African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) is pleased to announce that the selection process of candidates for the 2020 Cohort of the One Planet Fellowship has been completed. Following a rigorous process that was initiated in December 2019, through a competitive call, 45 early-career researchers from 14 African countries have been selected from a pool of 903 applicants. The 45 young researchers, all under the age of 40 years, focus on various agricultural research disciplines, including livestock systems and greenhouse gas emissions; plant breeding; post-harvest management; natural resource management; food science, research commercialisation among others.

The 45 researchers, referred to as One Planet Laureate Candidates,  comprise the 2020 cohort of the One Planet Fellowship. Together with their mentors who have been carefully selected to match their areas of expertise, they join the community of One Planet Fellowship under the auspices of the One Planet Summit working to accelerate the Paris Agreement on climate change. The first cohort of the Fellowship, launched in September 2019, comprises of 44 Laureate Candidates from 12 countries.

This year’s launch of the new Cohort is taking place virtually

As we continue building the capacities of African researchers to develop innovations that will enable smallholders adequately respond to a changing climate, COVID-19 has compelled us to re-adjust our interventions as we cope with the conditions imposed by the pandemic. For the first time since the founding of our flagship AWARD Fellowship, the launch of a new Fellowship cohort will take place virtually.

The second cohort of the One Planet Fellowship commences this week with two virtual Fellowship orientation webinars on October 7 and 9, 2020. The webinars will be followed with the Mentoring Orientation Workshop, which will also be held virtually from October 15 through to December 9, 2020.

The Mentoring Orientation Workshop is a critical component of the One Planet Fellowship as it sets them on an exciting path of understanding their career aspirations and forging research networks. Download the One Planet Fellowship brochure to get more information about the One Planet Fellowship model.

Meet the 2020 One Planet Laureate Candidates from Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, and Zambia