The IHEYO offers a month-long international internship exchange programme whereby active young humanists will have the opportunity to gain insight into a humanist movement in another country and enhance his or her skills. Travel costs and housing expenses as well as a modest stipend will be paid by IHEYO.
Through this programme two to three young people (18-30) will spend four weeks working with a humanist organisation in a country other than their home country. After the internship the intern will be guided to implement a plan for a humanist activity he or she has developed during his or her internship.
For 2004 two internship places are available. The two are very probably at the Norwegian Humanist Association this summer and during and before the IHEYO-conference in Kampala, Uganda. We want to explicitly aim for intercontinental exchange between "the West" and developing countries. So that the humanist intern or organization in the West can learn and gain better understanding of the situation in poorer countries and the other way around.
Deadline to apply for this year's programme is 6th of April. It may be that we will have a second round later this year, but this is not yet decided.
Among the host organisations for 2004 will very probably be:
The Norwegian Humanist Association
The Norwegian Humanist Association is the national humanist organisation of
Norway. It has been one of the most successful humanist organisations in the
world with more than 60.000 members. One of their major activities focuses
on youth trough secular youth celebrations (coming of age-ceremonies). The
headquarters of the Norwegian Humanist Association is situated in the norwegian
capital of Oslo.
UHASSO/IHEYO
Before and during the IHEYO-UHASSO conference in Uganda we are aiming to invite
an intern to stay in Kampala and help IHEYO and the Uganda Humanist Association
(UHASSO) with the preparations for this big international event, as well as
help during the conference and afterwards. It will be a very learnative event
and give the intern a good insight into active humanism.
More information and confirmation on host organisations will be posted soon, as it becomes available.
Ideally one of the month-long exchange internship will take place in the summer of 2003, June, July, August or September. The intern and his or her host organisation will work together to find mutually agreeable dates. Please indicate in your Application Form when you are available and would prefer to go.
The other one, concerning the internship during and before the IHEYO-UHASSO conference is less flexible. This will take place from the beginning of May to the beginning of June. Other months are not possible.
IHEYO will cover your travel costs to the host organisation and back. During your exchange, housing expenses as well as a modest stipend will be paid by IHEYO. This stipend is tailored to the prices in the area where you are staying and will be enough to meet your basic needs while there. The host organisation can provide some assistance in finding accommodation during your stay, and IHEYO will work with the successful applicant and the host organisation to ensure that all logistics are arranged satisfactorily.
During the internship During the four-week internship exchange, the intern will:
1) Spend a part of his or her time on youth humanist work (internationally or
nationally)
2) She or he will get the opportunity to get to know humanism in
the host country and will participate in the day to day operations of the host
organisation
3) The intern will prepare a plan for a youth activity that
the intern will take up after the internship, back in their home country.
(This
last element is important. It is the aim of IHEYO to offer the persons an experience
that is beneficial to the people in the humanist organisation at home and that
has results after the internship period. It is meant as a learnative and stimulating
experience especially for when returning to the home situation.)
4) Of course
there will be some free time for sight seeing and getting to know the area :-)
After the internship the intern will be guided by IHEYO to accomplish the plan for activity that the intern has developed during his or her internship. IHEYO will guide the intern by e-mail and phone in realising his or her plan, and will help where possible.
This plan could be an activity like a mini-conference, forming a youth group or presenting your experience to your humanist group and youth in your area, in the form of a speech or article. Your activity after the internship can be linked to a local or national humanist group. It can be also linked to international youth humanism in cooperation with IHEYO. The possibilities are plenty!
This component of the internship is intended to address our wish to make the internship not only a one time great event for one person, but to increase its impact on youth humanist activity more broadly.
The overall aim of the internship
programme is to stimulate youth humanist activity around the world. Therefore
the objectives of the internship are twofold.
1) IHEYO aims to give the young
person an opportunity to self-development by giving the person a chance to gain
more experience, to enhance his or her skills and to offer an opportunity to
learn more about humanism.
2) IHEYO aims that the experience will be beneficiary
to other humanists, like humanists in the home country of the intern, and/or
humanists at an international level.
3) New for 2004 is that we want to explicitly
aim for intercontinental exchange between the West and poorer countries. In
this way the humanist intern and the organizations can learn and gain better
understanding of each other's situation.
-IHEYO has established many contacts with organizations in poorer countries, especially Africa. It is one of our aims for 2004 to stimulate greatly youth humanism in Africa. Therefore we are organizing the first International Humanist Youth Conference in Africa ever. And IHEYO finds it important to exchange interaction among humanists in African countries and Western countries.
When you have
any questions, you can contact the Programme Coordinator, Lars-Petter Helgestad:
preferably by e-mail: lars-petter.helgestad@iheyo.org,
but also by phone number
(+47) 988 59 718.
The interns for the 2004 Internship Programme will be selected out of all applicants. Applications for this year should be in our hands before 6th of April. Send to IHEYO Internship Coordinator Lars-Petter Helgestad (pref. by e-mail):
E-mail: lars-petter.helgestad@iheyo.org,
or when by post: IHEYO, att: Lars-Petter Helgestad, Kapellveien 169 B, 0493 Oslo,
NORWAY
Download the application Form (RTF) here .
When you have problems with downloading the form, please e-mail Lars-Petter Helgestad by e-mail (see abowe).
Within two weeks, the Executive Committee of IHEYO will have selected those who will be our interns this year. (It may be that we will have a second round later this year, but this is not for certain).
What are the criteria for applying?
Necessary criteria: