The Fellowship
Humanity in Action launched the Fellowship in 2020, originally in partnership with the Alfred Landecker Foundation, as the Landecker Democracy Fellowship. In 2024, the program transitioned to become the Humanity in Action Democracy Fellowship. Annually, the Fellowship brings together a group of diverse leaders from the European Union, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States who spend one year creating projects that reinvent democratic spaces. Each year, the Fellowship focuses on a different set of democratic challenges. The first year of the Fellowship focused on democracy in the times of COVID-19, while the second cohort’s projects centered on the theme of social cohesion. The third cohort’s projects in 2023 focused on tackling the challenges facing democracy in the digital age. Our Fellows build community and maintain close ties to the Humanity in Action alumni network beyond their Fellowship.
The Objective
Our goal for this Fellowship is to build a new generation of leaders who shape democracy and community-building through their approaches to political and societal challenges. We support them in their efforts to bring about societal change and to strengthen democracy. Our Fellows plan, design, and implement civic engagement projects in public spaces both on- and offline, in local, national, regional, or international settings. By fostering strong partnerships, our intention is for our Fellows to develop a meaningful and sustained impact in society.
The Fellows
Our Democracy Fellows are young professionals with demonstrated leadership experience. They commit to actively shaping their communities and democracy at large alongside their other life commitments. Our Fellows have the motivation, vision, experience, and networks it takes to shape society. This program is made for them to use these skills to create tangible action. Our Fellows come from diverse backgrounds including, but not limited to politics, business, the arts, activism, tech, community organizing, and academia. Fellows have vastly different identities and ideas, but share democratic values. They are collaborative, passionate, hands-on, and empathic. They feel responsible for facilitating societal change and want a framework to make this possible. Born in or after 1980, they are based in the European Union, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. By designing and implementing a civic project that has a publicly visible and tangible impact, our Fellows serve as inspirations for other Millennials who struggle to believe in their power to create change.