Our Three Winners Foundation, in partnership with the Othering & Belonging Institute and the Islamophobia Research & Documentation Project at the University of California Berkeley, launched the annual two week Social Policy Fellowship. The goal of the Social Policy Fellowship is to build the next generation of social change makers, driven by shared values to promote equality and justice. 

The Social Policy Fellowship engages current and future policymakers on implicit bias, historical injustices and narratives surrounding minority groups, and negative stereotypes that contribute to the exclusion and dehumanization of marginalized communities. The fellowship takes a rights-based approach to address how Islamophobia intersects with other systems of oppression. The fellowship is guided by experts in the fields of social justice, Islamophobia, anti-racism, implicit bias, communication, policymaking, and advocacy. This includes addressing how bias enters into the policymaking process, unlearning bias, and applicable techniques for debiasing to inform and promote inclusive and equitable policies. 

The Social Policy Fellowship provides a safe space for engagement and education to advance more inclusive, equitable policies and government interventions. In the words of our past fellows, the Social Policy Fellowship provided them with a “more critical lens,” a “space where they belonged,” and an “opportunity to engage with others on uncomfortable topics.” They were left with the skills to have “more empathy towards the history of trauma of various groups,” and be able to identify their own “blindspots.” This fellowship is the beginning of making real change in influencing and implementing more equitable policies for building an inclusive America that is free of hate and violence.