2015

Deadline: 19 May 2015   
       
The Google Science Fair is a global online competition open to individuals or teams from 13 to 18 years old. 
Individuals and small teams present their ideas and experiments to address social and environmental issues in subjects that include earth and environmental sciences, fauna and flora, and several others.
Google and several partners will award scholarships and other prizes by age groups and geographical areas (local, regional, global).
   
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: https://www.googlesciencefair.com/en/

Common Fund for commodities

The CFC (an intergovernmental financial institution) provides financing to organisations and enterprises engaged in commodity value chains. Through financial support, the CFC seeks to support implementation of innovative interventions that target new opportunities in commodity markets leading to commodity based growth, employment generation, increase in household incomes, reduction in poverty, and enhancement of food security. The intervention should be scalable and financially sustainable and have a measurable positive impact on the stakeholders in commodity value chains.

This is the sixth call for interested parties to submit proposals. The submission period has been extended and will now close on 17 May 2015.

OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.common-fund.org/call-for-proposals/