MINELRES: OSI Roma Memorial University Scholarship Program

[European Roma Rights Center]

The ERRC is herewith distributing an announcement by the Open Society 
Institute (OSI). Please do not respond to the ERRC concerning the contents 
of this message, but rather use the contact information provided below.

OSI Roma Memorial University Scholarship Program
Academic year 2002-2003

Overview
The Open Society Institute (OSI) announces the second year of a
scholarship program for eligible Romani students at the university
level. The funds for this memorial program derive from gold looted by
the Nazis during World War II and held by the Allied powers since then.
A portion of the funds from the gold was allocated for Roma. These funds
are supplemented by OSI.

Roma who are eligible will (a) have been accepted at a recognized
Central or East European university in their home country or country of
residence as a first year student in the fall of 2002 or (b) already be
enrolled at such a university in the second or higher years. Preference
will be given to those studying humanities or social sciences �
economics, political science, journalism, sociology � , or medicine,
public health, computer sciences, urban planning. [Roma seeking
scholarships in law and public administration should apply to the
European Roma Rights Center.]

Eligibility Criteria
Scholarship winners must come from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary,
Macedonia, Romania, Slovakia, Serbia. [Other countries may be added
later.] They must demonstrate:
A. financial need including employment status and income of parents,
number of children in the family, etc.;
B. acceptance at a recognized university in their own country by
presentation of an original university enrollment certificate;
C. acknowledgement of being Roma and interest in Roma issues or Roma
activism;

Scholarship Awards
Scholarships normally will cover tuition; partial living expenses; books
and fees related to higher education, such as exam fees. Scholarships
may be awarded for up to 5 years subject to successful completion of the
prior academic year. Annually such awardees must present official
transcripts of grades and exams in their own language plus their annual
statement outlining their activities related to the Roma community to
the Roma Memorial University Scholarship Program in Budapest in order to
be considered for second and future year funds.

Application Process for New Applicants
Each candidate must submit a complete application at the same time in
English or his/her own national language in a neat form. The complete
application will consist of:

1. a letter of interest stating your needs, your family background and
the name of university and faculty you have been accepted to;
2. an original certificate from the university in the country of one�s
residence showing:
A. that the applicant is enrolled for the current academic year;
B. the cost of tuition and exam fees for the current academic year (if
applicable)
C. the applicant�s grades (a photocopy) from the previous year (if
applicable)
3. an annual statement on what you have done to further Roma issues in
your community;
4. an itemized annual budget showing expenses for tuition, books, fees,
living expenses which are not covered by state/government budgets/grants
or other sources.
5. a letter of recommendation from one person (other than a relative)
who can provide details of the applicant�s academic and leadership
potential and his/her commitment to the Roma. This person may be a
secondary school teacher, a university professor, a local community
leader, or Roma NGO leader.

Applications and Deadlines

For the academic year 2002-2003, completed applications must be received
no later than September 15, 2002. There will be only one round of
applications for 2002-2003.

If you are a new applicant and intend to apply, you must do the
following:

1. Send a pre-registration letter stating your intention to apply, the
name and faculty of the university in which you plan to enroll and your
full name, a mailing address which is valid for the next 12 months and a
telephone number where you can be reached during the summer holiday:

Roma Memorial University Scholarship Program
Open Society Institute
H-1051 Budapest
Oktober 6 utca 12.
Hungary
Fax: 00 36 1 327 3117
E-mail: rmusp@osi.hu

2. Upon receipt of your letter, you will be invited to an orientation
session to explain the program and help you fill out an application.
This will take place in your own country in the second half of August
2002. You will be notified about the details and location of this
meeting in a letter.

3. After the meeting, you will then be required to attach documents to
your application and send it to us (the same address as above) by
September 15, 2002. If you fail to submit the completed application with
the required documents by September 15, 2002, you will not be eligible
to receive a scholarship for the academic year.

4. Some applicants may not be able to obtain an original university
enrollment certificate by September 15, 2002. If this applies to you,
you may send this document separately from the completed application.
The deadline for sending the original university enrollment certificates
in this case is October 15, 2002. If you fail to submit the original
enrollment certificate by October 15, 2002, your application will be
rejected.

Please note that if you have received a full scholarship from another
organization, you will be ineligible for this one.

A selection committee of three Roma from different countries will make
the final selection with advice from the national foundations of the
Soros network.

Annual Awards are expected to be in the range of $500 - $1000.