2009 Summer Internships
Program details
The following CLA-ACE internships were offered for the summer of 2009. Click here to see some reflections from the field from our 2009 interns.
Asia Foundation – Bangladesh
Intern: Janet Chow (Ottawa)
Position: Internship with the Bangladesh office of the Asia Foundation.
Background: The Asia Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental organization committed to the development of a peaceful, prosperous, just, and open Asia-Pacific region. The Foundation supports programs in Asia that help improve governance, law, and civil society; women’s empowerment; economic reform and development; and international relations. Drawing on more than 50 years of experience in Asia, the Foundation collaborates with private and public partners to support leadership and institutional development, exchanges, and policy research.
In Bangladesh, the Foundation works with local partners to advance good governance, economic growth, security, and regional collaboration on trade and women’s rights protection. Foundation programs promote fair elections and democratic representation, give policy voice to rural small business, assist the poor to access justice, build trust between police and communities, and engage religious and secular leaders of influence to support women’s rights, development, and governance reform. Through its Books for Asia program, the Foundation donates 70,000 books and journals annually in Bangladesh.
Specific program areas include:
- Promoting Free and Fair Elections
- Enhancing Local Economic Governance
- Promoting Legal Empowerment of Women and Disadvantaged Groups
- Improving Security and Building Trust through Community-Oriented Policing
- Enhancing the Role of Religious Leaders in National Development Efforts
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.
From the above summary of program activities, 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)
• National election program supported by five bilateral donor agencies
• Access to justice program development, building on a study undertaken on
behalf of the United Kingdom Department for International Development
• Expansion of community-oriented policing program.
• Local economic governance program
• Leaders of Influence 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 (flexibility for a four to sixteen week period, depending on intern availability)
ECPAT – Thailand
Intern: Brittany Twiss (Ottawa)
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 the 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).
Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) – Ghana
Intern: Tharani Balanchadran (Victoria)
Intern: Myriam Raymond-Jetté (Université de Montréal)
Position: Internship with WiLDAF, a Pan-African non-governmental, non profit bringing together organisations and individuals using a variety of tools, including law, to promote a culture for the exercise and respect for women’s rights in Africa. The office in Accra specializes in women’s legal rights, children’s rights and women and governance issues in Ghana.
There are two internship positions with WiLDAF.
Background: The network was established at a regional conference held in February 1990 in Harare, Zimbabwe whose theme was “Women, Law and Development: Networking for Empowerment in Africa.” WiLDAF was the product of a year-long process or organization and inquiry, involving NGOs and governmental projects devoted to empowering women and improving their status in Africa.
Location: Accra, Ghana
Job Description: Interns will work as part of a team to help fulfill the annual plan for 2009. Currently, WiLDAF is involved with a number of political governance activities, including workshops, public education, and analysis of political events from a gender perspective. The organization also requires help in more practical areas, including media/communications as well internet and website skills as they are trying to improve their outreach.
Essential Skills:
- Extremely self-motivated
- Adaptable cross-culturally
- Professional demeanor (even in frustrating circumstances)
- Excellent oral, written and research skills
- Communication skills
- Open to new experiences
- Able to work well with others
Desirable Skills:
- Communications experience (media work)
- Internet and website skills (uploading information to website, etc.)
- Fundraising skills
- Workshop experience
Period: mid-May-August (with flexibility on either end)
Center for Public Interest Law (CEPIL) – Ghana
Intern: Chris Samuel (UNB)
Intern: Annette Stoehr (Queen’s)
Position: Internship with CEPIL, a rights based non-governmental not-for-profit organization established in 1999. CEPIL’s mission statement is: To continually strive for justice and fairness especially for the poor and marginalised in society by working to improve democratic governance, rule of law and ensuring accountability of public and private actors through advocacy, litigation, social mobilisation and research.
There are two internship positions with CEPIL.
Background: CEPIL was founded in 1999. CEPIL grew out of discussions between Dr. Dominic Ayine (currently Executive Director of CEPIL) and Mr. Charles Abugre (then Executive Director of the Integrated Social Development Sector or ISODEC) about issues of public and private accountability in Ghana’s mining sector. These discussions led to broader thinking about the need to protect the rights of vulnerable mining communities. With assistance from ISODEC and the Third World Network, Dr. Ayine set about establishing CEPIL and engaging in research relating to human rights promotion and protection through public interest litigation. CEPIL now has a track record of public interest and human rights litigation, including test cases filed in Ghana national courts. CEPIL also researches and publishes information on public interest law issues, and creates various fora for debate on socio-legal issues.
Location: Accra, Ghana
Job Description: Interns will work as part of a team in one of the major project areas of the organization. (Projects currently active include the mining communities legal support and human rights programme, as well as the housing rights program.) The CLA-ACE student will be working on housing rights in Ghana, and assist with the development of a handbook on these rights for use. CEPIL also conducts workshops on human rights from time to time, and students may participate in the design and implementation of these workshops.
