The Internet Society (ISOC) is inviting applications for its 2026 Community Advocacy Fellowship, a six-month capacity-building programme designed for active Internet Society community members who want to strengthen their advocacy skills and drive meaningful impact.
Launched in 2025, the Community Advocacy Fellowship is an advocacy capacity-building programme designed to help participants strengthen their advocacy skills, build regional connections, and become effective Internet advocates.
The fellowship is open to Internet Society chapter members, special interest group (SIG) members, standing group (SG) members, and organisation members.
According to Mr. Victor Ndonnang, ISOC’s Senior Manager for Community Engagement in Africa, fellows who graduate from the programme join the Internet Society Alumni network and contribute to building a global network of skilled advocates to champion “the Internet we want” – one that is open, globally-connected, secure, and trustworthy.
The programme will give participants the opportunity to deepen their subject expertise through training from experienced Internet advocates and communication professionals; broaden their advocacy, communications, and community engagement skills; and advocate for policies, technology, and commercial decisions that put people’s safety, security, and privacy first.
It will also enable them to develop skills and implement advocacy and connections needed to make more of an impact in their local community and beyond; and benefit from sharing networks, learning from each other’s approaches, working together, and forging relationships that will significantly enhance their impact as leading Internet advocates in their communities, countries, and regions during curated community workshops.
All applicants must be active members of a chapter, special interest group, standing group, or an Internet Society organization member, namely organizations that are registered members of the Internet Society; following ISOC’s focus regions for 2026, should be based in Africa and Europe, with at least 80 percent of selected candidates coming from African and European chapters while up to 20 percent of selected candidates coming from the remaining community segments or regions.
They should also have basic comprehension and communication in English; they should be able to travel to assigned workshop locations, meaning that applicants based in Africa will travel to Kigali, Rwanda, while applicants based in Europe will travel to Brussels, Belgium.
Applicants should also have access to the Internet; be able to dedicate approximately four to six hours per week throughout the programme; be able to attend required sessions; and commit to completing all mandatory deliverables during the programme.
They should have led or participated in at least one chapter, special interest group, standing group, or an Internet Society organization member activity; should have not previously been selected as an Internet Society Community Advocacy Fellow; should have not been accepted as a fellow in any Internet Society fellowship from 2024 to date; and should have a clear Internet-related advocacy interest relevant to their regions or countries, ideally in line with any of these tracks: Open Internet, Connectivity, Safer Internet, and Internet Governance.
Applications opened on April 13, 2026, and will close on May 3, 2026.
A key component of the fellowship is participation in in-person regional workshops, which enable hands-on learning, collaboration, and peer exchange.
In 2026, the fellowship will include two regional workshops scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda, from August 11 to 13, 2026, which is the Africa focus workshop; and in Brussels, Belgium, from October 13 to 15, 2026, which is the Europe focus workshop.
Each fellow will be assigned to one workshop based on their region and residence.
To apply, please go to: https://bit.ly/4cpq1mu
