DKC Digital Respect & Cohesion Fellowship
About the Fellowship
An eight-month programme for teams of young Bangladeshis who want to make the internet safer in their home division.
What the fellowship is
The DKC Digital Respect & Cohesion Fellowship 2026 is an eight-month youth leadership, innovation, and digital peacebuilding programme. A total of 8 teams, representing all 8 divisions of Bangladesh, will be finalized through a three-stage evaluation and receive the fellowship.
Teams can consist of 3 to 5 members. If a team has 5 members, 3 will participate as core Fellows in the bootcamp, while 2 will serve as reserve support members during campaign implementation.
The Digital Khichuri Challenge (DKC) is a youth-focused initiative implemented under the Partnerships for a More Tolerant, Inclusive Bangladesh (PTIB) project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Since its inception, DKC has been working to empower young people through dialogue, discussion, creativity, and digital innovation, with a focus on promoting social cohesion, resilience, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence.
DKC brings together young leaders, innovators, and community-level stakeholders to identify existing challenges in digital spaces and develop youth-led creative solutions — while promoting positive and inclusive digital engagement and addressing online harms such as hate speech, misogyny, cyberbullying, and other forms of harmful online behaviour.
Fellowship Themes
Each team will propose an initiative based on one main theme and one cross-cutting sub-theme.
Submission Requirements
3–5 membersEach application must be submitted as a team of 3–5 members.
- Profiles and CVs of all 3–5 members
- A maximum 8-slide pitch deck presenting the proposed initiative
- Information on the problem, proposed solution, target community, digital strategy, team capacity, and sustainability
- All application responses must be prepared directly by the applicant or team
Eligibility
- Bangladeshi national, aged 18–28
- Applying as a team of 3–5 people, all from the same division
- Committed to 8 months of active participation
- No prior professional experience required
- Women and people from marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to apply
What's expected
- Attend two in-person bootcamps
- Develop and implement a digital peacebuilding initiative in your home division
- Engage regularly with your assigned mentor
- Present your work at the final showcase in February 2027
- Complete training modules on digital literacy and project management
At a glance
Partners
Supported by the European Union through UNDP's Partnerships for a More Tolerant and Inclusive Bangladesh (PTIB) project, implemented by SURGE Bangladesh.
Eight teams. Eight divisions. One safer internet.
Applications close 25 September 2026