Essential Skills:
- Extremely self-motivated
- Adaptable cross-culturally
- Professional demeanor (even in frustrating circumstances)
- Excellent oral and written skills
- Communication skills
- Open to new experiences
- Able to work well with others
- Excellent research skills
Desirable Skills:
- Interest and experience in public interest litigation
- Workshop experience
Period: mid-May-August (with flexibility on either end)
The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council — Alaska and Yukon
Intern: Carmen Gustafson (Calgary)
Intern: Maya Stano (UBC)
Position: Internship with the Yukon Inter-Tribal Watershed Council
Background: The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC) is an international organization with 501(c)(3) non-profit status in the United States and not-for profit status in Canada. As a coalition of sovereign Tribal and First Nation governments, we were founded in 1997 by a group of 56 chiefs and elders who gathered to discuss their concern about increased cancers and other health problems in human communities and game species within the Yukon River watershed. From this gathering and based on these concerns, the Watershed Council was formed to restore the River and to protect it from further contamination. The long-term vision is of the organization is to be able to once again drink clean water directly from the Yukon River as our ancestors did for thousands of years before us.
Today, 62 Indigenous governments within the watershed are actively participating in the coalition through the signing and enactment of an Inter-Tribal Accord that governs the YRITWC and gives each signatory government a seat on our Board of Directors. Noting that the indigenous communities are all connected and have a common interest in protecting the watershed, the Accord commits the signatories to cooperate and consult with each other on all actions that could affect the environmental and cultural integrity of the region while respecting the inherent sovereignty of each individual Tribe and First Nation. The YRITWC maintains offices in Fairbanks and Anchorage, Alaska, USA, and Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, with a staff of thirteen.
Location: Anchorage, Alaska and Whitehorse, Yukon
Job Description: The intern will have some opportunity to be engaged in research regarding land and water rights. Additionally, the intern will have the change to work in the field within our Water Quality Monitoring Program. The intern will be asked to assist with the preparation of the YRITWC Biennial Board Meeting which will be held from August 5-9, 2009 in Whitehorse. This meeting will involve the 66 First Nations and Tribes of the Yukon River Watershed.
During the internships the possibility of assisting with advocacy efforts may arise and the development of organizational structure and promotional materials will also be welcome.
Desired Skills:
- Research skills
- Advocacy skills
- Interest and/or experience in environmental/water legal issues
- Interest and/or experience in northern aboriginal issues
- Can work independently as well as in a team
- Good communication skills
Period: May- August (with some flexibility on either end)
Center for Human Rights and Advanced Legal Research — Kumasi, Ghana
Intern: Rachel Godley (Dalhousie)
Intern: Christine Houde (Ottawa)
Position: Internship with the Center for Human Rights and Advanced Legal Research (CHRALER). This organization will take two interns.
Background: CHRALER promotes human rights, law reform and public legal education. CHRALER was founded in 2003 to address human rights issues in Ghana, particularly in Kumasi and the Ashanti Region. Over the last four years, CHRALER has grown organically gradually gaining community recognition and the volunteering support of law students from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).
Currently, CHRALER is the only human rights and legal focused NGO in the Ashanti Region and which also operates the only legal aid clinic in this part of the country.
CHRALER also runs a well-developed public legal education program which reaches about 3000 people in direct presentations, and countless others through dozens of articles in newspapers and interviews on radio programs annually.
Location: Kumasi, Ghana
Job Description: Interns will be required to research relevant areas of law, prepare presentations in those areas, and then present the information in various venues to educate the public about their rights. The interns would work as an integral part of the clinic, providing legal research and writing support to the lawyers in the clinic, and assisting in case in-take. Topics for research, for example, may include domestic violence, housing issues, and prisoner’s human rights issues. The interns would also play an active role in the public legal education outreach mandate of CHRALER.
Desirable Skills:
- Excellent oral, written and research skills
- Clinic experience
- Extremely self-motivated
- Adaptable cross-culturally
- Professional demeanor (even in frustrating circumstances)
- Communication skills
- Open to new experiences
- Able to work well with others
Period: mid-May to August (with flexibility on either end)
Canadian Lawyers Abroad – Avocats canadiens à l’étranger (CLA-ACE)
Intern: Gagan Sangha (Windsor)
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. Our Student Program includes a Student Chapter program and a Summer Internship Program. To date, CLA-ACE has ten 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 (Thailand, Ghana, Bangladesh) and in Canada (Yukon and Ottawa/Toronto).
Location: Ottawa, Toronto, or other (flexible)
Job Description: CLA-ACE seeks a summer intern to assist the staff in developing the 2009-2010 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 fundraise?
There are a number of ways you can raise fundraise to cover the costs associated with the internship. Here are a few suggestions:
- Investigate options at your law school (e.g., bursaries/scholarships, Dean’s fund, etc.). Make sure you apply by the deadline (this may require applying before you find out if you have been selected as a CLA-ACE intern).
- 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 (e.g., a film night, book sale, bake sale, pub night, etc.).
- Approach local businesses in your community.
- Approach your local law firms for sponsorship.
Comments on this entry are closed.