IPS programme for the African States

The German Bundestag

Would you like to get to know the German Parliament?

The German Bundestag invites highly motivated graduates from Southafrica, Namibia and Botswana to take part in a scholarship programme in Berlin in January 2022.

The concept

Since 2020, the German Bundestag is offering a scholarship programme for politically engaged young graduates from Southafrica, Namibia and Botswana who are interested in the German parliamentary system and play an active role in promoting core democratic values in their home countries.

During an intensive four-week programme, eight participants have the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the German parliamentary system and political decision making processes.

The programme

The programme will take place January 1-31, 2022 in Berlin. The core element of the programme is a one-week work placement in the office of a Member of the German Bundestag.

The focus is also on events about the German parliamentary system along with presentations, workshops and seminars on topics such as German history and culture, freedom of religion, minority issues, comparison of systems and approaches to experiences of dictatorship and the German culture of remembrance. A workshop on project management aims to support the development of individual project ideas with a view to promoting democracy and civil society in participants’ countries of origin.

The scholarship

Participants will receive a monthly scholarship of 500 euros. The Bundestag will also cover the costs of health, accident and personal liability insurance. In addition, accommodation in an apartment complex (two people sharing) will be provided free of charge, and the costs of travel to and from Berlin covered.

The selection process

The scholarship programme is aimed at highly-motivated, capable and talented young individuals from Southafrica, Namibia and Botswana who are open to new ideas, interested in politics and wish to play an active and responsible role in shaping the democratic future of their country.

Applicants will be invited to attend an interview at a German embassy in the participating countries, where an independent selection panel set up by the German Bundestag will choose the successful candidates based on their professional, social, language and intercultural skills. Some of the costs of travel to the interview will be reimbursed, if it is not possible for this to take place in the applicant’s home country.

Eligibility criteria

• Citizenship of one oft he three participating countries
• Under the age of 30 at the start of the scholarship
• University degree
• Very good knowledge of German
• An interest in politics, and social/political commitment

Please send your completed online application documents by email as a PDF-file, with the file name consisting of your surname followed by your given name (i.e. surname-first name), to the German mission in your home country.

Your application should be submitted in German and include the following scanned documents:

• Passport photo (please attach this to the first page of the application form);
• Application form (available online at: www.bundestag.de/ips_afrikanisch);
• Evidence of very good knowledge of German;
• Personal statement of reasons for applying (maximum of two pages);
• Copy of passport or ID card;
• Certified copy of university degree certificate¹;
• Letter of recommendation in German or English (from a university professor or employer, assessing the applicant’s qualification for the programme).

¹ Copies are officially certified when they have been signed and stamped by a recognised authority (a German or foreign public authority, an embassy or consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany, a university, notary, or translator/interpreter registered with the public authorities) to confirm that they are a true copy of the original. If several photocopies are stapled together, each individual copy must be certified in this way. Unless documents are properly certified, the application cannot be processed.

Deadline for applications: July 31, 2021

Please apply online to the German mission in your country!

Parliamentary coordination

The programme is coordinated at parliamentary level by the Rapporteur Group on International Exchange Programmes.