2007 Summer Internships
Program details
The following CLA-ACE internships were offered for the summer of 2007. Click here to see some reflections from the field from our 2007 interns.
We received a very high number of quality applications which made the decision-making process a difficult one. Thank you all for applying.
Asia Foundation – Bangladesh
Read Knowledge and Confidence: Setting Examples for Development in Bangladesh
Intern: Tobias Kruger (New Brunswick)
Position: Internship with the Bangladesh office of the Asia Foundation.
Background: The Foundation assists local partners to resolve the key governance challenges that undermine the performance and accountability of public institutions and officials, economic growth potential, public security, and traditions of religious tolerance. The key challenges facing the country are weak governance, persistent partisan political tensions, and the failure of present economic growth rates to reduce poverty at the pace and scale required, and the risk that this combination of problems may create space for the growth of religious conservatism or extremism. The goal of the Bangladesh country program strategy is to assist local partners in government, civil society, and the private sector to facilitate the governance reforms required to increase economic growth and reduce poverty. The four focal issues are:
- Building effective and accountable democratic governance;
- Facilitating broad-based economic growth;
- Protecting basic rights and security; and
- Engaging Muslim leaders to advance human rights and national development.
Specific program areas include:
- Governance:
Elections
Corruption prevention
eGovernance - Economic Growth:
Local economic governance - Basic Rights and Security:
Community-oriented policing
Community legal service delivery
Legal empowerment - Islam and Development:
Engaging religious leaders in national development efforts
South Asia women and Islam
Madrasah education reform
Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Job Description:
An intern may elect to focus on a particular area of interest, or engage more broadly in the program work of the Bangladesh office—ideally with a combined focus on existing program implementation and review and new program development initiatives.
Areas of potential interest to a law student intern may include:
- Multi-year election and governance reform program supported by the Government of Canada (CIDA)
- Access to justice program development, building on a study undertaken on behalf of the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID)
- Legal empowerment program conducted on behalf of the Asian Development Bank (three-country study on Legal Empowerment for Women and Disadvantaged Groups).
- Assessment and refinement of community-oriented policing program.
Required Skills:
- Interest in law and development, justice sector reform, human rights and access to justice, and broader governance reform issues.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Ability to work independently and in a team environment.
- Keen motivation and self-starter initiative
Period: May – August (with flexibility on either end)
ECPAT
Intern: Julie Deziel (Montreal)
Position: Internship with the Bangkok-based international secretariat of ECPAT, an international child rights organization that works to eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation of children. The ECPAT acronym stands for ‘ End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes’.
Background: ECPAT is a network of organisations and individuals working together to eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation of children. It seeks to encourage the world community to ensure that children everywhere enjoy their fundamental rights free from all forms of commercial sexual exploitation. ECPAT works with a specific focus on international legal instruments and national laws related to the commercial sexual exploitation of children, particularly child prostitution, child pornography, and child trafficking for sexual purposes.
Location: Bangkok, Thailand.
Job Description: The focus of the intern’s work will be researching national legislation and procedures relating to ECPAT’s mandate. The intern will also be expected to assist the Programme Officer (Legal Programme) to support ECPAT initiatives. The intern will research and collect legislation defining and prohibiting the creation, possession, use, display, etc. of child pornography, on a country-by-country basis. Depending upon the time available, the intern may then research and collect legislation, on a country-by-country basis, defining and prohibiting child prostitution and related activities, such as solicitation, legalization and decriminalization of prostitution, etc.
Essential Skills:
- Experience in working with human rights and social development issues specifically as these relate to the rights of children
- Exposure to children’s rights or other social issues
Desirable Skills:
- Ability to communicate effectively in major languages used by members of the ECPAT network e.g. Spanish and/or French
- Experience in working with children
Period: May – August (could be extended to December).
