Building future peacebuilders: Ploughshares International Peace and Security Internship Program.

In August, Project Ploughshares began sponsoring ten Canadian interns to work with peace NGOs around the world. Grant Birks explains the origins of the program and reports on the interns' progress.

Early in 1997 the Canadian government developed the Youth International Internship Program as part of its Youth Employment Strategy. Funding was provided to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), and other departments, to support the placement of recent graduates from colleges and universities in international internship positions. The program's objective was to provide the interns with the opportunity to build the experience necessary for gaining employment in the international job market.

As the funding organization, DFAIT solicited proposals from Canadian organizations that could effectively place interns in positions dealing with the department's three major areas of concern: International Trade, Cultural Affairs, and Global Issues. Under the Global Issues category, Project Ploughshares submitted a proposal to place ten Canadian youths in positions concerned specifically with issues of international peace and security. The proposal was accepted in April and planning for the Ploughshares International Peace and Security Internship Program began in earnest.

Host organizations

In over two decades of work on demilitarization, Ploughshares has developed many links with peace and security NGOs worldwide. These connections proved invaluable in gaining internship positions in the major areas of the world affected by armed conflict. Ploughshares is grateful to the following organizations for their willingness to participate in the program and to provide interns with timely and substantive work programs:

* All Africa Conference of Churches (Nairobi)

* Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress (San Jose, Costa Rica)

* Bonn International Center for Conversion

* Demilitarization for Democracy (Washington)

* Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (New Delhi)

* Institute for Security Studies (Johannesburg) - two positions

* Mines Action Canada (Ottawa)

* Nonviolence International - Newly Independent States (Moscow)

Project Ploughshares also is hosting one intern, whose primary responsibilities include maintaining communications with the intern group, working on the annual Armed Conflicts Report, and conducting research in areas such as NATO enlargement and the proposed submarine purchase.

Recruitment and selection

By early June, the ten intern positions were in place and advertised to prospective applicants via several means, including the Department of Foreign Affairs' own communications channels and the Ploughshares website. Applications were accepted until the end of June, at which time almost 40 had been received from across Canada.

During July, telephone interviews were held with the leading candidates and their references. Host organizations were involved in the selection process as much as possible. At a minimum, they were faxed the application essays and resumes of recommended candidates and, where foreign language skills were required, the host organizations conducted telephone interviews directly with candidates. The need for coordination with the prospective hosts, as well as the challenge of contacting people during the summer months, meant that the time required for participant selection took longer than anticipated. By the end of July, however, the ten energetic and talented young people pictured above had been selected for the internship positions.

Preparing for departure

A week-long orientation session was developed by Project Ploughshares, covering contemporary security issues such as the changing face of armed conflict, light weapons proliferation, peacebuilding trends, and the role of NGOs in public advocacy. The format consisted of morning seminars with Ploughshares staff members and afternoon free time during which the interns had access to Ploughshares resources and staff as they prepared for their internship.

The feedback from the intern group was very positive - this program was seen as being very effective in achieving its internship preparation goals. It also provided time for the intern group to become acquainted and to begin the networking that is now serving them well in their placements with the host organizations.

At the end of August all interns departed for their six-month assignments with the exception of the Moscow-bound intern, whose departure was delayed because of the bureaucracy involved in securing her visa.

Although the group became physically dispersed, they have continued to maintain close contact with each other and with the Ploughshares office via a dedicated e-mail listserver set up at the University of Waterloo. Networking via electronic mail has become an essential part of how NGOs communicate worldwide. It permits the creation of "virtual communities" that can exert tremendous pressure for change, as we have seen happen with the successful campaign to ban landmines.

On the job

The Ploughshares interns are now approaching the halfway point in their internships and have already completed a substantial body of work. The following sampling of activities has been taken from their midterm reports:

* Promotional work in English, French and Spanish on the International Code of Conduct on Arms Transfers. This Code was developed by Oscar Arias and a group of seventeen fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureates to limit the negative effects of the current international arms market. (Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress)

* Review of the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) to see if any aspects of this arms control process are applicable to conflicts in the developing world. (Demilitarization for Democracy)

* Research concerning India's approach to regional security management in Southern Asia. In particular, the research considers the extent to which bilateral confidence and security building measures assist in building a cooperative framework for dealing with India's current disputes with Pakistan and China. (Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses)

* Work on projects dealing with human security in the Horn of Africa. This includes researching the flow of small arms in the Horn and documenting the work of the Sudan Working Group as it strives to encourage peacebuilding in the protracted Sudanese conflict. (All Africa Conference of Churches)

* Assisting in the organization and running of an international conference on "Converting Defence Resources to Human Development." Documenting information on the collection of surplus weapons after an armed conflict. (Bonn International Center for Conversion)

* Work on a South African small arms program to identify, understand and propose control measures for the massive proliferation of light weapons across borders and their impact on internal stability in southern Africa. (Institute for Security Studies)

* Research into the nature and scope of military assistance in Africa, as part of an African security analysis program. This includes documenting progress in the professionalization of the armed forces and the development of healthy civil-military relations in Sub-Saharan Africa. (Institute for Security Studies)

* Hands-on involvement with the organization of events surrounding the signing of the Landmines Ban Treaty in Ottawa. In particular, an extensive effort has been made to organize public events, as well as a forum where non-governmental organizations will meet to review the progress made in banning landmines and to determine future action. (Mines Action Canada)

* Research into the issues of NATO expansion (see article on page 7) and the proposed Canadian purchase of submarines. Also work on the armed conflicts database. (Project Ploughshares)

After the internship

The primary objective of the internship program is to help those participating secure employment. To assist in this effort, Project Ploughshares is currently working to make visible the valuable work experience being gained by these young people. This article is one of the ways in which we are disseminating information on the program. Any readers who know of international employment opportunities are invited to contact the author. The 1997-98 program ends in mid-February, when most interns will be returning to Canada. Ploughshares is planning a debriefing program at that time, which will include a feedback and discussion session with Canadian government officials and assistance in pursuing employment strategies.

Project Ploughshares is awaiting final approval for a similar internship program in 1998-99. Readers interested in participating should contact Grant Birks (519 888-6541 ext. 269) early in the new year.