Guidelines

The Human Rights and Governance Grants Program (HRGGP) and the Scholarship Programs of the Open Society Institute announce the Human Rights Internship.

The internship is intended to attract recent graduates of master's and LLM programs in the social sciences, law, and humanities to the human rights sector, giving them the opportunity to gain first-hand research experience in the field of human rights, government accountability, or penal reform.

Successful candidates receive a locally determined stipend and the opportunity to work in one of the leading human rights and accountability advocacy organizations in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The program is designed to benefit both the intern and the host organization. Internships last from 6 to 12 months, depending on the research topic and scope. For the upcoming year, the Open Society Institute will support up to 10 internships.

Host NGOs

In 2009, the Open Society Institute Human Rights Internship has received expressions of interest from 20 potential hosting organizations. These organizations are international and local human rights and accountability groups working in the region of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. The list of participating NGOs and their priority research areas is attached below.

Eligibility

Eligible candidates must fulfill the following three requirements:

Be the recipient of an OSI fellowship from the Scholarship Programs, or a graduate of the Central European University's Human Rights Program or Comparative Constitutional Law Program.
Have graduated in the past three years from LL.M. or MA studies in the social sciences, law, or humanities.
Be a citizen of a country from Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, or Mongolia.

Please ensure your eligibility before applying.

To Apply

Step 1: Contact potential host organization from the list announced by 2010 OSI Human Rights Internship

Please select from the list the host organization where you most wish to work, and contact them directly. Submit the following to the designated contact person.

Your CV
Letter of intent explaining your background, research interest, and why the host organization would suit your needs
Two letters of reference from an academic source or an NGO representative

On the basis of those documents, the host organizations will pre-select candidates. All NGO contact details can be found in the attached list of participating NGOs.

The deadline for contacting host organizations is Monday, August 31, 2009.

Step 2: Negotiation between the NGO and its preferred candidates

Host organizations drive their own selection process. During September they will contact their preferred candidates to negotiate the terms of the internship. During the negotiation phase, the applicant and host organization need to agree on the research topic, duration, and financial conditions of the internship.

Step 3: Joint application

Once the host organizations have finalized their negotiations, a joint application from the candidate and his or her host organization must be submitted to the Human Rights and Governance Grants Program by Thursday, October 1, 2009.

The application should contain the following:

a well-defined job and research description;
a convincing placement and mentoring plan;
a realistic budget.

Priority will be given to applications that have a clear link to advocacy initiatives. Successful candidates will need to demonstrate a strong commitment to human rights and the selected subject of research.

Step 4: Communication of awards

The final decision on applications will be made by the Open Society Institute and communicated to successful candidates and organizations by the end of November 2009. OSI will support up to 10 internships in 2010.

Step 5: Internships

Once an application is approved, OSI will provide funds to cover the entire period of the internship, including a stipend and the costs of visa and travel, but not including any administrative and supervision costs incurred by the NGO. Interns are expected to work full-time on the organization's premises and to reside in the host organization's country for the entire duration of the internship.

Internships begin from January 2010, and will last from 6 to 12 months.

The Open Society Institute will monitor the internships and request interim and final reports both from the intern and the hosting organization.