Sandra, Conflict Studies and Human Rights
Country of internship: Tunisia
Canadian NGO: Alternatives
Local NGO: Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES)
As a student in the Conflict and Human Rights program, I'm obviously very interested in everything to do with defending human rights, conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Soon to graduate from this program, I wanted to gain relevant work experience through this internship, so as to be able to work in this field in the future.
When the internship offers were published, I directed my search in this direction and finally found an internship as a program assistant for an organization working to defend human rights.
After 12 weeks of internship, I realize that my choice was a wise one: I was able to strengthen my knowledge and learn more about Tunisia and the defense of human rights in general.
However, I'd still like to say to future student interns that you shouldn't limit yourself to choosing an internship based on your studies or personal interests. In the context of a virtual internship, where you'll be working on your own most of the time, it can be hard to keep your interest. My advice to future interns is to dare and take the risk of choosing an unfamiliar field. This will enable you to learn new things, develop new skills and so on.