Arctic Athabaskan Council
Intern: Peter Wigen (Ottawa)
Position: Internship with the Arctic Athabaskan Council (AAC), an international treaty organization established to represent the interests of United States and Canadian Athabaskan member First Nation governments in Arctic Council fora, and to foster a greater understanding of the common heritage of all Athabaskan peoples of Arctic North America.
Background: The ACC was established in 2000. The founding members of AAC include four Alaskan Athabaskan communities and three Athabaskan representative bodies on the Canadian side (the Council of Yukon First Nations, the Dene Nation, and Métis Nation-Northwest Territories.) In total, Arctic Athabaskan founding member governments represent approximately 32,000 indigenous peoples of Athabaskan descent residing in Arctic and Sub-Arctic North America. As more member governments from both the United States (Alaska) and Canada join, this number is expected to increase to approximately 40,000.
The objective of the AAC is to create an international organization for northern peoples of Athabaskan descent. Its principle purpose is foster greater understanding of the common heritage of all Arctic Athabaskan peoples of Canada and the United States and to represent the Athabaskan peoples of Arctic Canada and the United States as a permanent participant in the Arctic Council.
Location: Whitehorse, Yukon (Temperature in the summer averages 20 C but can go as high as 25 C)
Job Description: This position will involve research for 3 current AAC projects. The first is to research climate change issues under the Final Umbrella Agreement (UFA). The AAC is compling a resource binder which will be used to explain to members of the community the issues, and what the various groups under UFA are doing. The goal will also be to determine how the AAC can assist these groups in light of the rapid effects of climate change. The second project invovles researching intellectual property rights and traditional knowledge (ie.communal vs. individual rights). Guidelines are being developed that will help provide information and support on this issue to the community. Research will also include analysis of Canadian IP law and that in other circumpolar countries on this issue. The third project is to support the AAC in its application for charitable status with the federal government.
Desirable Skills:
- Excellent research, writing skills
- Experience proposal writing, writing reports, and public speaking
Assistance:
- Possibility of host organization providing some funding for intern.
Period: May-August (with flexibility on either end).
Yukon Land Use Planning Council
Intern: Karen Trzaska (Western)
Position: Internship with the Yukon Land Use Planning Council. The Yukon Land Use Planning Council is a Board established under the Umbrella Final Agreement and the Council initiates and guides the implementation of one of the chapters of the land claim settlements: Chapter 11: Regional Land Use Planning.
Background: The settlement of First Nation land claim agreements in the Yukon has fundamentally changed land and resource management in the territory. The effective implementation of the agreements requires consensus amongst the implementation Boards (e.g. YLUPC) and the signature Parties (Canada, the Yukon Government and Yukon First Nations) regarding the interpretation of the legal language used in the agreements.
Location: Whitehorse, Yukon
Job Description: The legal intern will assist with the development of this consensus by examining a number of legal topics relating to the interpretation of the claim section (Chapter 11) and the actions required to fulfill claim obligations. This will involve seeking opinions from those implementing the claim, identifying convergent and divergent opinions and recommending interpretations that represent the spirit and intent of the land claim settlements. More specifically, tasks may include exploring and defining key words/phrases in Chapter 11 of the Umbrella Final Agreement, examining the ten Yukon First Nation Final Agreements to identify relevant “special provision” clauses that may impact the implementation of regional land use planning in the territory, clarifying the legal obligations of Government associated with the implementation of a regional land use plan based on Chapter 11 and other Agreements, and identifying potential legal issues that may arise during the production, approval and implementation of land claim based regional plans in the Yukon.
Essential Skills:
- Excellent legal research and writing skills
- Interest and/or experience in land use planning law and first nations issues
- Resourceful and comfort working independently
Assistance:
- Possibility of host organization providing some funding for intern.
Period: May-August
Journalists for Human Rights
Intern: Roanna Tay (UBC)
Intern: Leemor Valin (Ottawa)
Position: Internship with Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) [add link: http://www.jhr.ca/], a growing charitable organization using innovative and proven techniques to reduce human rights abuses. By building the capacity of the media to report effectively on human rights issues, JHR’s work pressures abusers to stop and empowers victims to fight back. JHR works exclusively in Africa and North America. (Two internship positions available.)
