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The Levermore Global Scholars Program has established a partnership with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Secretariat to provide LGS students with non-paid internship opportunities.
About the Alliance of Civilizations:
Set up as an initiative of the Turkish and Spanish Governments, the Alliance of Civilizations is currently working under the aegis of the UN Secretary-General, aiming to prevent and bridge cultural or identity-related divides between communities and citizens, whether across large cultural areas or within nations. The Alliance works to implement and support projects on the ground, which make a real difference in people's lives, focusing on four key areas of action: education, youth, media and migration. It achieves results in partnership with national governments, international organizations, religious and civil society groups, foundations, corporations, and the media.
The Alliance of Civilizations Secretariat is based in New York. Its small team of twelve officers supports the AoC High Representative to implement the AoC Implementation Plan and provide any assistance required by the AoC High Representative. Please visit the Alliance’s website for more information: www.unaoc.org
Credits
If interested, students may apply for up to 3 credits for the Fall internship with the Alliance. Once the internship is confirmed and secured, students register for the LGS internship seminar offered in Fall 09 to earn credits for this opportunity. Students may also apply for the internship as a non-credited undertaking during Fall.
LGS interns will be meeting with the Alliance supervisors for up to 2 hours per week in the AoC Secretariat office (NYC) and then spend the rest of 8 hours at home/university, working on their respective internship assignments and telecommuting.
How to apply?
Please review the internship calls below to determine your eligibility and skills requirements.
Then, please complete the LGS internship application (PDF 208KB)and send it to LGS Director with your detailed resume. All applications will be reviewed, and the strongest applications will be submitted to the Alliance. If you are interested in the Fall internship, please submit your application by August 31.
Please review below a call for several unpaid internship opportunities for LGS students in Fall 09 with the Alliance’s 6 projects.
Important to remember:
Kindly note that the Alliance of Civilizations Secretariat will neither pay for the internship nor any other expenses concerning living expenses, health insurance, inner-city travel, etc. The Alliance is not responsible for any costs arising from accidents and/or illness incurred during the internship.
1. Migration Integration
September 1-November 30, 2009: 10 hours per week
Project Outline:
Migration Integration Clearinghouse - a web-based clearinghouse will feature approaches, guidelines, policy and academic resources, and links to associations/organizations and institutions working in the field of Migration/Integration. It will be a resource focusing on good practices of government programs, civil society activities, and academic initiatives that facilitate the integration and empowerment of migrants in the world.
This clearinghouse will focus on three different yet inter-related policy areas that are the most productive in terms of social cohesion and full integration of migrants. These three policy areas are: Socio-Economic Integration area (covering issues such as access to employment and entrepreneurial opportunities, housing, health, and education); Legal and Political Integration area (such as the opportunities for political participation and empowerment, anti-discrimination laws); and Cultural Integration (such as public perceptions and attitudes toward immigrants, acceptance/tolerance of cultural diversity both among “host societies” and among "immigrant communities," and harmonious daily interaction).
Since migration and integration policies and practices involve the participation of national and local governments as well as civil society (including NGOs and the academic sectors) - as well as international organizations such as the International Organization of Migration (IOM) and regional structures such as the European Union and other regional organizations that have developed policy on these issues – our emphasis will be on the policy inputs and outputs from these organizations.
The MI clearinghouse will work through a network of partner organizations that will include universities, other UN and intergovernmental organizations, and civil society organizations. Partners will be drawn from different regions so that the materials in the clearing house are available in many languages and on different subjects.
Brief Description of Responsibilities:
- Research on Migration / Integration issues;
- Research on potential partners for the clearinghouse;
- Assist in outlining contents and form of the clearinghouse.
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Expected Educational Background:
Specializations in political science, sociology, anthropology, history, education or other.
Languages:
Fluency in English; Any other of UN languages an asset
Other Skills:
Knowledge of Microsoft Windows Office applications, including Database applications. Skilled in Internet research. Intercultural skills to relate to public and diplomats from diverse groups. Ability to write summaries of reports in short period of time.
Project Supervisor:
Ms. Florence Laufer, Migration & Integration Project and Research Officer
- More Information
2. Education Project
September 1-November 30, 2009: 10 hours per week
Project Outline:
A. The Alliance of Civilizations Research Network:
This network is a collection of institutions that have the depth and breadth (e.g. doctoral-level institutions with active research programs) that will serve as a collective think-tank for the Alliance and be the leaders of a movement to encourage cross-cultural educational exchange. The Alliance Research Network brings together a small group of institutions from around the world who have interests in the areas of focus for the Alliance - education, media, migration, and youth plus other topics with special reference to cross-cultural understanding, good governance of cultural diversity, and conflict resolution such as women and peacemaking, city diplomacy and other areas. The Research Network will also be a source of experts to form the "communities of knowledge" in different areas of interest to the Alliance.
B. Exchange Programs:
The AoC is an advocate and catalyst for promoting exchange programs, particularly between the West and the Muslim World. The AoC representatives have spoken to various audiences about the importance of exchange programs and convene key players at important conferences, in particular, to bring together Western and Muslim organizations and institutions to promote exchanges.
C. Teaching about History:
The AoC is an advocate, catalyst, and disseminator of projects that deal with challenges of teaching about the “other” in the era of globalization and major cultural diversity. Other international organizations like UNESCO, CoE, Anna Lindh Foundation, OIC, ALECSO, and others have done significant work in this area and the AoC serves as a partner when called upon to do so.
Brief Description of Responsibilities:
- Monitor sites of Research Network partners for news that would be relevant to AoC themes and add to web site;
- Monitor funding opportunities from various organizations that would be of use to Research Network partners and add to web site;
- Conduct research on faculty in the area of History teaching about the other;
- Conduct research on organizations and produce statistics on the flow of faculty and students in international exchanges;
- Conduct research on other institutions that approach the AoC for partnerships on an ad-hoc basis;
- Conduct other research on politics, religion, migration, and media on an as-needed basis.
- Expected Educational Background:
Specializations in religious studies, political science, sociology, anthropology, history, education
Languages:
Fluent in English and preferably in one other language such as Spanish, Arabic, or Russian
Other Skills:
Knowledge of Microsoft Windows Office applications, including Database applications. Skilled in Internet research. Intercultural skills to relate to public and diplomats from diverse groups. Ability to write summaries of reports in short period of time.
Project Supervisor:
Dr. Thomas Uthup, AoC Research Manager
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- More Information
3. Foundations and Corporate Sector Networks
September 1-November 30, 2009: 10 hours per week
Project Outline:
The Alliance of Civilizations International Network of Foundations brings together foundations working to build trust and cooperation among religions, cultures and peoples. It promotes knowledge exchange, collaboration and advocacy. INF includes public, private and corporate foundations and individual philanthropists from around the world. It aims to facilitate information exchange and increase collaboration by providing a space for foundations to share information about their respective areas of work; share best practices in grant-making; hear from experts; address common challenges; and identify knowledge gaps that require additional research. The INF encourages collaboration among complementary initiatives, especially across regions. INF is also providing a series of resources to support foundations working on AOC-related themes. INF will begin by focusing on the following six areas, as identified by foundations around the world in the first set of Alliance's INF meetings: 1) education, 2) media, 3) the arts, 4) intercultural and interfaith dialogue, 5) youth leadership, and 6) conversations on religious and political issues.
Brief Description of Responsibilities:
- Research assistance and support in the AoC work with Foundations;
- Mapping of Foundations working on intercultural dialogue and cooperation and governance of cultural diversity;
- Preparing funding proposals for AoC projects and for projects from AoC partners;
- Assist the Supervisor in the communication with Foundations;
- Mapping of Corporate Sector involved in the inter-cultural dialogue and projects.
- Expected Educational Background:
Preferably major in political science/anthropology, education, communication.
Languages:
Fluency in English, other languages will be an asset
Other Skills:
Knowledge of Microsoft Windows Office applications, including Database applications. Skilled in Internet research. Intercultural skills to relate to public and diplomats from diverse groups. Ability to write summaries of reports in short period of time.
Project Supervisor:
Mr. Jean-Christophe Bas, AoC Strategic Partnerships Manager
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- More Information
4. Education About Religions and Beliefs
September 1-November 30, 2009: 10 hours per week; AoC is interested to have up to three interns for this project
Project Objective & Description:
A clearinghouse collects and organizes useful information in a specific field with relevance to cross-cultural relations and makes that information available to policy-makers, NGOs, academics and the general public who have an interest in that subject. As a global organization, the Alliance of Civilizations enjoys enhanced credibility in establishing clearinghouses of information in specific subjects with the help of partners from around the world.
The AoC Clearinghouse, on education about religions and beliefs aims to be a credible and leading "go-to" on-line resource on the subject of education about religions and beliefs. It will also serve as a venue for dissemination of work done by partners of the Alliance in education about religions and beliefs.
The HLG Group Report of the Alliance of Civilizations of 2006 (pp. 26 and 34) as well as the AoC 2007-2009 Action Plan also emphasized the importance of education, particularly at the school level, about diverse religious beliefs and practices. “Education about religions and beliefs” encompasses learning about the world’s diverse religions and beliefs as also ethics education, tolerance education, and civic education with a focus on education at the school level. It is not the same as education into religion which occurs when a single religious tradition is taught by religious insiders to strengthen their commitment to that religion (e.g. in madrasas, or through catechism, etc).
The ERB clearinghouse follows closely the Toledo Guidelines, drawn up by the OSCE's ODIHR office, which "focus solely on the educational approach that seeks to provide teaching about different religions and beliefs as distinguished from instruction in a specific religion or belief" (p. 12). The contents will include an overview; resources (guidelines and learning and teaching materials); relevant organizations; a journal; events; a forum; and news.
Partnerships:
Currently, 12 higher education institutions from around the world have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Alliance to contribute content after the site has launched and we are also engaged in communications with more partners from the institutional and NGO side to become partners. Current partners include: Institute for Comparative Religion in South Africa, University of Cape Town (South Africa); Center for the Study of World Religions, Dharmaram College (India); Intercollege Project for Education about Religions and Cultures (Japan); School of Education, Clemson University (USA); Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies, Gadjah Mada University (Indonesia); Religion and Public Education Resource Center, California State University—Chico (USA); Warwick Religions and Education Research Unit, University of Warwick (UK); The Study of Religions, IFPR, University of Southern Denmark (Denmark); Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Sakarya University (Turkey); Institutt for Arkeologi, Historie, Kultur - og Religionsvitenskap (AHKR), University of Bergen (Norway); Vergelijkende Cultuurwetenschap ("Comparative Science of Cultures"), Ghent University (Belgium); Russian Christian Academy for Humanities (Russia).
Brief Description of Responsibilities:
- Review memos on Religious Education Alerts forwarded by the Supervisor: link, save, and categorize by country;
- Research material for clearinghouse - guidelines, curricula, learning and teaching material (at national/local level), organizations, associations, NGOs, and institutions/departments relevant to teaching about/education about religions and beliefs. Goal: Add at least one item per section each day;
- Summarize content added by the Supervisor and categorize into tables/excel sheets;
- Add above content to website;
- Research potential partners for ERB clearinghouse.
- Expected Educational Background:
Specializations n religious studies, political science, sociology, anthropology, history, education.
Languages:
Fluent in English and preferably in one other language such as Spanish, Arabic, or Russian
Other Skills:
Knowledge of Microsoft Windows Office applications, including Database applications. Skilled in Internet research. Intercultural skills to relate to public and diplomats from diverse groups. Ability to write summaries of reports in short period of time.
Project Supervisor:
Dr. Thomas Uthup, AoC Research Manager.
- More Information
5. Media Literacy Education
September 1-November 30, 2009: 10 hours per week
Project Outline:
The UN Alliance of Civilizations Media Literacy Education Clearinghouse – www.aocmedialiteracy.org - is a participatory global repository of information, resources, and good practices relevant to Media Literacy Education, Media Education Policy and Youth Media, the clearinghouse encourages the user’s active participation.
Brief Description of Responsibilities:
Under the supervision of the project manager, the intern will research Media Literacy Education content and upload it to the clearinghouse.
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Expected Educational Background:
Interest in education, media education, youth media preferable.
Languages:
Fluency in English, other languages will be an asset
Other Skills:
Basic computer literacy skills, good research skills using the Internet, good content editing, Ability to write summaries of reports in short period of time.
Project Supervisor:
Mr. Jordi Torrent, AoC Media Literacy Education Manager
- More Information
6. Communications (RRMM):
September 1-November 30, 2009: 10 hours per week
Project outline:
The Alliance of Civilizations requires a research intern to support the expansion of the Alliance’s Global Expert Finder (GEF), as part of the Rapid Response Media Mechanism (RRMM). GEF (globalexpertfinder.org) is an online database of experts created to support the work of journalists covering stories of religious, cultural, and political tensions among diverse groups and communities.
Brief Description of Responsibilities:
- Carry out research about potential experts in the areas of international relations, politics, security, globalization, religion and art.
- Research articles, publications and interviews by potential experts.
- Draft short biographies of experts based on the research undertaken.
- Compile profile of experts, including contact details and professional affiliation.
- Monitor and track stories and commentary about intercultural issues
- Expected Educational Background:
Specializations in political science, international relations, communications, sociology, anthropology, history or related fields.
Languages:
Fluent in English and preferably in one other language such as Spanish, Arabic, or Russian
Other Skills:
Knowledge of Microsoft Windows Office applications, including Database applications. Skilled in Internet research. Intercultural skills to relate to public and diplomats from diverse groups. Ability to write summaries of reports quickly and efficiently.
Project Supervisor:
Dr Emmanuel Kattan, Communications Adviser, Alliance of Civilizations
- More Information
If you have any questions, please contact the Levermore Global Scholars Program (LGS) at 516.877.4190.
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