Applications are now closed for the 2021 program cohort.

2021 program cohort announcement coming soon

Program details

• Year long program with 6 months of module delivery and 6 month career trajectory internships for eligible participants. 

• Suitable for individuals interested in Global Diplomacy and who self-identify as Black/African/Caribbean.

• All sessions delivered virtually

• 2021 program start date: March 19

• 6 hours of program delivery per week.

• Program runs at no cost to participants

Program Description

The Mandate of the Academy:

The Black Diplomats Academy (BDA), formally launched in 2021, following successful piloting in 2019, focuses on providing Black youth and young professionals 14-35 years old with access to specialized training and experiential learning opportunities to prepare them for a career in international diplomacy and the broader public service.

Key indicators of the impact of this program includes, sending four young women to the United Nations headquarters in New York City in 2019 to be professional trained in world politics and negotiations; in 2020,  at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, we maintained our consistent program offering by sending sixteen high school students to virtual Model United Nations and in 2021, launching the Black Diplomats Academy, where 25 undergraduate and graduate students moved through the three pronged complementary program. All three opportunities to engage with policy determining decision makers, were the first in-depth experiences for program participants.

The deep-rooted discrimination and systematic anti-Black racism experienced by Canadians of African descent have led many members of Black communities to be left out of the domestic and international decision-making institutions that Canada participates in. It is for this reason that the BDA positions our priorities based on the Global Sustainable Development Goals agenda. Our scope of practice aligns with goals: #4, 5, 8, 10, 13, 16 and 17. Further, with the adoption of the Permanent Forum for People of African Descent, the Academy seeks to further define our impact with an emphasis on partnerships to achieve the Goals and the express delivery of Black communities’ equity-based foreign and domestic policy agenda.

In line with the modalities of the Permanent Forum, we have identified key directives within which the Academy is able to foster productive, intentional and systemic changemaking on the behalf of people of African descent here in Canada and globally. Priorities for the Academy include: