Travel Bursaries

Why we offer bursaries

Some of the most important rewilding work in the world is being done by people who could never afford to travel to a conference like this. Their experience and perspectives matter, and the conference is poorer without them. Our travel bursaries exist to change that.

Our approach

Our bursary fund is limited, so we’ve thought carefully about how to make it count. A few full bursaries, not many small ones. A partial grant of a few hundred pounds rarely makes the difference for someone who can’t afford international travel. Instead, we fund a small number of people in full, so cost is never the barrier.

By nomination, not open application. 

Open applications tend to favour people who already have access: to funding, institutions and networks. Instead, we ask trusted partners across the global rewilding community to nominate people doing extraordinary work who would otherwise be overlooked.

For practitioners, not students. 

Our bursaries are focused on people working on the ground in low- and middle-income countries. Students have other affordable ways to attend (see below).

Who we’re looking for - nominees should be:

• based in a low- or middle-income country

• doing hands-on rewilding work, whether on the land/water, with communities or with wildlife

• working without institutional support or access to other funding to attend

• someone who would genuinely not be able to attend otherwise

We especially welcome nominations of community-based and Indigenous land stewards, and of people whose voices are rarely heard at international conferences.

What a bursary covers

• A full conference ticket

• Return flights to Copenhagen

• Accommodation for the conference

• Visa costs

• A daily allowance for meals and local travel

How it works

1. Nomination. Partners nominate people by [date].

2. Selection. Our team reviews nominations against the criteria above and contacts selected nominees by [date].

3. Visa support. We provide an official invitation letter to support each visa application.

4. Booking. Once your visa is granted, we book and pay for your flights and accommodation directly, so you don’t need to pay anything up front.

5. Commitment letter. We’ll send a short letter confirming what’s covered and what we ask of you, chiefly that you attend both days of the conference.

6. At the conference. Your daily allowance is paid when you arrive in Copenhagen.

How to nominate someone

If you know someone who should be here, please email Connie at constance@citizenzoo.org by [date] with:

• their name, location and contact details

• a few sentences about their work and why they should attend

• your connection to them

Nominees can also share their own words with us in any language, in writing, as a voice note or as a short video.

Help us bring more people to Copenhagen

Every additional bursary brings another voice from the front line of rewilding into the room. If you or your organisation would like to fund a bursary, please get in touch at constance@citizenzoo.org. You can also add a donation to our bursary fund when you buy your ticket.

Students

Our bursaries are focused on practitioners in low- and middle-income countries. For students, our concession tickets and volunteering opportunities offer more affordable ways to attend.