International Blog

It has been more than 10 weeks now since I started my internship with Forum of Federations. It has been a very interesting experience that I will always cherish. Doing an international internship was something that I looked forward to for the last two years of my university education. I had the pleasure to work with an international team and it gave me great insight on what a career in the development field could look like. Obviously, the remote work made everything more challenging, but I still enjoyed and appreciated the experience that this opportunity provided, which I’m also sure will look great to future employers.

My work mostly entailed helping by doing research on federalism in Myanmar. I also helped around by reviewing documents and offering my assistance whenever it was needed. The fact that the Forum of Federations does not operate like other NGOs, by not being an organization that generates development aid like we would think, greatly shaped my experience as well. Since the organization mainly focuses on sharing knowledge with partners and other NGOs, I was somewhat forced to lean harder into the research aspect of my work. This made me not only learn a lot about a country I previously had a limited knowledge about, but I also dipped my toes into a subject I was not initially as interested in. Working at Forum of Federations made me want to look more into federalism and decentralisation and how it affects policies around me.

As much as I appreciated this experience and enjoyed it, it was still bittersweet for me. I did find myself longing for more personal contacts with my teammates and not just over a screen. As we know the pandemic, coupled with the fact that Myanmar is currently under a military coup made this impossible to accomplish. I still wish I had in-person contact with my colleagues because I think that it would have my experience even more impactful. I understated the importance of face-to-face contact when collaborating and this was felt throughout my internship. The silver lining however of having this internship online was that it was more affordable for me since a lot of the costs were not included.

In conclusion, I’m very happy of my time at Forum of Federations and I’m happy of my work there. I’ll certainly keep contact with my colleagues in my future endeavors. This was a greatly formative experience and I'm thankful to the Faculty of Social Sciences, the University of Ottawa but also to the Forum of Federations for making this possible.

I decided to take on the opportunity of the international internship for the summer. It came at a perfect time for me since this would be my last semester as a university student. Even though the international internships were supposed to happen in person, the remote option was also very helpful because it helped me ease into my new position of intern and the new environment. The organization that I chose to work with is Forum of Federations. It is a Canadian Non-Profit Organization (NGO) whose main goal is the advancement of federalism and decentralized governance in the world. The organization works by sharing their expertise and knowledge on the topic to important stakeholders like other civil society organizations and political leaders. I, however, am working more specifically with the team from Myanmar, also known as Burma, on the project of federalism and gender. The situation in Myanmar is very critical right now, which forced the team to relocate in Bangkok. The relocation, combined with remote work, is an entirely new way of working because of the need to create new connections and familiarize myself with a new team and colleagues while not being able to connect in person.

So far, the work that I do is centered on reading documents and making myself acquainted and knowledgeable enough on Myanmar’s recent coup. I’m also working on summarizing and translating different trainings on federalism and gender equality in Myanmar. This work is very interesting for me because I’m using a lot of the skill and knowledge that I learned so far in my four years of university as a student in International Development. And at the same time, I’m gaining real life experience by being acquainted to working in an NGO environment where I won’t always be working with a team I’m familiar with. I was very excited going into this internship and so far, my expectations have been met and I’m still excited to see where this experience will take me in the future.

Tamoghna, Honours Bachelor of Social Sciences in Anthropology and Sociology, Forum of Federations, Myanmar and Nepal Project Support

The opportunity to take part in this internship came at a very unexpected time. I would keep hearing from my friends how it is important to do an internship before graduation but could never find something on my own. As an international student, it was sort of difficult. Coming across this internship was a great surprise and I knew that I didn’t just need it, I wanted to be a part of the program. Despite of the pandemic, the internship has given me the chance to gain professional skills, work in a team setting, and has so far proved to be a great learning process. I am currently working on the Myanmar and the Nepal projects and occasionally help the Ottawa office in carrying out tasks. At these offices we work together as a team towards a fiscal federal government, inclusive of both men and women. In the course of my study, I have found my research work to be focused on output-oriented styles and Forum of Federations gives me the opportunity to make a contribution on a bigger scale when it comes to working on issues that truly matters.

My expectations from the internship were to be able to gain a professional experience, to be able to translate the knowledge that I have acquired in my program in the past 4 years in a work setting and the structure and colleagues at the Forum allows me to successfully do so. In these past few weeks, I have learned not only in terms of work, but also in terms of my individual self. I have learned that I enjoy working and am definitely looking forward to working full time after the completion of my degree. I knew that I could use my degree to great lengths, but I didn’t realize the volume of the impact that my work with the right organization could make. Working at the Forum in this program is definitely proving to be the perfect end of the four years of university.

Julia, International Studies and Modern Languages, Forum of Federations, Myanmar

As my internship is coming to an end, I’ve had some time to reflect on the past ten weeks I’ve spent as an intern with the Forum of Federations. Although I encountered a few obstacles, it was an overall great experience and I would certainly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a new challenge.

