Sawaba Institute of Critical Consciousness Raising: 2026 Call for Sawaba Fellowship

The Sawaba Fellowship is hosted by Liberation Alliance Africa and forms part of the Sawaba Institute of Critical Consciousness Raising. The fellowship provides a structured intellectual and creative space for researchers, thinkers, artists, practitioners, activists, writers, journalists, and community organisers to engage in reflective, experience-based discourse and knowledge production.

The programme is grounded in decolonial feminist futures and prioritises collective inquiry, critical consciousness, and anti-colonial solidarity. It brings together African-descended fellows residing on the continent to interrogate systems of knowledge production while generating alternative epistemologies rooted in lived experience, memory, and community practice.

Each cohort consists of four fellows selected to participate in a three-month fellowship beginning with a fully supported three-day residential retreat held at an accessible location on the African continent.

2026 Theme: Not Pioneers of an Empty Land

The 2026 fellowship theme, Not Pioneers of an Empty Land, invites fellows to critically examine and challenge colonial myths that framed colonised territories as unoccupied, undeveloped, or without history prior to European expansion. The theme confronts the legal, psychological, and epistemic violence embedded in such narratives and their continued influence in contemporary society.

The fellowship encourages participants to produce work that affirms historical truth and resists colonial logics by foregrounding indigenous knowledge systems, ancestral memory, and long-standing social and ecological governance structures. It also interrogates how colonial myths persist today through digital culture, social media economies, and the commodification of attention, identity, and intellectual labour.

Within this framing, the notion of the “lone pioneer” is problematised. The fellowship rejects ideas of isolated genius or detached expertise in favour of collective knowledge, relational intelligence, and intergenerational continuity. It affirms that knowledge is not conjured in isolation but emerges from genealogies of thought, struggle, and cultural survival.

Who the Fellowship Seeks

The Sawaba Fellowship invites applications from individuals whose work engages critically with decolonial, feminist, and anti-imperialist thought. Ideal candidates are deeply engaged in reimagining justice, identity, community, and ecological stewardship beyond dominant Western paradigms.

Eligible applicants include:

• Artists and cultural workers
• Academics and researchers
• Journalists and documentarians
• Writers, poets, and playwrights
• Architects and urban planners
• Community organisers and activists
• Interdisciplinary practitioners

Successful applicants are expected to demonstrate strong analytical engagement with global and regional issues, alongside a commitment to epistemic liberation and feminist world-building.

Fellowship Structure and Expectations

The fellowship is designed as a three-month intensive programme combining individual research, collective engagement, and public-facing output. Fellows are expected to participate in both in-person and online convenings, engaging actively with peers, mentors, and the broader Liberation Alliance Africa network.

Key expectations include:

• Participation in a fully funded in-person gathering in May 2026
• Active engagement in collaborative discussions and peer exchange
• Completion of an original project within the fellowship period
• Contribution to public-facing knowledge production outputs
• Engagement with decolonial feminist and anti-colonial world-building practices

Outputs and Contribution Areas

Fellows are expected to produce work that advances critical consciousness and challenges dominant narratives. Outputs may take multiple forms, including but not limited to:

• Essays, books, or journal articles
• Podcasts or audio-based storytelling
• Plays, performance works, or poetry collections
• Exhibitions or visual art installations
• Public lectures, workshops, or community events

Projects should demonstrate interdisciplinary approaches and engage at least two distinct fields of inquiry. They are expected to contribute meaningfully to rethinking historical narratives, contemporary power structures, and future possibilities rooted in collective liberation.

Eligibility and Selection Priorities

Applications will be prioritised based on the following criteria:

• Strong grounding in decolonial feminist politics
• Engagement with anti-imperialist and liberation frameworks
• Demonstrated commitment to epistemic justice and historical reclamation
• Ability to integrate personal, collective, and ancestral narratives
• Evidence of prior work in relevant fields or practices

Applicants are encouraged to draw on oral histories, archival materials, embodied knowledge, and community-based research methodologies.

Application Requirements

Applicants must submit a complete application package that includes:

• A project proposal of approximately 1,500 words outlining methodology and interdisciplinary approach
• A portfolio or CV highlighting relevant previous work
• A personal statement (maximum one page) explaining the resonance of the theme with their practice
• A draft project budget and brief project description (maximum three pages total where specified)
• A cover letter

Remuneration and Working Arrangements

Selected fellows will receive a monthly stipend of USD 500 to support project-related expenses. The fellowship runs for a total duration of three months. All programme activities will be conducted in English.

Application Process and Timeline

Applications must be submitted via email to [email protected].

Key dates include:

• Application deadline: 24 April 2026
• Notification of outcome: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted
• If no response is received by 30 April 2026, applicants should consider their submission unsuccessful

Due to anticipated application volume, individual feedback will not be provided.

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Disclaimer: Global South Opportunities (GSO) is not the organization offering the fellowship. For any inquiries, please contact the official organization directly. Please do not send your applications & CVs to GSO, as we are unable to process them. Due to the high volume of emails, we receive daily, we may not be able to respond to all inquiries. Thank you for your understanding.