Shape Your City: Become a Nāgrika Fellow!

connect2783
6 days ago
2 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

The Nāgrika Fellowship is an invitation to see your city with fresh eyes, to connect local knowledge with national conversations as well as conversations in your own city, and to shape more inclusive narratives of India’s urban future. After the success of our first cohort, we are excited to announce that applications are now open for the next cohort of the Nāgrika Fellowship!

“ I never thought my lived experiences could become a source of knowledge.” - Shreya Kabadi, Hubbali (Nāgrika Fellow’24)

About the Nāgrika Fellowship:

In 2024, we launched the Nāgrika Fellowship and welcomed an enthusiastic cohort of fellows. Over six months, they became ambassadors for their small cities, immersing themselves in the lived experiences of urban communities and bridging the gap between academic knowledge and on-ground community initiatives.

The fellowship is focused on the youth of small and mid-sized cities in India. It aims to:

Build local knowledge
Foster civic consciousness
Develop young minds into stewards of their cities

Through interactive modules and hands-on assignments, fellows acquire tools to know their city better and to actively engage with it.

As a fellow, you'll dive deep into understanding your city from the ground up. You'll spend time talking with people from all walks of life, learning about their lived experiences and what matters most to them. Your hands-on journey includes developing skills in listening and asking meaningful questions while building connections in your city. You'll explore urban spaces like markets, parks, transit hubs, and residential areas with fresh eyes, and identify real challenges your city faces and understand how they impact everyday life in the city while learning to capture and share authentic stories that reflect the true experiences of your fellow citizens.

This fellowship will teach you to approach your city’s challenges with curiosity, compassion, and a commitment to putting people first in any solution, developing both empathy and critical thinking about urban issues while gaining practical experience in community engagement.

Announcing Nagrika Fellowship 2025-26

For more details, please refer to the Nāgrika Fellowship Guidelines.

Applications open till 21 Sept 2025

For questions? Write to us at connect@nagrika.org, with the subject as [Query] Nāgrika Fellowship

APPLY NOW

Reflections from the 2024-25 Nagrika Fellows

Our 2024 cohort shared how the fellowship deepened their connection with their cities

[After the fellowship]I feel more connected to the knowledge regarding the city , that inspires me to explore more nuances about my Srinagar.

Umar Shareef, Srinagar

Nāgrika Fellow '24

This fellowship has deepened my connection to my city. It’s no longer just a place where I live; it now feels like a community to which I truly belong... I plan to continue my city walks, although I’m not yet sure how I will do that... in the near future, I want to officially start a gender sensitisation club, which I see as my way of contributing to our community.

Induja Aich Roy, Uttarpara

Nāgrika Fellow '24

It has inspired me so much that I think I am on a move to build a community that could become a platform for the everyday citizens to raise up their issues and it could then reach to the government and other institutions, for effective and impactful solutions.

Ayush Kumar Gupta

Nāgrika Fellow '24