Apply by Jan 22 | Graduate Student Internships to Improve Labor Standards in Cambodia

Graduate Student Internships to Improve Labor Standards in Cambodia
Call for Applications (deadline January 22, 2014)

The University of Michigan President’s Advisory Committee on Labor Standards and Human Rights (CoLSHR) in partnership with the law school’s Program for Law and Development in Cambodia announces up to two summer 2014 internship travel awards depending on quality and feasibility of proposed projects with a clear labor standards focus. These internships will provide financial and
logistical support of up to $5000. Internships should be at least 10 weeks with starting and ending dates yet to be determined.

Internships in Cambodia offer the opportunity to see and participate in the rebuilding of a society from the ground up. Anyone who has questions not answered in this message can pose questions by email with CoLSHR staff at 2014colshr@umich.edu. Applications will be reviewed by a subcommittee of the CoLSHR.

Awards are open to enrolled graduate students in business, economics, law, natural resources/ environment, political science, public health, public policy, and social work. Preference will be given to students with living and/or working experience in a developing country. Proficiency in Khmer or Cambodian is a plus but not necessary. Students graduating in April 2014 are not eligible.

The award will cover the costs of airfare, housing, visa fees, immunizations, international health insurance and a living stipend that is intended to cover meals, ground transportation, and incidentals.

These positions do not pay a salary.

Applicants may receive co-support if needed from other funding sources. Grantees are required to register their travels in the U-M Travel Registry and sign up for the HTH Health insurance. The CoLSHR committee may request a brief oral or written report at the completion of the experience.

The final demise of the Khmer Rouge movement combined with the completion of several national elections (relatively peaceful, even if subject to other criticisms) means that the country is enjoying real peace for the first time since the 1960's. Cambodia's recent history meant that the country was left with a largely dysfunctional economy and legal and social infrastructure. The country is rapidly changing, not always for the better. A number of organizations which are at work on various aspects of this process are in a position to accept students to work with them as interns. These include human services and legal services organizations, the UNDP, ILO, UNICEF, World Bank, Cambodian government agencies and private human rights organizations with a wide variety of concerns: womens justice issues, juvenile law, labor disputes, land rights, health care, economic development, land management, etc.

Application process: There is no application "form" as such. Applicants should send the following by email to 2014colshr@umich.edu:

1) an up-to-date CV

2) a brief (less than 2 page) statement in pdf format explaining your interest.

3) one faculty letter of recommendation (have them email the letter to 2014colshr@umich.edu)

4) current transcripts (Wolverine Access copies are acceptable)

Enter “CoLSHR Cambodia Internship” as the subject line and do not include any additional text in the e-mail. Interviews will be scheduled between February 3-14 with offers immediately thereafter.

Applications with a clear labor standards focus will be of more interest to the review committee. Depending on the number of applicants, students may be requested to submit additional documents during the review period.

A lot of information on Cambodia is available on the web. Looking at some of that material will help applicants focus their interests and compose more persuasive grant application statements. The sites and books listed below would be a good start – but only a start. Also below is a list of a number of the host organizations with whom students have worked in the past.

Some past intern placements:

• ADHOC
• Cambodia MSME Project
• Cambodian Defenders Project
• Cambodian Women's Crisis center
• Center for Social Development
• Community Legal Education Center
• DC-Cam
• East-West Management Institute
• Family Health International
• Grassroots Women for Change
• GTZ
• ILO
• Khmer Institute of Democracy
• Labor Arbitration Council
• Legal Aid of Cambodia
• Ministry of Commerce
• Ministry of Land Management
• Project Enlighten
• Royal University of Law and Economics
• The World Bank
• UNCOCHR
• UNDP
• UNESCO

Useful websites

• http://www.canbypublications.com/phnompenh/ppintro.htm
• http://www.moc.gov.kh/
• http://www.csdcambodia.org/
• http://www.phnompenh.gov.kh/default3.htm
• http://www.cambodia.org/
• http://www.mpdf.org/d-psd-activities/d1-psd.jsp
• http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/cb.html#Issues
• http://www.ngoforum.org.kh/
• http://www.lac.org.kh/
• http://www.cchr-cambodia.org/EN/
• http://www.phnompenhpost.com/
• http://www.mekong.net/cambodia/index.htm
• http://www.cambodia.gov.kh/unisql1/egov/english/home.view.html
• http://www.cambodia.org/index.html
• http://www.gocambodia.com/

Reading

• Osborne, Milton Sihanouk, Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness
• Shawcross, William Sideshow
• Shawcross, William The Quality of Mercy
• Chanda, Nayan Brother Enemy
• Chandler, David A History of Cambodia
• Kiernan, Ben The Pol Pot Regime
• Martin, Marie A. Cambodia
• SarDesai, D.R. Southeast Asia
• Osborne, Milton Southeast Asia
• Fawthrop & Jarvis Getting Away With Genocide?