A Voice For the Voiceless

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The Advocacy Project seeks to help community-based advocates produce, disseminate and use information, and so become more effective advocates for human rights and social justice

DZENO-NYU Partnership Provides Model for Year-Round Internship Programs, November 7, 2006

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AdvocacyNet
News Bulletin 85, November 7, 2006
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Prague, Czech Republic: The Advocacy Project (AP) has helped one of its partner organizations in Prague to recruit an intern from New York University, in a move that could broaden the appeal and scope of AP’s own intern program.

Claudia Whiteus, a German-American student from Kenyon College in Ohio who is studying abroad this semester at NYU’s Prague campus, began interning at the Dženo Association in September.

Dženo runs a news service and radio station for Roma in Europe, and its recruitment of Ms. Whiteus is part of a broad push by AP and its partners to recruit interns throughout the year, instead of just the summer months. AP is also keen to help partners to integrate interns and volunteers into their work.

In another example of this new approach, Kristi Severance, a lawyer with a background in international human rights law, is currently interning at Bosfam, the AP partner that supports displaced and refugee women in Eastern Bosnia. This is the first time AP has sent an intern to Bosfam outside the summer months.

The Dženo-NYU connection was made after an AP contact recommended Dženo to New York University. Ms. Kalasova, the Internship Coordinator for New York University in Prague, approved Dženo to be part of NYU’s internship program after she toured the group’s offices this past summer. Ms. Kalasova told AP that she appreciated Dženo’s mission and “liked the atmosphere in their offices.”

Lynne Engelman, who interned with Dženo for AP this summer, then presented Dženo’s internship program to about 50 NYU undergraduate students in Prague who were studying abroad and seeking posts. After Dženo selected Ms.Whiteus, Ms. Engelman worked with her own supervisor, Pavel Kubanik, to train her.

The expansion of Dženo’s internship program through the academic year would ensure that Dženo is able to regularly update the English-language news section of its website, which Ms. Whiteus is now working on. With an avid “interest in Roma culture and history,” Ms. Whiteus believes that Dženo plays an important role in promoting Roma interests.

AP’s own internship program also continues to expand. This year, the program attracted 128 applicants from 54 universities. Out of these, AP selected 17 interns from 10 universities to work with partners in 14 countries. But even as demand grows, partners are increasingly asking for longer-term periods and seeking resources to invest in mentoring interns.

In an effort to respond, AP is seeking to develop formal agreements with universities to ensure that qualified candidates are recruited earlier and can start working with hosts at a distance – “virtual internships” – well before they arrive.

AP is also hoping that the university connection will encourage interns to continue to work for their hosts in the United States after they return, for academic credit. Outreach in the United States is an increasingly important part of AP’s program. So far, this year’s interns have made 16 presentations on return to the US.

• Find more information on Dženo. 
• Read Lynne's blog.
• Read Kristi’s blog.
• Read other summer intern blogs.