After two successful online editions in 2020 and 2021, we are thrilled to announce that the third online and sixth overall edition of the Activist Academy is going online and global again from 28 April to 14 May 2022.

The call for applications is now open until Sunday 17 April 2022 at 23:59 CEST (extended deadline) for young people from across the globe with a keen interest in LGBTQI rights and activism. Could this be you? Put on your activist cap, read carefully what’s below and apply before the deadline!

Already familiar with the Activist Academy? Jump to the application section down the page!

IGLYO’s Activist Academy is a 2-week skills-based training programme for young people between 18 and 30 at the beginning of their activist careers who are passionate about activism, advocacy and learning, and have a strong interest in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) rights. The goal is to jumpstart younger activists into skill-demanding and leadership roles within LGBTQI organisations. 

The third online and sixth overall edition of the Activist Academy will gather selected participants from around the world online from 28 April to 14 May 2022. What’s more is that participation in the online edition is completely free of charge!

Be prepared for a wonderful and intensive experience: The Global Online Activist Academy 2022 will include 6-7 mandatory online live sessions and a few hours of individual/team work. The total time commitment of each participant will be around 30 hours, spread around 2 weeks.

You can sign up for the Academy in teams of maximum 3 people, or alone (in which case you will have to fulfil all the Academy tasks and challenges by yourself). But worry not if you are not part of a team: You are free to form teams with other participants in a similar situation! 

In a nutshell, here’s how this year’s programme will be organised:

1. Breaking the ice
   The online Academy programme will kick off on Thursday 28 April in an ice-breaking session where we’ll all meet online, find out more about each other, and learn how the Activist Academy works.
2. Expert workshops
   You’ll start with three or four interactive masterclasses/workshops led by experts within the global LGBTQI movement (meet them here!). You’ll learn how to write and deliver powerful speeches or prepare a strong statement, how to grab people’s attention and build support for important issues through messaging and graphic design, and other useful skills.
3. Real-life challenges
   Once you’ve completed all the expert workshops, you will put what you’ve learnt into practice and translate your new skills and knowledge into action by undertaking two real-life challenges over the course of a week with the help of your team-mates and the support of online mentors, who are all graduates of the 2021 edition. When your two challenges are ready, you’ll receive constructive feedback from our team of judges before making final changes and improvements.
4. Voting
   ​​All your finished products will be uploaded on a secret page on the Academy website, and all Academy participants, teams and judges will vote for their favourite entries. Think about an LGBTQI youth activism Eurovision!
5. Award Ceremony
   The Academy Trophies will be announced during the final live session of the Academy on 14 May. The 3 teams with the highest overall score will receive a prize worth €500 each! 

You can find the detailed preliminary programme of the Global Online Activist Academy 2022 on this page (more information about the topics and timings will be provided shortly). Please note that ​​the exact times of the workshops and meetings will be decided later on, but most likely they will be around noon CET!

The call for the Global Online Activist Academy 2022 is for you if you:

• Identify with or advocate for LGBTQI and are involved in LGBTQI activism;
• Are between 18 and 30 years old, at the date of application;
• Are able to use English at an intermediate-advanced level;
• Are able to participate in the online live sessions taking place in European time zones;
• Are able to use a computer, have a good internet connection and access to basic video/audio recording equipment (at a minimum a smartphone).

In addition, to be able to qualify for the rewards, participants must attend all mandatory online live sessions and contribute to the production of 2 challenges.

*Note that most online live sessions will be scheduled around noon, CET (Belgium/Brussels time). Take this into consideration if your time zone is very different. We will provide the exact time as soon as we know what time zones participants live in, to try to make it convenient for most of you. Last year, our hero participants from Mexico attended workshops at 4 am and they were amazing!

Have sparks in your eyes after what you’ve just read? Don’t delay and apply now!

Please follow the steps below to apply for the Global Online Activist Academy 2022:

1. Read the above call carefully, and feel free to dive into previous editions to see how they went; 
2. Take the time to go thoroughly over this year’s terms and conditions to make sure you and your team-mates comply with the criteria and requirements;
3. Build your team (you + max 2 team-mates) and come up with a fabulous name for your team. If you are applying alone, think of a great team name for yourself!
4. Prepare your motivation as a team or individual, thinking of the following questions: Why do you want to participate in the Activist Academy? What are some specific activities/projects/initiatives in which you think you will be able to use the skills you’ll learn during the Academy? How will your participation help you in your activism?
5. All set? Great job! You can now apply to take part in the Global Online Activist Academy 2022 by filling out the application form through the button below.

Applications for the Global Online Activist Academy closed on 17 April 2022.

Please note that the spots are limited. We will select participants based on the information you provide in the application form, so make sure to pay attention to your motivation. Selected participants will be informed via email on 19 April 2022.

If you have any questions regarding the Academy, please email Tudor at tudor@iglyo.com, or Brian at brian@iglyo.com. 

Good luck!

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The Activist Academy is organised by IGLYO — International LGBTQI Youth and Student Organisation. IGLYO is a youth development and leadership organisation building LGBTQI youth activists, ensuring LGBTQI young people are present and heard and making schools safe, inclusive and supportive of LGBTQI learners. You can learn more about IGLYO on iglyo.com.

The Activist Academy is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Education Culture & Science and the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme of the European Union.