Internships
The Global Studies internship program is an excellent opportunity for students to experience work in international environment. Students have pursued internships in places as far flung as Geneva, India, Belize, Uganda and Brazil.
Internships are open to students entering their 3rd or 4th year of the Global Studies Program. Candidates must have completed three of the required lower level GLST courses [Minors: GLST 200, POLI 200, POLI 201; Majors: ECON 211,212, POLI 200, POLI 201].
The deadline for GLST internship applications for the next academic year (2012/13) and the summer of 2013 is March 23rd, 2012. Interviews will take place the week of April 23rd.
Contact Raimo Martala at Raimo.Marttala@viu.ca for further information.
Internship Application Form
Ongoing and Previous Internships
Olivia Hill was in Ghana: click here for more
Laurent Tran was in Vietnam: click here for more
Emily Harrison was in Cuba
This past winter I lived in Camajuní, a small city in Villa Clara, Cuba. There I stayed with a local family, volunteered for the Cuban Ministry of Education in a high school while participating in and learning about Cuban culture and politics in the community.
Cuba provides an example of a nation that has undergone catastrophe linked to globalization and loss of access to cheap energy after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Without turning to neoliberal policies, Cuba has continued to develop its medical, education, and other social systems through resourcefulness and conservation. Cuba's local, socially and environmentally responsible food system can serve as an example to the rest of the world. Drawing from my experience living in this small agricultural city, I researched the context of the Cuban revolution in responding to crisis.
Lindsay Kruit and Mike Boomer were in Uganda working with Ainembabazi.
Take a look at Lindsay's blog at http://lindsayville.blogspot.com/
Samantha Letourneau and Paul Manly were in Belize!
For info and photos see: travelblog
Here is a report submitted during the internship:
Belize Internship
Report on first month of activity:
The journey in Belize has been filled with numerous experiences that convey the beauty and complexity of this country. We have been busy doing research at the National Archives, the University of Belize library and making contacts via telephone and email before traveling to conduct interviews and do field work. Paul has also been busy developing video’s with the University of Belize.
We have dived into exploring the landscape of Belize including the Mayan Ruins of Lamanai Archaeological Zone in Northern Belize, (one of the largest Mayan ceremonial centers in Belize). Our guide Gilberto informed us that a Canadian archaeologist headed a team from the Royal Ontario Museum to aid in uncovering and restoring five of the estimated seventy ruins at this site. Paul interviewed Gilberto about the challenges facing small community based tourism operations. He talked about the problems related to the influx of cruise ship passengers and the impact of increased boat traffic on the New River. A week after this interview there was a fatality on the river in an accident that involved a tour boat deemed by some to be too large and fast for traffic on the river.
We also went snorkeling with nursing sharks and rays in the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. This is a reserve focused on producing a sustainable link between tourism and conservation through protection of the coral reef while allowing visitors to experience and learn more about the vibrant marine life. Both the Lamanai Archaeological Zone and the Hol Chan Marine Reserve are examples of the system of preservation that exist in this country. Belize has protected over 40% of its land base and 13% of it’s marine environment. The organization PACT (Protected Areas Conservation Trust) has been instrumental in helping Belize preserve its parkland. It is devoted to the promotion, conservation and sustainable development of Belize protected areas through the provision of funds. The funds come from a 20% share of revenues derived from cruise ship passenger fees, concessions fees and recreation related license fees, a $3.75 US conservation fee paid by visitors to Belize upon their departure, grants from the international and local donor agencies, corporations and citizens. Paul met and interviewed the communication coordinator from PACT as part of the research on community based conservation in Belize. He has been invited to accompany a field team to the Jaguar reserve (the trip has been postponed due to extensive rainfall).
