South Africa

Overview

This virtual internship and seminar will focus on issues related to conflict resolution, human rights, and international relations in cooperation with partners like the Institute for Global Dialogue (IGD) and the Africa Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), Africa’s largest conflict resolution NGO. Your program will begin with an orientation, in which you’ll learn about South Africa’s transition from apartheid and human rights abuses to democracy. Thereafter, while engaged in the online internship, you will also learn about multilateral diplomacy and strategic decision-making. You will explore non-western perspectives on international relations, south-south diplomacy, and the politics of the African Union. You’ll also gain perspective and insight on these issues through presentations from NGO leaders, academics and diplomats. 

You will be expected to devote approximately 37.5 hours a week both on synchronous and asynchronous course activities. Synchronous activities may include orientation sessions, seminar country and theme specific lectures, initial meetings with your internship advisor, group reflection sessions, and project presentations. Frequency, duration, and scheduling of synchronous activities will be determined the first week of the course in conversation with participants to find mutually convenient times. In the event that a student cannot attend a live session, every effort will be made to provide a recording, transcript, or summary for off-line viewing.

Asynchronous activities may include seat time at your internship, break-out groups, check-ins with your academic director, internship coordinator and your internship mentor, writing progress reports, discussion boards, completing assignments and a final paper, and using audio or video to record reflections on the internship experience. Students are required to demonstrate a strong online presence by participating in group discussions, answering questions, and interacting with course participants and staff.

Highlights

• Work with leading civil society organizations in South Africa.  
• Explore South Africa’s transition from apartheid to democracy.  
• Support the work and activism of prominent local groups and their quest for social justice and human rights.
• Learn from diplomats, leading academics, and NGO practitioners.

Prerequisites

None.