SPP Welcomes the Second Cohort of Participants in the Open Society Internship for Rights and Governance Program

The second Open Society Internship for Rights and Governance (OSIRG) kicked off in Budapest on June 13. Created by the Open Society Foundations (OSF) and the School of Public Policy (SPP) at CEU, this highly competitive program allows a limited number of students from a select number of top public policy schools around the world to immerse themselves in the theory and practice of human rights governance through a Clinical Seminar in Budapest at SPP. The Budapest seminar is followed by a six- to eight-week intensive internship at a policy- and rights-oriented nongovernmental organization selected for its outstanding work. This year's host organizations spread across all continents and include the World Resources Institute (Washington, DC), East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project (Uganda), Girls Not Brides (UK), Conectas (Brazil), Institute of Social Studies Trust (India) and others.

This year gathers 26 students from 7 leading world universities for a ten-day Clinical Seminar, which will introduce the interns to some of the far-reaching topics they will encounter during their internships. The seminar is led by Kathryn Sikkink and Douglas Johnson (Harvard University, USA), and Cesar Rodriguez Garavito (Los Andes University, Colombia). The faculty that will teach and mentor the participants includes SPP academics Daniel Large, Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick as well as SPP Visiting Professor Katrin Kinzelbach. In addition, CEU Rector John Shattuck, OSF President Chris Stone and SPP's Dean Wolfgang Reinicke, will also teach sessions in the seminar.

The internship program promises to build a dedicated alumni network that will support innovative policy-making in the rights and governance fields. Together, the distinctive seminar and internship will prepare participants to act confidently in complex situations where policy, advocacy, international actors and human rights intersect.

The participating students come from the School of Public Policy, Central European University in Hungary, the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in the United States, the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy in India, the Universidad de los Andes Alberto Llera Camargo School of Government in Colombia, the University of Pretoria Centre for Human Rights in South Africa, the University of Oxford Blavatnik School of Government in the United Kingdom, and Sciences Po Paris School of International Affairs in France.

For more information on the Open Society Internship for Rights and Governance please click here.