In addition to the biodiversity and archeological heritage of Belize there is also a diverse culture heritage in this country, which cannot be ignored while examining planning and needs assessment in Belize. This cultural mosaic is composed of Mestizo, Creole, Maya, Garifuna, Chinese and Mennonites. Since 1983 it has been clearly stated by the Ministry of Education that in defiance of the colonial legacy, “it is possible to create a viable political unity and sense of national identity while accepting the fact of continuing racial and cultural pluralism”. Cultural diversity and is encouraged and embraced.
We have been researching other stakeholders and making contacts for further interviews. As part of our needs assessment, Paul and I have traveled to Northern Belize visiting the Mayors and City Councilors of the towns of Orange Walk and Corozal. We were able to do twenty-minute interviews with both mayors and had discussions with councilors and citizens about their concerns. We also traveled to San Pedro on Caye Ambergris but were unable to get an interview with the mayor or councilors of that community due to their time schedules.
Orange Walk District:
- Orange Walk is the second largest district of Belize.
- The town of Orange walk has 15,000 inhabitants (22,000 including the surrounding villages)
- Most inhabitants work predominantly in agriculture and associated industries.
- Mennonite farming communities in Orange Walk are part of the diverse culture of Belize and are some of the most productive agricultural communities in the country.
- Mennonite farmers have created lovely pastures and specialize in cattle, dairy and egg industries
The town of Orange Walk has suffered over the years with leapfrog development that has produced urban sprawl. The community does illustrate the use of some grid street patterns, which offers simplicity but has also produced a poor traffic network. The grid pattern conflicts seriously with the topography. Some roads are steeper than necessary and this has caused drainage, soils erosion and building complications.
Corozal District:
This area has a large Spanish speaking population because of it proximity to Mexico and influx of refugees during the Mexican caste war.
- The town of Corozal was almost wiped out during Hurricane Janet in 1955.
- For decades the local economy was centered on the sugar industry, however has changed since the closure of the local sugar refinery.
- The economy is under restructuring and the new mayor and council want to focus on increased tourism.
Corozal is laid out on a grid system with avenues running north and south and streets running east and west. This pattern seems to work efficiently for this town.
This is an exciting time in these communities because the last municipal election saw an almost complete turnover in elected municipal governance throughout Belize. The new mayors and councils have only been in their positions for three months and are busy trying to fulfill their manifestos. In our meeting with Mayor Hilberto Campos of Corozal Town Council and Mayor Ravell Gonzalez of Orange Walk Town Council concerns were expressed about the current drainage and sewage systems. Visiting during the rainy season has been ideal for observing the importance of addressing the need of proper drainage. Roads can easily become flooded and transportation can become problematic, not to mention the issues of sanitation due to sewage and septic overflow and mosquito breeding in stagnant water.
Orange Walk Town Council has begun building better drainage through the assistance of community members. The council has reconstructed several drains, which have deteriorated. This is part of Orange Walk Town Council’s Manifesto to ensure better living conditions for the residents of the town and to further promote a clean and healthy municipality. The Town Council has also created a process for development permits, which requires developers to apply for building permits and go through stages of building inspections. This is standard practice in the developed world but is a brand new process in these parts of Belize. The lack of a process in the past has created planning nightmares, for example; in Belmopan, a church was built in the right-of-way of a planned extension of George Price Boulevard, a future major transportation route. These town councils are also opening up their process for planning to citizens with quarterly public meetings.
Corozal Town Council has been working diligently to organized community clean up days to beautify the town. This is part of Corozal Manifesto to make the town more attractive, clean and safer. They are exploring option to create a sandy beach as part of a plan to attract tourists. Corozal is also developing a building permit process.
Both towns are lovely to visit, accommodations are reasonably priced and neither area is over-run with tourist. They are more off the beaten track of the tourist routes.
From Corozal we took a water taxi to Ambergris Caye to the town of San Pedro. Unfortunately aftering trying for three days we were unable to meet with the Mayor or Town Council. However we did speak to community members about the progress of San Pedro.
