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|  | Liaison Newsletter > LIAISON Vol. 3, No. 3, May 1999 - Articles
Meet the 1998-99 Interns Most of the participants of the 1998-99 Youth International Internship Programme have completed their internships and have since returned to Canada. With this issue of Liaison, we begin a series of short profiles of some of these interns. SCOTT CURRAN Scott Curran, from St. Johns, Newfoundland, was able to learn a lot about the current socio-political situation in the countries of the Commonwealth for Independent States (CIS) while completing an internship with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland. His background in Russian Studies and his knowledge of the language greatly facilitated his work. His work was both fascinating and in-depth. He was charged with evaluating the ‘use and impact’ of the NGO Fund, which was primarily established to provide financial support to local, regional and international NGO’s in the countries of the CIS. In addition to monitoring, researching and writing, Scott conducted personal interviews with eleven UN member states, eight international NGOs, fifty-six local NGOs from the countries of the CIS, and UNHCR staff members, both at headquarters and abroad. This required three separate missions undertaken to eight CIS countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan).
ERIK NIELSON Erik Nielson, from Cookstown, Ontario, was well suited for a position with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy, given his background in Communications and Environmental Sciences. While at the Community Forestry Unit at the FAO, Erik worked on a variety of challenging activities. Highlights included working on conflict management activities and assisting in backstopping the Latin American component of the Forests, Trees and People Programme and the related new communications strategy; developing a strategic workplan for the conflict management themes and writing a grant proposal for 1.8 million dollars for a new programme that he designed. In addition, Erik worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other UN agencies to find sustainable management solutions to global cacao production constraints. Erik was part of an integrated team which included economists, anthropologists, foresters and social scientists. Relating to his duties, Erik also had an opportunity to travel to Bangkok. Erik has since been hired as a consultant by the FAO.
CHRISTINA HARRISON Christina Harrison, from Toronto, Ontario, with a background in refugee Law was placed with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in New Delhi, India. Her placement vastly increased her knowledge of refugee and human rights issues in India and across Asia. Christina considers her 8 month experience at UNHCR in India as invaluable. She really absorbed the culture and was keen to travel and learn as much as she could. Her cultural experience was vast; from rafting in the Great Himalayas to lunching by the Bay of Bengal. Christina carried out numerous tasks, some of which included conducting refugee status determination interviews of refugee claimants; working on briefing notes for senior mission staff; assisting with the process of resettlement to a third country; attending seminars on the topics of asylum policy and practice, mental health concerns of refugees and resettlement policy; attending the Delhi High Court as an observer; writing advocacy correspondence requesting assistance for individual refugees; and editing a report on a regional consultation on refugees in South Asia. Further, Christina undertook both Hindi and Spanish lessons. In Christina’s final report, she had this to say. "I am so pleased to have been able to benefit from this government initiative. It has literally opened up a whole world for me. I now hope to carry on my legal career in an entirely new vein: international human rights. The Youth International Internship Programme is without doubt a worthwhile investment in the personal and professional development of young Canadians." The deadline for the 1999-2000 Youth International Internship Programme has been extended to May 28, 1999. For more information or to get an application form, please click here |
