Every year, the World YWCA offers two or more one-year internships and two short-term internships for young women from the movement who are passionate about women’s rights and global change.
The application period for the World YWCA Internship Programme 2017 is now open. The application deadline for the one-year internship programme is September 30, 2016 and the deadline for the short term internship programme applications is 30 November 2016.
The one-year internship programme provides a unique opportunity for two young women from our movement to work as part of the World YWCA staff and volunteer team in Geneva. The internship will provide opportunities to develop skills in advocacy, through communications, programmes and movement building on the priority themes of violence against women, sexual and reproductive health and rights and HIV, and young women’s leadership.
The two selected one year internship candidates will benefit from:
- Training opportunities in leadership, communication platforms, programme development and advocacy work;
- Exposure to the work of international NGOs and UN agencies including representing the World YWCA at UN and international NGO meetings;
- Communications projects such as Monthly E-bulletin, World YWCA website, She Speaks blog, social media and on line campaigns;
- Developing skills in good governance, project development, team building, administration, finance and event planning;
- Opportunities to learn about the work of other national associations through international training and advocacy events.
The World YWCA also has a number of opportunities for young women to participate in a 2-3 week advocacy internship to gain knowledge and experience in global mechanisms for the advancement of women’s rights. Based on the experiences of successful candidates, young women will be selected to participate in one of the following the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), CEDAW Committee Sessions, the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, or other relevant international fora. A minimum of two advocacy and communications internships are available with additional possibilities subject to funding.
These experiences are truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for young women to grow and to develop their leadership. Not only will they benefit personally, but the internship programme is intended to increase the number of globally experienced and trained young leaders who will return to their associations to share what they have learnt and to pass on their skills. We encourage young women in the movement from eligible countries to apply by sending their applications to worldoffice@worldywca.org.