The town is a large tourist destination filled with very expensive resorts and trendy tourist shops. It’s the Belize equivalent of Whistler or Banff, not an area for students on tight budgets to hangout. It is located on the largest island of Belize and is close to the Barrier Reef. This area is considered the most developed and successful tourism destination in Belize. The location is breath-taking but this original small fishing village has been plagued by the ongoing growth of the tourist industry; that to some seems to be lacking sustainability. Many Belizeans find it a challenge to live in San Pedro, food and accommodations are too costly. Even if they are making good wages it is often spent on living expenses. A recent editorial written in the Ambergris Today, (San Pedro local Newspaper), outlined the issues facing San Pedro: 1. land to live on: “if the future generation is excepted to live on the Ambergris Caye, land is needed for them to build homes”. 2. Need for a new community, either a village or town with its own health facility, schools, water and sewage systems. “San Pedro cannot absorb nor provide for a larger population”. 3. San Pedro roads and streets are in desperate needs of repair. “They need paving and drainage so that the water is either fed to the lagoon or into the sewer pipeline”.
Beyond the planning issues of infrastructure, the towns and cities of Belize are faced with numerous social issues. According to research published by Belize Red Cross, Belize has the highest rate of Aids in Central America. Women are infected with Aids at a higher rate then men. Women are also subjected to sexual and physical abuse, which is often difficult to address because it is taboo subject. A brief discussion with the head of the Belize Women Department, Ms. Anita Zetina, informed me of the many issues women and children in Belize are faced with. She explained that sexual abuse of minors, including incest, is a problem. She also told me that there is a widespread practice of parents selling their female children to older men, often friends of the family. For many Belizean women, domestic violence is an everyday reality. With that in mind, the Women’s Department has produced a fifty-five minute documentary to highlight this dark shadow on society. Ms. Zetina concluded that the budget within her department lacks adequate resources such as operating budgets, transportation and staff training.
The next two months we will carry on meeting with the numerous stakeholders such as Red Cross, UNDP, UNICEF, NEMO (National Emergency Management Office- hurricane plans), Mayor and Town Councils of Central and Southern Belize to continue with the needs assessment of planning in Belize. We will also be attending the conference of Mayors in San Ignacio on July 27th and will attempt to secure an interview with the Mayor of San Pedro.
Previous Internships
Putu was in Geneva... Here's a report and some photos!
Hello one and all!!
When was the last time I wrote? Sometimes it is difficult to know whether time is passing quickly or slowly. I have been here 6 and a half weeks…for some it’s a long time, for others its short, for me it depends on the day!
I am sitting in the office/library of my house, getting myself psyched to start writing my report, for which I have been doing research since my arrival here. I have to admit its hard to get motivated! There is so much happening in Geneva, at the UN and other organizations, that I would rather be doing!!! Later on this afternoon I will be meeting with the Secretary of the UN Working Group on the Working Methods and Activities of Transnational Corporations. This Working Group has created the “Draft Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regards to Human Rights” which is in the process of moving up the UN ratification ladder so that, eventually, we MAY have an internationally recognized set of guidelines for Corporate Conduct in terms of Human Rights. My research looks at the Draft Norms and questions its efficiency, its likelihood of getting ratified etc…
Last week I attended the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery. This was a hard, but wonderful experience. We each sat in our places - NGO representatives, Country Ambassadors, sex trafficking victims, forced marriage victims, forced labour victims, students, and the Working Group Experts- all discussing, via microphones, translators, and mediators, our views and experiences with Contemporary Forms of Slavery. I made two statements, both of which were very well received and resulted in my meeting with several government representatives, NGO representatives, and Working Group Experts after the session.
