Applications are now open for the 2026 Global Interfaith Leaders Fellowship on Climate Change for emerging leaders worldwide

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Closing Date: 28 February 2026

Applications are now open for the 2026 Global Interfaith Leaders Fellowship on Climate Change for emerging leaders worldwide

Applications now open for the world’s premier interfaith climate leadership program

Applications are now open for the Global Interfaith Leaders Fellowship on Climate Change, co-organized by FFOP and Duke Divinity School. Each year, Duke convenes a select group of highly motivated, climate-conscious faith leaders from around the world. These leaders stand at a pivotal point in their careers, seeking knowledge, mentorship, and community to scale climate initiatives rooted in profound wisdom and intent.

2026 marks the fourth year of this transformative program, inviting the brightest, most impassioned leaders active in this space. Over a week, fellows work with each other and alongside world-renowned faculty and specialists from Duke University, investing in deep personal and professional development.

Program Overview

Founded in 2023 through a strategic partnership between Faith for Our Planet and Duke University’s Divinity School, the Global Interfaith Leaders Fellowship on Climate Change is the first program in the world dedicated exclusively to faith-rooted climate leadership.

This highly selective fellowship equips emerging leaders who draw on their faith traditions to catalyze tangible, community-level climate action—bridging moral vision with practical impact.

About the Fellowship

FFOP and Duke Divinity School’s fellowship is designed to equip and support emerging faith leaders with knowledge, mentorship, and community to lead climate initiatives with profound wisdom and impact.

The fellowship offers a truly global experience. Between 2023 and 2025, Duke trained over 75 leaders from over 20 countries, representing an extraordinary diversity of religious and indigenous traditions.

Each cohort carries countless stories of friendships and alliances forged around a powerful shared mission: addressing climate change as the defining moral crisis of our time.

Now in its fourth year, Duke is inviting 20 highly ambitious, values-driven faith leaders committed to meaningful spiritual growth, collective effort, and an unrelenting pursuit to build a healthier planet, to join us in advancing this mission.

Learning Outcomes:

The program is led by internationally recognized scholars and practitioners at the forefront of religious studies, interfaith engagement, communications, and community-based climate action.

Through an intensive blend of seminars, field visits, case studies, facilitated interfaith dialogues, and applied leadership training, fellows gain both the intellectual grounding and practical tools needed to design and lead climate initiatives grounded in their faith traditions.

By the end of the fellowship, fellows will have:

Deepened their theological grounding in environmental stewardship, examining how faith traditions shape leadership, justice, and care for creation
Developed advanced community engagement strategies tailored to multifaith and multicultural contexts
Strengthened communication and advocacy skills, enabling them to listen deeply, shape public narratives, and engage decision-makers with clarity and empathy
Cultivated values-driven, inclusive leadership, building trust-based collaborations across religious and cultural boundaries

Host Institution

The fellowship is hosted at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. A world-class research institution, Duke is renowned for its academic excellence, with alumni and faculty including 15 Nobel Laureates and three Turing Award recipients.

It is designed and delivered in collaboration with faculty and experts from Duke’s Divinity School, renowned for its leadership in theology, ethics, and interfaith scholarship. Duke’s strong commitment to inclusive dialogue, environmental research, and social justice provides fellows with access to exceptional academic resources and a rich intellectual environment throughout the residential experience.

Note: This fellowship is an independent program organized by Faith for Our Planet in partnership with Duke University faculty. It is not a degree-granting or university-accredited program.

Eligibility Criteria

To be considered for the fellowship, candidates must:

Be between the ages of 25 and 40 at the time of application
Demonstrate relevant academic, professional, or volunteer experience in areas such as environmental action, faith-based initiative, community organizing, or climate advocacy
Have access to local networks (social, professional, or religious) or demonstrate a strong commitment to building and mobilizing such networks
Be fluent in spoken and written English