Applications open now!

The European Commission annually publishes a comprehensive report analysing the state of rule of law and democracy across the 27 EU Member States, along with candidate countries. The purpose of this report is to examine judicial independence, media freedom, and institutional checks and balances, among other elements of democracy. However, its complexity compromises its accessibility to the general public.

The Our Rule of Law Foundation addresses this challenge by engaging with youth fellows across the EU and candidate countries to transform this complex document into an accessible citizen-centric analysis. Thus, the Foundation is recruiting Democracy Rapporteurs that will be receiving training from world-renowned experts in EU law, media reporting, and political communication. The Rapporteurs will be trained to write concise analysis rooted in quantitative and qualitative approach. This Pan-European effort aims to create the Our Democracy Report (composed of national chapters) that will be published on the Foundation’s website, publicly available to every citizen.

Programme Overview:

The Program is divided into a shared learning section and a group project work. These components include three parts: (i) online classes (Introduction to the Rule of Law Report & Tracking the Rule of Law), (ii) bootcamp (training and collaboration), and (iii)) group project work (mentorship by an experienced national coach, comprehensive database creation, writing the national chapter, translation, briefing)

Timeline:

Applications open on 13 December 2024 and will remain open until 13 January 2025. The Democracy Rapporteurs will be selected in January, and the programme will run from February until Summer 2025. The bootcamp will likely take place in April 2025; the format of the bootcamp will be communicated soon. The Our Democracy Report will be finalized in Summer 2025, after which it will be made publicly available.

Eligibility:

All students enrolled in a University in Europe are eligible to apply. The eligibility requirements are: (i) fluency in written and spoken academic English, and (ii) interest in the topic. The programme is designed for students from all academic backgrounds.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact project.management@ourruleoflaw.eu.