My first statement was regarding the ‘Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others’ which only 74 countries are party to. To put this in perspective, nearly ALL international conventions have been ratified by at least 115 countries (Such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, environmental declarations, economic agreements etc.). My statement drew attention to the list of countries that have and have not ratified the Convention on Trafficking. In short, the richest countries of the world have not ratified the convention while many of the poorest have. A large part of the demand for ‘imported’ prostitutes comes from rich countries. Women from poorer countries are promised a ‘better life’ but when they arrive in Can ada, the States, the UK etc, they are robbed of their passports, raped, and forced into prostitution. Yet, most of the talk at the Working Group was on the corruption and poverty of the ‘South’ which was causing prostitution and trafficking. Basically, I suggested that perhaps we should stop constantly blaming the south for providing the ‘supply’ but start targeting the ‘North’ who provide the demand. If there is no demand for sex slaves, then there will be no sex slaves. Targeting the ‘free’ would involve media campaigns to remind the ‘free’ not to be complicit in slavery in their own countries and when they travel (think of all the sick pigs who go to Thailand to sleep with 14 year old virgins), and tougher law enforcement for traffickers and ‘clients’ in rich countries (Recently, a man was found guilty of trafficking Asian prostitutes and domestic slaves into Vancouver, Vancouverites beware!).
My second comment was regarding the creation a training manual for victims, NGO representatives, and students who attend the Working Group. Having attended several UN Conferences and Working Groups since my arrival here, I have become aware of ‘the process’! However, there were victims and reps from all over the world, some never having left their countries before, and they were expected to turn on their mics, make statements, engage in dialogue with their government representatives (if they even showed up) and walk away from the Session having accomplished something. However, for most newcomers the whole ‘moderated debate’ concept, translators, and statement making etc, are very unusual and foreign processes! Unfortunately, the Working Group said that they themselves do not have enoug h time to create such a manual, but that if I want to draft one for them, they would really appreciate it. I’m working on that! Fist, I have to write my TNC report!!!!
Aside from my internship, which gets more and more interesting and diverse as time goes by, I have been taking full advantage of the proximity of Europe. I spent this last weekend in Tuscany, the most beautiful region of Italy! I was visiting my dear friend Ida, an incredible Italian woman who I met in Tanzania when I was teaching English more than 3 years ago. I walked around Florence for a day, made a wish on the “Little Pig” which, interestingly enough, there is a replica of at the Butchart Gardens in my home town. The rest of the time was spent with Ida traveling around the Tuscan countryside, going to small towns (One of which, Greve in Chianti, was a SlowCity: check out www.slowfood.com), swimming in the local-only lakes, walking through the streets of medieval towns that have been so far untouched by tourists, riding ancient rickety bikes, meeting Ida’s family, eating fresh bread dipped in home-made olive oil, and loving it!
Tuscany is beautiful. The entire region is made up of four colours: brown, green, brick red, and terracotta orange/yellow. All the colours blend together and, at sunrise and sunset, it looks as though the region is covered in a layer of gold dust. In the city, all the buildings are earthy browns, reds, and oranges, with deep green shutters. In the alleyways, old women lean out their green-shuttered windows and talk to each other from window to window. In the countryside, olive trees and grapevines grow out of dusty orange soil and surround small cities and communities made of clay and brick. One thing that does stand out when you walk down the narrow streets of Florence and the small towns, are th e PACE flags. Pace (pronounced pah-chay) means Peace in Italian, and this word adorns a rainbow striped flag that drapes at least one window of every building.
Aside from the deep history and beauty of Tuscany, my favorite part of the whole weekend was visiting Ida. At 55, she is a bundle of energy who has touched the lives of so many. We talked of the world, where it is headed, where it has come from. We talked of love, of travel, of spirituality. We danced in her living room and had great chats with her puppet, Kika the little sheep! Talking with her, spending time with her, and laughing with her was truly energizing.
Well, I suppose that is enough for now!
As for the near future, my plans are to start writing my report so that I can find out where there are gaps in my research. I might attend a Sit-In Fast which is taking place outside the UN; a group of people are protesting the reparation policies that are being imposed on Iraq for the damage Saddam Hussein caused in the 1990s to Kuwait. The argument is two fold: First, if the Iraqi people of today had no say in what Hussein did to others, why should they have to go into debt to pay already rich Oil Corporations for damages? Second, if Iraq has to pay out for damages caused by a corrupt dictator during his reign, why doesn’t the US have to pay Iraq for the damages it has caused over 15 years of economic and military warfare? Of course, it is always a much more complicated issue… isn’t everything?
