About this Program
ACCESS is a joint mentorship program between the Institute for Global Leadership (IGL) at Tufts University and the Project on Justice in Times of Transition (PJTT) that combines our respective resources to mentor and foster a new generation of leaders in international diplomacy prepared to engage in today’s interdependent world with humility, sophistication, and an understanding of the complexities of the world today.
This unique initiative facilitates creative and experiential learning at the highest levels and is designed to help students pursue their intellectual interests in international diplomacy and conflict resolution while at the same time creating a launching pad for their future careers in this field. The program also offers seasoned policymakers and practitioners from PJTT's network an opportunity to engage and reflect on their careers and experiences.
The program:
- Provides students direct access and contact with world leaders by engaging them in real time political events and/or high level research relating to post conflict reconstruction and diplomacy.
- Encourages students to expand their education through active involvement in innovative research projects led and mentored by members of PJTT’s network of experienced practitioners and leaders.
- Engages PJTT network members with the opportunity to reflect on and share their vast experiences in international diplomacy with students at Tufts University.
ACCESS achieves these goals through three distinctive but interrelated joint initiatives: Seminars and Lectures, Fellowships, and Travel Grants.
“The ACCESS Program is a unique mentorship program that encourages learning on many levels. I benefited tremendously from the experience as it allowed me engage students in taking a theory I had on the relationship between poverty and elites, to test it through research and then bring it to a formal outcome in a paper we presented to the Millennium Challenge Corporation. I was also deeply impressed by the quality of students at Tufts that worked with me and continue to remain in contact with many of them as they enter their careers and move forward with life.”
-- Ambassador Jose Maria Argueta