Eligibility
First-year students, sophomores, juniors, and seniors
Deadlines
December 4, 2023, 11:59pm Central Time.: Mandatory Pre-Application form due
January 8, 2024, 11:59pm Central Time: Carleton deadline for all application materials
Purpose
The Projects for Peace award (known formerly as the Davis Projects for Peace) is an initiative for all students at the Davis United World College Scholars Program partner schools (including Carleton). This global program – formerly named the Davis Projects for Peace – encourages students to develop innovative, community-centered and scalable responses to the world’s most pressing issues by funding them to design and implement their own “projects for peace.”
Projects for Peace: address the root causes of conflict and promote peace anywhere in the world; take place during the summer; and are awarded grants of $10,000 each. One hundred projects are selected each year from among applications submitted by partner institutions.
Project leaders increase their knowledge, improve skills, and establish identities as peacebuilders and changemakers.
A hallmark of the Projects for Peace program is its flexibility: proposals may be submitted by any U.S. or international student enrolled at a partner institution; students may be any age or any major; they may implement the project alone or with others; and the project may take place anywhere in the world, including in the U.S.
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Awards
Selected projects are awarded $10,000 each.
Project Development Guidelines
As you begin to develop your project idea, it is strongly recommended that you consider the following suggestions:
Many projects are better carried out by cooperating with an existing organization working in the same area, or on the same problem, than by starting a new organization or program. It is rarely true that you are the first person to think that a problem needs to be addressed! Local organizations know what is already being done, what still needs doing, and what is feasible in a given context. We encourage you to think in terms of creating a partnership rather than building an independent project and we will prioritize applications that do.
The CCCE at Carleton has several helpful guides to ethical civic engagement that will be helpful to you as you think about how to work with a partner. CCCE also created a Community Partnership Form (developed for Carleton faculty – not all questions or sections will apply to a Project for Peace idea!) that highlights the kinds of questions you should ask yourself about creating a meaningful, effective partnership.
Application Process
PRE-APPLICATION: To apply for the Projects for Peace, students must submit the required Pre-Application form by 11:59pm Central Time on December 4, 2023. Visit the Projects for Peace FAQ page for helpful information about the program. Following the deadline, we will review all pre-applications and provide feedback on your preliminary project description by December 11, 2023.
ON-CAMPUS APPLICATION DEADLINE: Finalized application materials due by 11:59pm Central Time on Monday, January 8, 2024 as a single Word Document or PDF submitted to fellowships@carleton.edu (subject line, “Projects for Peace”):
- A written statement–not to exceed two pages, single spaced–which describes the project (who, what, where, how), specifies the expected outcomes and prospects for future effects of the project, and (if necessary) includes pre-approvals of all parties and organizations involved in the project (for instance, a hosting non-profit or NGO). Pre-approval must be verified in writing by the organizations/parties involved on official letterhead.
- The names of two Carleton faculty members (“references”) whom we may contact to assess your suitability for a Davis Projects for Peace Award. If you are making a joint proposal, we require two references for each applicant.
- Develop a one-page budget using our spreadsheet as a model that includes all significant costs, such as airfare, lodging, food, and materials.
Submit the proposal as a PDF or Word document to fellowships@carleton.edu (indicate “Projects for Peace” in the subject line), by 11:59pm Central Time on Monday, January 8, 2024.
Selection Process
One or more projects will be selected and Carleton will submit its selections to the Projects for Peace office by the February deadline.
The Projects for Peace will announce final decisions in March.
Official Website
Questions
Questions can be directed to Director of Student Fellowships Marynel Ryan Van Zee (x4300). Marynel will be happy to meet with you individually to answer questions or hear about possible proposals.
** Communication between students and the Davis UWC Scholars office is prohibited.
Carleton Recipients
2023 Prize Recipient: “Artists for a Reconciled Cambodia (ARC),” by Lita Theng ’23
2022 Prize Recipient: “Empowering Women through a Recreational Center in Rwanda” by Georgie Mukeshimana ’25
2021 Prize Recipients (2 projects): “Empowering Women and Girls Through Mentoring Programs” by Delina Haileab ’22. Also “Peace Building through Empathy and Solidarity: Intergroup Dialogue in Malaysia” by Miles Allen ’21, Ishmael Maxwell ’21, Noah Rosenfield’21, and Michael Schultz ’22
2020 Prize Recipient: “Peace Building through Empathy and Solidarity: Intergroup Dialogue in Malaysia” by Win Wen Ooi ’22
2019 Prize Recipient: “Cooperacion Costeña por la Paz: Popular and Pedagogical Peace Building in the Colombian Caribbean” by Andres Parra ’19
2018 Prize Recipient: “ThinkBIG Initiative: Streamlining Peace Building Through Youth Empowerment” by Anesu Masakura ’20
2017 Prize Recipients: “Growing Brighter Futures: Youth Agricultural Education in Hawai’i” by Morgan Vought ’17 and Mia Orans ’17
2016 Prize Recipient: “Film Fulfillment: Youth Empowerment through Filmmaking” by Mary Rose “Mollie” Wetherall ’16
2015 Prize Recipient: “Combating War with Education: Expanding Educational Opportunities for Syrian Youth,” by Bailey Ulbricht ’15
2014 Prize Recipient:“Connected! Peer To Peer” by Yawen Chen ’15
2013 Prize Recipient:“Urban Agriculture Project” by Sara Hooker ’13
2012 Prize Recipient: “Kalamkari Kalai (fabric arts)” by Meera Sury ’14
2011 Prize Recipients: “Volunteer for Lahore” by Jonathan “Yoni” Blomberg ’13 and Sana Rafiq ’13
2010 Prize Recipient: “Community Development in Burma through Photography and Youth Education” by Khant Khant Kyaw ’11.
2009 Prize Recipient: “Project SHAKTI” by Lipi Gupta ’10. Lipi set up programs designed to empower young girls and to encourage them to stay in school in the village of Nagla Kharga, India.
2008 Prize Recipients: “Talking With Our Hands: Personal Expression Through Puppetry Arts” by Emily Litwin ‘09 and Melissa Mayer ‘09
2007 Prize Recipients: “The Napkin Project” by Michael McCulloch ’07 and Nazish Zafar ’07
Other fellowships of potential interest to Projects for Peace Applicants/Awardees