Well, hope everyone is well….feel free to send emails… I always appreciate correspondence with my friends and family!
Love, and three swiss kisses,
Putu Kirsten
-“The only way to abolish slavery is to abolish the idea that slavery is necessary or inevitable.”
-“We have to change our minds and our values, not just our policies.”
Slavery Working Group
Florence
???
Peace
Nadine was at the Delta Project in India!
My Experiences in India – A Short Report
For: Dr. Henry Thiagaraj
By: Nadine Wiepning
The past three months in India have been a constant learning experience, one that will continue for some time after I return home. I will look back at this time very fondly, and remember all the warm and welcoming people I was fortunate to meet. This has surely changed my outlook on life, and expanded my cross-cultural understanding and communication, as challenging as it was at times.
My cultural experiences at Delta revolved around the Nursing students, the principal and vice-principal, and the rest of the staff in the kitchen and on the grounds. I began the day with early morning Yoga and an occasional walk to the beach to observe the fishermen’s activities and ended the day with an after dinner walk around the campus perimeter, guided and protected by Suresh the watchman and his trusty kucchi (bamboo stick) and torch (flashlight). He taught me some Tamil vocabulary as well as some key Tamil phrases that revolved mostly around sleeping and eating.
Meals were a mix of Indian and continental food, to cater to still sensitive Canadian taste buds and stomachs! Nadin the cook made sure that each dish was sampled, and was mildly offended if there was food remaining in the warming pots. At times there was simply too much food, making it unavoidable to leave dishes only lightly sampled, which was difficult to do in a country with millions of starving people. This introduction to Indian food proved to be very useful however, especially on the 8-day bus tour of Tamilnadu, which began about a week after my unforgettable Birthday celebration.
The bus tour was like a crash-course in getting culturally and climatically adjusted to Southern India! The shocks and surprises of India were many, and varied in degrees from mildly entertaining to downright shocking. It was a surprise to be given a banana leaf with some strange tasting sauces and a big pile of rice to be eaten with my fingers. This is lunch? Okay. All the passengers piled back onto the rumbling bus to take in the scenery of another day spent driving through bustling towns, peaceful countryside marked by rice paddies, sugar cane, and banana plantations, and stretches of road jammed with honking cars, lorries, rickshaws, bicycles, cows, and people, all vying for a space on the two-lane stretch of asphalt. It was in observing the driving habits of Indians that I became convinced that physics operates differently in this populous country! I imagined our Tamil Nadu Tourism Corporation bus squeezing itself taller and narrower in order to zoom through the traffic.
Aside from the ever-changing scenery that never ceased to provide my imagination with a colourful narrative, the smells emanating from these scenes were another story! Ranging from the fresh perfume of jasmine flowers, to the fragrant haze of worship, to the sweetly putrid smell of rotting fruit, to earthy manure, to the strong ammonia of human urine, to the chemical burning of industrial production, to the sulphurous stench of sewage, my nose picked up the full range and created a whole new bank of memories for my experiences in India!
In addition to the olfactory stimulation, I found it shocking to see the amount of garbage strewn about everywhere, the lack of “dust bins,” and people’s tendency to litter, which is in fact an almost unknown concept because there is always someone to sweep up the streets and gutters. It is virtually impossible to go 10 feet without seeing one or more of those ubiquitous small coloured plastic bags used by shopkeepers and sellers for flowers and fruit.