Background: Since its founding in May 2002, JHR has run projects in various Africa countries and Canada. In Ghana, its largest African project, JHR has increased human rights coverage in the media by over 65%, leading to a quantifiable reduction in human rights abuses. In Canada, JHR has established fifteen Chapters (or clubs) at journalism schools across the country, actively engaging over 10% of Canada’s journalism students in human rights reporting. JHR has offices in Accra, Ghana and Toronto, Canada.
Location: Accra, Ghana (with one week is Kumasi, Ghana)
Job Description: Interns will research female prisoners and young offenders in Ghana (in contrast to male prisoners) and produce a report detailing this research. The in-depth research will involve considerable interviewing of prisoners, ex-convicts and possibly visits to prison facilities. This research is groundbreaking work in Ghana, and will build on the outstanding work completed by the CLA-ACE interns in Ghana last summer. The intern will also include a one week exploratory trip to Kumasi to assess the status, needs and current projects of a legal clinic called Center for Human Rights and Advanced Legal Research (CHRALER). The purpose of this trip is to also assess the need for a partnership with CLA-ACE and CHRALER in 2008. Additional work may include partnering with a journalist from JHR in Accra to assist on legal aspects of a pressing social issue being confronted in Accra at the time. The interns will provide legal support and research to the journalists.
Essential Skills:
- Extremely self-motivated
- Adaptable cross-culturally
- Professional demeanor (even in frustrating circumstances)
- Excellent oral written and communication skills
- Open to new experiences
Period: mid-May-August (with flexibility on either end)
Canadian Lawyers Abroad – Avocats canadiens à l’étranger (CLA-ACE)
Intern: Tamar Meshel (UBC)
Position: CLA-ACE is a not-for-profit organization that is committed to serving the legal needs of developing countries by harnessing the experience and skills of Canadian lawyers and law students in the areas of good governance, the rule of law and human rights.
Background: CLA-ACE was incorporated as a not-for-profit in 2005 and has grown quickly as a young and vibrant Canadian organization. The organization has both a Student Program and an International Pro Bono Program for lawyers. The Student Program includes a Student Chapter program and a Summer Internship Program. To date, CLA-ACE has six Student Chapters nation-wide that participate in a variety of educational activities consistent with the organization’s mandate. The Student Internship program is offering a number of different positions this summer to law students overseas (East Timor, Thailand, Ghana) and in Canada (Yukon and Ottawa/Toronto).
Location: Ottawa, Toronto, or other (flexile)
Job Description: CLA-ACE seeks a summer intern to assist the staff in developing the 2007-2008 Student Chapter program. This will include developing next year’s theme, drafting materials on the theme, researching possible speakers, and interacting with the presidents of the Student Chapters. The intern will also help to coordinate the summer internship program, assist with the monitoring of the process and feedback stages. Other tasks may include legal research, fundraising research, drafting of press releases, interacting with various legal faculty personnel, and interacting with the media.
Desired Skills:
- Knowledge of the mandate and goals of the organization
- Communication skills
- Drafting skills
- Research skills
- Confidence
- Self-starter and creative thinker
- Entrepreneurial
How can I raise the $500 fundraising requirement?
There are a number of ways you can raise the $500 commitment requirement. Please let CLA-ACE know how you intend to raise the money. Here are a few suggestions:
- Approach your law school (e.g., bursary, etc.).
- Approach your local Rotary Club or similar organization.
- Organize a fundraising evening and invite family and friends.
- Solicit the help of your University CLA-ACE Student Chapter and have them help organize a fundraising event for you. (Hold a film night, book sale, bake sale, pub night etc.).
- Approach local businesses in your community.
- Approach your local law firms for sponsorship.
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