Carl Wilkens Fellowship
OUR PROGRAM
Seeking to bridge the gap between thought and action in the anti-genocide movement, the goal of the Carl Wilkens Fellowship is to develop effective leaders in communities across the United States who have acquired the skills and fostered the relationships necessary to influence and shape US policies on genocide.
Genocide Intervention Network is committed to enhancing the ability and effectiveness of the United States and its partners to prepare for and respond to genocide and mass atrocities. Part of this commitment includes working with individuals and communities across the United States to prevent and stop genocide.
Our organization’s Field Department does the actual work of recruiting, training, and mobilizing a permanent anti-genocide constituency from individuals and communities across the United States. We provide individuals at every stage of life an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the anti-genocide movement.
Launched in 2009, the Carl Wilkens Fellowship is a selective, 12-month program that provides a diverse set of emerging citizen leaders with the tools and training to build sustained political will to end genocide.
The program is named in honor of Carl Wilkens, the only American who chose to remain in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide and is credited with saving hundreds of lives. Mr. Wilkens is emblematic of the program’s theme: ordinary individuals can make an extraordinary difference when they choose to engage.
COMMUNITY LEADERS MAKING AN IMPACT
The Carl Wilkens Fellowship network is a group of remarkable individuals who share a long-term commitment to the anti-genocide movement, to their own and to their peer’s leadership within the movement, and to the development of political will in their communities for the movement.
Together, our Carl Wilkens Fellows bear out a respect for Genocide Intervention Network’s mission: to build a permanent anti-genocide constituency willing and able to protect civilians from genocide and mass atrocities.
OUR IMPACT
February 2010- June 2010
- 235 community meetings/presentations organized & attended
- 111 phone calls to Congressional offices
- 52 emails to Congressional offices
- 9 letters to Congressional offices
- 24 meetings with Congressional offices
- 26 media stories/interviews/letters to the editor
- 25 press releases
- SPOTLIGHT ON FELLOWS - click here
The 2010 Carl Wilkens Fellows represent communities across the length and breadth of the United States. These individuals can be found at work in the following locations: Louisville, Kentucky; Forest Hills and Queens, New York; Montclair, New Jersey; Seattle, Washington; Berkeley, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Gilbert, Arizona; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Bethany, Oklahoma; Normal, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; Niceville, Florida; Ladson, South Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Bloomfield, Connecticut.
These remarkable individuals share a long-term commitment to the anti-genocide movement, to their leadership within their community spaces, to their communities themselves, and to each other. In all of these respects, our Carl Wilkens Fellows bear out a respect for Genocide Intervention Network’s mission: to build a permanent anti-genocide constituency willing and able to protect civilians from genocide and mass atrocities.
