Help Patrick accept a fellowship!
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I have exciting news!
I’ve been awarded a prestigious international research fellowship funded by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, a foreign nonprofit that works closely with the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
But there’s a catch: I don’t have the resources to afford the plane ticket. And it starts September 15. And the ticket costs are going up every day. Eep.
Aside from the complications of getting there, it is fully and generously funded by about $10K over the entire three months.
If you appreciate any of the things I’ve done in the world in my roundabout journey leading up to this opportunity -- and if you feel capable, of course -- I would be so very grateful for any financial support. Please consider donating and/or spreading the word!
I’ll use the money directly to buy the plane ticket, and any amount beyond that would be used to help cover the first few weeks of costs before they release payment.
The world is busy, so thanks for even the attention and consideration you’ve given this so far :)
The above is the gist, but in case you’re curious, here are some more details:
Why is this fellowship important to me?
I’ve made many sacrifices to my career trajectory in the past few years. I’ve lived minimally out of my backpack, and been away from the traditional workforce and the paper-trails that most hiring managers know how to recognize. This will be the first “official” recognition of my two years spent helping to support the civic technology community in Toronto, and I’m very excited to leverage it into something more tangible and self-sustaining.
Aside from that pragmatism, this is a dream opportunity for me. I’ll be getting the chance to share my research on the g0v movement (pronounced “g0v-zero”). g0v is an inspiring (and award-winning) civil society group that works on “civic technology” in Taiwan. I’ve been doing informal primary research on their movement since 2014. And now I've been asked to write a report on them from an outsider perspective, and compare them with the civic tech movement in Toronto and Canada.
Here in Canada, the civic tech movement is something that I’ve dedicated the last few years of my life to. I help co-organize a regular event series called Civic Tech Toronto hacknights, which gather 60-80 people every week to learn from one another and work on projects. These open projects are for the benefit of local communities. It’s not just tech folks who show up -- it’s engaged citizens of all stripes, with ample representation from technologists, designers, nonprofits, the public service, and maybe a chef or two every so often.
As a guest speaker recently described it, “It’s like recess for adults who care about their city”. I want to bring these experiences to Taiwan, and bring back what I learn there to further my impact here in Canada.
A photo of me MC'ing one week:
Why is this fellowship important in the world?
The g0v movement that I'll be studying is building capacity and experience in creating more transparent and accountable government. They are super inspiring because they’re doing it productively from outside government, without waiting for formal institutions themselves to do the work. They are doing it differently, through an open organization that any citizen can join, without traditional leaders and hierarchies. And to top it all off, they have tasked me with articulating the animating forces of their community, and proposing some hypotheses on how their movement might be spread to Western contexts.
The more that we can help share with the world what they’re learning over there, the better we’ll be able to tackle our global challenges in governing ourselves. This is why it’s a dream for me to participate in this fellowship and I hope I can count on your support to help me get there!
I’ve been awarded a prestigious international research fellowship funded by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, a foreign nonprofit that works closely with the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
But there’s a catch: I don’t have the resources to afford the plane ticket. And it starts September 15. And the ticket costs are going up every day. Eep.
Aside from the complications of getting there, it is fully and generously funded by about $10K over the entire three months.
If you appreciate any of the things I’ve done in the world in my roundabout journey leading up to this opportunity -- and if you feel capable, of course -- I would be so very grateful for any financial support. Please consider donating and/or spreading the word!
I’ll use the money directly to buy the plane ticket, and any amount beyond that would be used to help cover the first few weeks of costs before they release payment.
The world is busy, so thanks for even the attention and consideration you’ve given this so far :)
The above is the gist, but in case you’re curious, here are some more details:
Why is this fellowship important to me?
I’ve made many sacrifices to my career trajectory in the past few years. I’ve lived minimally out of my backpack, and been away from the traditional workforce and the paper-trails that most hiring managers know how to recognize. This will be the first “official” recognition of my two years spent helping to support the civic technology community in Toronto, and I’m very excited to leverage it into something more tangible and self-sustaining.
Aside from that pragmatism, this is a dream opportunity for me. I’ll be getting the chance to share my research on the g0v movement (pronounced “g0v-zero”). g0v is an inspiring (and award-winning) civil society group that works on “civic technology” in Taiwan. I’ve been doing informal primary research on their movement since 2014. And now I've been asked to write a report on them from an outsider perspective, and compare them with the civic tech movement in Toronto and Canada.
Here in Canada, the civic tech movement is something that I’ve dedicated the last few years of my life to. I help co-organize a regular event series called Civic Tech Toronto hacknights, which gather 60-80 people every week to learn from one another and work on projects. These open projects are for the benefit of local communities. It’s not just tech folks who show up -- it’s engaged citizens of all stripes, with ample representation from technologists, designers, nonprofits, the public service, and maybe a chef or two every so often.
As a guest speaker recently described it, “It’s like recess for adults who care about their city”. I want to bring these experiences to Taiwan, and bring back what I learn there to further my impact here in Canada.
A photo of me MC'ing one week:
Why is this fellowship important in the world?
The g0v movement that I'll be studying is building capacity and experience in creating more transparent and accountable government. They are super inspiring because they’re doing it productively from outside government, without waiting for formal institutions themselves to do the work. They are doing it differently, through an open organization that any citizen can join, without traditional leaders and hierarchies. And to top it all off, they have tasked me with articulating the animating forces of their community, and proposing some hypotheses on how their movement might be spread to Western contexts.
The more that we can help share with the world what they’re learning over there, the better we’ll be able to tackle our global challenges in governing ourselves. This is why it’s a dream for me to participate in this fellowship and I hope I can count on your support to help me get there!
Organizer
Patrick Connolly
Organizer
Toronto, ON
