Young African Forestry Professionals Publication Project (YAFP): Open Call for Local Events

Dear IFSA LC’s in Africa, 

The Joint IUFRO-IFSA Task Force on Forest Education has been working on the Young African Forestry Professionals Publication project (YAFP) since April 2020. The project is coming to an end with the publishing of a book titled:  Building a Successful Forestry Career in Africa: Inspirational Stories and Opportunities. The book will be available freely in PDF and a few hardcopies that have been  printed, thanks to the generous support of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations Special Programme for Development of Capacities (IUFRO-SPDC).

About the book

Are you looking for a degree that allows you to develop your capacities, discover your passion, contribute to society, earn a living, and become a successful professional?

A forestry or forestry-related degree could be just right for you!

This book:

  • features 23 inspiring stories of selected students, and young and established forestry professionals from 12 African countries, who have defied all odds with purpose, passion, as well as determination, and made giant strides in building a successful career in the forest sector
  • provides information about universities in Africa offering forest-related degree programmes, and local and international organizations providing networking opportunities to forestry students and early career professionals
  • gives valuable tips on securing scholarships to pursue forestry programmes
  • provides insights into exciting forestry career opportunities beyond the forests

Purpose of Local Events

To raise awareness and promote the book among university and high school students across Africa, IFSA has created this open call for Local Committees in Africa to organise a local event. The local events proposed by the Local Committees can vary from conference, seminar, orientation workshop, book readings, etc. (you can be creative in your own ideas too). The event should also be used in promoting IFSA in the region and can take place any date between September and early October 2021.

The winning applications will be announced during the official book launch on Thursday August 12 at 14:00 CAT, 14:00 CEST, 13:00 EAT, 13:00 WAT, or 12:00 GMT.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply you must meet the following criteria:

  1. Must be a Local Committee from the African Region (See https://ifsa.net/local-committees/#northern-africa and https://ifsa.net/local-committees/#southern-africa).
  2. Submit all the necessary documentation (see instructions below).
  3. Are willing and able to pay all costs up front up to 500 Euros (IFSA works on a reimbursement ONLY basis).
  4. The event can be in person, hybrid or fully online.
  5. Application must be submitted in English.
  6. A final report of the event must be submitted and it should be in English.

Benefits

The winning applications will receive the following benefits:

  1. Special mention of LC and University during the official online book launch.
  2. Receive extra hard copies of the book to distribute at their own local events.
  3. Receive a reimbursement of up to 500 Euros per LC after their event (expenses receipt will be required). This needs to be expenses directly related to the event organization.
  4. Promotion of local events on the wider IFSA and IUFRO network through publishing of reports and photos from the event in the IFSA and IUFRO newsletters and websites.

How to Apply:

If your LC is willing to compete for this funding, please send your application to jtfbookproject@ifsa.net before 28th of July 2021 23:59 CEST.

The recipients will be chosen by the IFSA Board and informed no later than one week after this date. 

Application guideline and checklist, your application should include:

Kindly combine all documents and send as a single PDF.

  • Application form (click HERE to download the form)
  • A signed reference or letter of endorsement regarding your proposal from a member of the university staff (Optional) 

The application must be sent from the official IFSA LC email address (i.e. lcname@lc.ifsa.net)

Note: Incomplete or late applications will not be reviewed. 

Evaluations of your application will be assessed based on the information provided.

Application Conditions:

In exchange, the recipient agrees to create and submit a report of the event they plan to create to promote the book in their respective universities. A representative will also attend the official  online book launch on August 12, 2021 at 14:00 CEST. 

If the application is accepted, you will be actively working with the YAFP team and IFSA for the promotion of your event.  Reimbursement application and report submission (1-3 pages maximum) must be made within a month after the official ending of the event.

Reimbursement conditions:

  1. The reimbursement is only worth a maximum of 500 Euros for each winning Local Committee. 
  2. Only events with evidence of receipts for payment of goods and services (as stated in your application) can be reimbursed. 
  3. The budget proposal will be screened by the YAFP team as well as the IFSA board to ensure all options are cost-effective and reasonable to the event attendees.

Further Information:

For further information or inquiries, please contact IFSA at jtfbookproject@ifsa.net Please also feel free to engage your Regional Representatives for a preliminary review of your project where need be.

Sincerely yours,

YAFP Team & IFSA Board