Public Policy New Voices Europe 2024

HOW DO WE DEFINE PUBLIC POLICY?

Public policy is the action a government does – or does not – take in response to a matter of public concern, including laws, regulations and funding allocations. Ideas and impetus for these actions may come from or be influenced by actors outside government – such as activists, lobbyists and concerned members of the public – but public policy itself is ultimately made by governments.

The complex issues addressed by public policies include but are by no means limited to criminal justice; education; health and social welfare; rural and urban development; tax and budgetary affairs; infrastructure and transport; foreign affairs and overseas development; culture and the creative economy; and media and communications.

WHY DO WE NEED NEW VOICES IN PUBLIC POLICY?

Across Europe, the profiles, backgrounds, and demographics of public policy professionals often fail to reflect the growing pluralism and multiculturalism of our societies. As governments, corporations, and communities grapple with regional and global challenges, we need diverse perspectives and bold innovative ideas to reimagine and redesign the future of public policy in ways that are more equitable, inclusive, and effective.

However, to build this leadership pipeline and increase diversity in the field, more must be done to ensure public policy is an inclusive and viable career path for minorities, and to create opportunities for emerging and new voices in public policy to practice leadership through their projects, institutions, and communities.

WHY SALZBURG GLOBAL?

Salzburg Global Seminar has been investing in the next generation of leaders since our founding in 1947 and has a long record of supporting and empowering policymakers in a variety of sectors, from education and public health to urban planning and international development, and beyond.

We firmly believe the inclusion of diverse views in public policy debates produces better outcomes for societies. Early-career professionals from diverse backgrounds have the talent, creative vision, and energy to offer the kinds of innovative and radical ideas needed to create change but are not greatly represented in the public policy sector. This program attempts to bridge that gap by creating a talent pipeline for unique and diverse voices to join the public policy space.

This program reflects the priority Salzburg Global assigns to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as we seek to advance social justice across all aspects of our work.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT FROM THE FELLOWSHIP?

Fellows will be supported in their personal and professional growth, gain international perspectives and innovative approaches to apply to their work, and share their insights and experiences while raising their international profile. Salzburg Global will work to highlight and make visible Fellows’ ideas and voices through communications partnerships, materials, and products, including articles, podcasts, and other publications in public policy-focused media outlets.

We hope that participating in the Fellowship will be the beginning of something that you have been looking for, that holds and boosts you when you need it, that welcomes and celebrates who you truly are, that will challenge you to grow, and that lifts you up, strengthens you, and carries you forward to tackle the challenges that you have chosen to face.

WHAT ARE THE ACTIVITIES OF THE FELLOWSHIP?

The Public Policy New Voices Europe Fellowship is multifaceted and dynamic, with regular activities taking place online alongside an annual in-person meeting in Salzburg, Austria. The Fellowship program for Cohort 2 will take place between November 2022 and September 2023. The planned program for Cohort 2 is below. Please note that this may still change. 

February 2023: On-Boarding Workshops (Two sessions, Online): Two online sessions dedicated solely to Fellows will focus on co-designing the goals of the network and building connections amongst the cohort Fellows.

March 2023: Mentoring Pairings (Online): Following a mentoring-needs analysis, Fellows will be matched with experienced professionals from within the broader Salzburg Global network. 

March to October 2023: Network Meetings (Online): Presentations from a diverse array of thought leaders and the resulting discussion with Fellows will focus on the critical importance of diverse views and experiences in public policy, potential topics include the following areas of capacity development and skills-building:

• How to influence public policy and institutional change.
• The importance of diversity in public policy.
• How to develop and gain traction for new ideas and build collaborative solutions to common challenges.
• How to align local and national priorities with global movements for change and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• Fellow-Led Sessions – this open space session will allow Fellows to take the lead on setting the agenda for their final network meeting.

The topics and focus areas of these meetings will be co-created with Fellows to assure maximum alignment with their interest areas.

October 2023: Public Policy Challenge (Four days, in-person): Fellows will apply their learnings from the virtual network meetings to brainstorm and identify potential solutions to the public policy challenge that they identified when applying to the Fellowship. The outcome of the session will be practical and scalable strategies, new initiatives, approaches, and partnerships that can be used to build inclusive communities through public policy. This meeting will ideally take place in person at Schloss Leopoldskron, home of Salzburg Global Seminar, in Salzburg, Austria, pending COVID-19 related travel restrictions. If international travel is not possible for all Fellows of the cohort, an online program will be designed to ensure equity in accessibility.

New Voices Internship Opportunities: In order to help Fellows apply their learnings from the Fellowship in a real-world context, internship opportunities with partner organizations will be identified within European foundations, banks, corporate partners, universities, not-for-profit organizations, public policy organizations, and think tanks. Individuals who complete the Fellowship program will be encouraged and supported to apply for these internships which will last between eight to 12 weeks and will be paid.

WHAT IS THE PUBLIC POLICY CHALLENGE ELEMENT OF THE FELLOWSHIP?

To ensure connectivity between participants given the complex and varied issues addressed by public policy, each annual cohort of the Fellowship will work towards addressing a big picture public policy challenge.

The Fellowship will focus on how public policy can be used to build inclusive communities that are welcoming to diverse groups of people, including, but not limited to, seniors, youth, children, LGBT* people, immigrants and newcomers, persons with disabilities, people experiencing mental health challenges, and low-income populations.

Members of the Fellowship will be passionate about exploring how public policy can be used to build inclusive communities locally, regionally, or globally.

*LGBT: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender. We are using this term as it is currently widely used in human rights conversations on sexual orientation and gender identity in many parts of the world, and we would wish it to be read as inclusive of other cultural concepts, contemporary or historical, to express sexuality and gender, intersex and gender non-conforming identities.

WHAT IS THE TIME COMMITMENT NEEDED TO JOIN THE FELLOWSHIP?

The Fellowship will launch in November 2023 with two online on-boarding workshops of three hours. The virtual meetings will require a time commitment of two hours every six weeks between February and September 2024. The times of these meetings will be decided in consultation with Fellows to ensure that everyone is able to participate.

Fellows will be matched with a mentor from within the Salzburg Global Fellowship network and should plan to virtually meet with their mentor for approximately one hour at least four times over the course of the Fellowship.

In order to get the most from the experience, we recommend that Fellows plan to spend at least two hours per month on personal development activities related to their participation in the network, these could include: reflection time and journaling, writing or blogging, participating in conferences, events, workshops or networks.

For the in-person meeting in September 2024, participants should plan to participate in a four-day long program, plus travel time to Salzburg in Austria.

WHAT ELSE DO WE OFFER?

Salzburg Global has been at the forefront of global movements for change since our founding as an initiative for post-war reconciliation in 1947. Members of Public Policy New Voices Europe become lifetime members of the Salzburg Global Fellowship, which in nearly 75 years numbers more than 38,000 Fellows from over 170 countries.

Salzburg Global will intentionally create opportunities for members of Public Policy New Voices Europe to participate in other areas of our programming and to build cross-sectoral connections with thought leaders from other program areas such as education and work, finance and governance, justice and security, planet and health, culture and society, and media and voice.

There may also be opportunities for members of the Fellowship to co-create contributions to international workshops and conferences with our partners; to raise awareness of their work through speaking, writing articles and producing/curating social media content for Salzburg Global; and to gain professional experience and paid employment by working with us as contractors.