At the beginning of my internship, I was working primarily with the Forum team in Myanmar. I contributed to numerous projects aiming to implement federalism and decentralized governance in the country. However, one month in, I lost contact with my coworkers in Myanmar due to their political situation. This brought on a very sudden and drastic change to my workload, and I started working on projects with the Forum team in Ottawa. I completed a lot of research for a project they are working on in Cuba linked to decentralization. Although this was not what I was initially supposed to work on or what I prepared for, I got the opportunity to work with two countries and two teams, instead of just one. This was also one of the advantages of a virtual internship, as I would not have been able to easily transfer from one team to another if this was in-person.

The importance of being flexible and the ability to adapt to new and evolving situations is definitely an important lesson I learned during my internship. This was a very different experience from my time at university, and gave me a better understanding of life in the workforce. I have also had the chance to talk with some of the employees in the Forum, which gave me insight into their day-to-day work and their experiences working with an NGO. It has been an amazing experience and I am looking forward to my final weeks as an intern.

Julia, International Studies and Modern Languages, Forum of Federations, Myanmar

My time working with the Forum of Federations has been an enriching and educational experience, despite the challenges imposed by the global pandemic. I have completed the entirety of my work online, communicating with my colleagues through email and zoom meetings. Nonetheless, I have acquired many skills and have had the opportunity to put into practice much of what I have learned during my time at uOttawa, and I still have many more weeks to continue progressing in my internship.

I am currently starting my 6th week with Forum of Federations, an organization that supports countries around the world in their transition to democracy and devolved governance. They collaborate with government officials, experts in various fields and members of the civil society at a local and international level in order to advance their goals in various countries around the world. I am working with their team in Myanmar, where they are working on establishing a democratic and federal country. So far, my time has been spent primarily on editing, formatting and writing reports and documents. I have attended a couple web forums and seminars on a variety of topics, although they have all been loosely linked to political and social change. Most of my work is associated with gender equality and the promotion of federalism in Myanmar; these tasks have allowed me to enrich my knowledge on federalism and the complications that ensue. I’ve also been able to have a better understanding of how these non-governmental organizations function.

This opportunity has allowed me to use the skills I have acquired at university in the political science field, such as completing research from various databases and writing research proposals. I am very excited to continue to apply these skills and learn more about the Forum and their work.

Asma, Honours Bachelor of Social Sciences with a Major in Criminology and a Minor in Law, Communications Support at the Forum of Federations

During the past three months, I had the tremendous opportunity to take part in an internship at a distance at the Forum of Federations (“The Forum”). I am very grateful for this experience and highly recommend it to any student who is interested in the fields of governance and development.

The Forum is an international organization that supports governments and communities by designing and implementing programs. The organization also achieves its mission through the development and sharing of comparative expertise in relation to federalism and devolved governance. The Forum’s effectiveness lies in its collaborative approach with government departments and local organizations around the world. Its success is also attributed to the diversity of knowledge and experiences brought by the staff; this diversity creates a fascinating and inviting work environment. 

My work at the Forum involved producing content for social media and editing podcasts and book reports. The tasks helped me improve various skills ranging from communication and time management to graphic design. Each task presented a new learning opportunity on federalism and the advantages and challenges associated with this form of government. I also had the chance to interact with some of the Forum staff and experts and learn from their knowledge and experience.

Finally, I would like to thank our internships’ supervisors at the Faculty of Social Sciences for facilitating our transition into remote work and for their support throughout the term. Both the pre-internship training and the reflections we were invited to provide helped me adapt to online work and make the most out of this experience.

Asma, Honours Bachelor of Social Sciences with a Major in Criminology and a Minor in Law, Communications Support at the Forum of Federations

In March 2020, the World Health Organization announced that the corona virus outbreak had reached the level of a global health crisis. Many business activities transitioned online, except for essential businesses. And while all university courses were shifted to be at a distance, I was unsure to what extent the pandemic would affect my undergraduate studies - particularly when it came to experiential learning. Experiential learning is a significant aspect of my academic experience. It bridges the gap with classroom learning and constitutes a great opportunity to gain firsthand experience, while improving relevant professional and communication skills.

Nonetheless, it is important to acknowledge the efforts of the Faculty’s professors and staff who have coordinated with non-governmental organizations to make an international internship at a distance possible for students such as myself. And for that, I am truly grateful.

So, I began my internship in the fall providing communications support at the Forum of Federations. Although I have not been able to meet many of the Forum’s members and interact directly with stakeholders, it is amazing how much time and money is saved when working from home. My role at the Forum ranges from editing podcasts and book chapters to producing content to stimulate social media engagement. From an institutional perspective, the Forum’s core principle is “learning from each other.” And this is indeed the kind of opportunity the Forum’s members have given me - to learn from their knowledge and experience.

The pandemic has put to the test the effectiveness of federal countries’ institutional design while also highlighting the advantages of this form of government. Now more than ever, the impact of digital communication and indeed online volunteering are reshaping our understandings and conceptions of how to effectively work together as a global community.

The Forum is playing an important role in sharing the comparative experiences of federal countries in terms of how they manage and cope with the virus. The Forum’s impact goes beyond national borders and supports the growth of resilient local communities where everyone is valued and included in decision-making processes.

As I continue to adjust to my internship, I am eager to connect with more people from different countries and further integrate into the online community the Forum has fostered while also playing my part in flattening the curve.