[Chapter-delegates] (REMINDER) Early Career Fellowship - Call for Mentors

[Alejandra Prieto]

(KIND REMINDER)

Dear Chapter/SIG Leaders,

As you know, the Early Career Fellowship<https://www.internetsociety.org/fellowships/early-career/> is designed to help us empower a new generation of Internet champions. While we've developed a comprehensive (and exciting!) academic program with partners like the Oxford Internet Institute and Prof Laura De Nardis (among many others) to help Fellows develop their knowledge base, we strongly believe we also need to ensure these future leaders develop practical skills that they can apply in social contexts to build, promote and defend the Internet. This is why each Fellow will be developing a project of their choice throughout the program.

While Fellows are learning from dedicated modules on project management to develop their unique projects, we also want them to have the benefit of learning from current Internet thinkers and doers. People like you. That's why we would like to match each of the 15 Early Career Fellows<https://www.internetsociety.org/fellowships/early-career/fellows/july-2021/> with a dedicated Mentor who can help them develop their project and guide their career.

Because our fellows' needs are very important to us, we asked them what they need and want from a mentorship. We're using their feedback to develop support that meets their expressed needs.. For instance, while subject matter expertise in a Mentor is important to most of the Fellows, they also emphasized the importance of strong regional network that Mentors might be able to introduce their Fellow-Mentees to. Most of the Fellows really want Mentors who can challenge their ideas and help them develop their thinking, while also being a good sounding board. As one Fellow explained, "I'll appreciate having a mentor who provides active and actionable feedback; I'd like to do prep work to make the most use of our time together and appreciate having concrete outcomes from a mentoring conversation."

Given what the Fellows told us about their needs, we think the ideal Mentors will be individuals who have already developed strong careers and built up extensive experience in the field. Individuals who want to give back to the community, and support the broader Internet by helping new talent thrive.

If you sign up to be a Mentor, you will join a Mentorship Pool:


  *   We will match each of the Fellows with a Mentor (1:1) we believe most suitable for their needs (in terms of practical or regional experience), and ideally one who speaks the same first language.
  *   If we are unable to match you with a Fellow on this round, we will match you with a Fellow for one of our next cohorts (in 2022, we will start to have two cohorts of Early Career Fellows a year).
  *   Once we are able to match you with a Fellow, we will ask of you to meet (virtually) with that Fellow approximately once every two weeks over a four-month period as part of the Early Career Fellowship. For this first cohort, it will be from August to November.
  *   Your relationship with the Fellow is for you to manage. You can find a time that works best for you to meet, and should you want to meet with the Fellow more frequently than once a fortnight, you are of course free to do so.

Please, let us know by completing this short form<https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ECF_Mentors> if you want to join the Mentorship Pool by 30 July 2021.

We hope you'll soon join this empowerment program as a Mentor.
Thank you very much in advance for your support!

Best regards/Atentamente/Cordialement,
Alejandra Prieto
Senior Manager, Fellowship Programs
prieto at isoc.org<mailto:prieto at isoc.org>
internetsociety.org <https://www.internetsociety.org/> | @internetsociety
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