These experiences will stay with me for life, including the daily interactions with ordinary people. One of the most difficult to accept is being told what to do instead of being asked, or not getting what one asks for. I recall wanting to buy a bunch of small, yellow bananas from a roadside stand. I pointed to the ones I wanted, but the man insisted on wanting to sell me ripened ones, saying, “No No, take these.” I again pointed to the fresh looking bunch, and the man got angry. Feeling foolish, I bought the brown bananas, and was angry afterwards because some of them were open already revealing squishy interiors, which was simply not ideal for a bus trip!
Even though I was momentarily upset by my encounter with the banana seller, I laughed about it because it reminded me that I am not at home, but in a country that is as different from Canada in many respects as an environmentalist is from President Bush! I coped with the surprises and shocks quite well because I am pretty tolerant and patient, and found it easiest to simply accept the reality of India. It helps to have a very open mind and to remember that one is visiting only for a relatively short time before returning home.
I think that tourism as a means to promote economic development and poverty reduction has potential but also some significant drawbacks. The main question is whether it is sustainable or simply a trend to be abandoned in favour of the next global ‘hot spot.’ On the positive side, I think tourism serves as a perfect vehicle for cultural exchange and understanding. It can also encourage the production of traditional handicrafts and bolster a local economy. On the other hand, local economies may become economically dependent on tourism, and at the whim of international tourists looking for the next trendy place to vacation. With cultural globalization, local traditions, artwork, food or clothing may disappear or at the very least, will be weakened by the presence of Coca-cola and Levi’s, for example. As well, tourism is subject to shocks such as terrorism, economic and/or political instability, and environmental disasters. There are also serious environmental impacts, such as the heavy consumption of resources and associated by-products of international air travel, as well as the building of resorts on previously unspoiled land, and encroachment into environmentally sensitive areas. Garbage is a related issue, especially plastics, such as packaged drinking water.
* * * * *
Being white in India can be disconcerting at times, as people will outright stare, their gaze following me as I walk down the street. Some will even take photos. This was simply another culture shock, as were other forms of discrimination I experienced. While in Mamallapuram, one shop owner told us that white people are seen as “money trees.” Thus we are charged at least double for most items, excluding food and water. One particular experience in a Cashmere store stands out in my mind – Breann, Megan and I were looking at some scarves, listening to the proprietor’s particularly forceful salesmanship. I said that I really didn’t want to buy a scarf, and the other girls were also very reluctant, but looking out of politeness. His response of, “Why not? This is nothing to you! Just buy it,” outraged me, and I told him in the politest way I could muster that just because we are white does not mean we need and want and can buy everything we see, and that it is not “nothing” to us.
My perceptions regarding discrimination have changed very little because I experienced it personally as a child. It was still quite surprising how white people are regarded in India, as well as how they act towards Indians. In general I think Indians associate white people with power and treat them accordingly. Some are quite humble and eager to please, while others are resentful and demanding. Some white people pick up on this association with power and assume a superior role, acting outright rude and intolerant, a very unfortunate pattern of communication that does nothing to improve cross-cultural understanding.
In observing Indian people from an outside perspective, there are several characteristic differences between Indians and Canadians. Although it is somewhat difficult to generalize because people within societies differ greatly, I can speak about my personal observations. Indians tend to have a more roundabout way of asking for something, as well as repeating offers of food, or requests for favours until the desired results are achieved. On the other hand, they can also be quite blunt, especially when it comes to commenting on a person’s appearance, in particular my hairstyle! In general, I found Indians to be agreeable, curious and questioning, sensitive, generous, accommodating, and superstitious.
To conclude, I think what is needed to promote a global ethics for intercultural cooperation among groups and people working for the common good of humanity, are some general characteristics such as, cross-cultural understanding, an open mind, determination to adjust to a different society, and a high degree of patience and tolerance. Teams from different cultures and backgrounds must first establish effective communication on a level that is appropriate and accessible for all. It must be recognized that people have different concepts of time, appropriate dress and manners, and interpersonal relations (hugging, handshake etc.). Only then can projects be successful in their goals of benefiting society, the environment, and improving the lives of the ‘losers’ of globalization.