| Position Description: |
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) is a non-governmental organization with members in 11 of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries. Officially launched in September 1992, MISA focuses on the need to promote free, independent and pluralistic media, as envisaged in the 1991 Windhoek Declaration.
The selected intern will work with MISA's office in Lilongwe, Malawi. The intern will be charged with a variety of activities designed to build MISA's capacity to improve local media coverage of human rights and governance issues. More specifically, he/she will write a manual on human rights and governance reporting, conducting workshops for local journalists with MISA's staff and run other similar programs. The internship has been designed to deliver sustainable development outcomes corresponding to CIDA's priorities, while improving the intern's employable skills.
The mission of MISA is to play a leading role in creating an environment of media freedom and free expression that promotes independence, pluralism and diversity of views and opinions, media sustainability, competency and professionalism in the southern African region. JHR has previously worked with MISA and maintains an ongoing, positive working relationship with many of its staff and directors. MISA specifically requested assistance from JHR in the form of this internship.
In Canada
The in-Canada portion of this internship will begin one month prior to the intern's overseas departure. It will be composed of the following elements:
One Month Prior to Overseas Departure-Initial Preparation:
The intern will receive a comprehensive package of materials via email, providing ample time for the intern to read and prepare himself/herself for the pre-departure orientation and eventual overseas departure. Materials will include: a placement manual detailing the host organization, host country, internship description and other relevant information; the country's constitution; JHR's Safety and Security document; pass along notes from previous JHR interns; and other related materials.
The intern will be asked to write a short outline of the human rights situation in their host country. They will present their report to the group of other interns and JHR staff members at pre-departure training. This will allow the intern to gain a solid understanding of their host country before their departure.
The intern will be introduced via email to other JHR interns (past and present), JHR staff members and the appropriate people at their host organization. She/he will be encouraged to discuss any questions or concerns with members of this network. The intern will be expected to provide peer-to-peer support to other IYIP interns.
One Week Prior to Overseas Departure-Pre-departure Training:
The intern will participate with other selected interns in five days of intensive pre-departure training, designed to provide him/her with the tools needed for a successful internship. This includes:
DAY 1: JHR Welcoming Session.
- Morning-Welcoming ice-breaker exercise and discussion about IYIP program. Forms and legal documents distributed along with supplementary books and information about the host countries, JHR, human rights, etc. Each intern will present their report to the group, with a question and answer period afterwards.
- Afternoon-Talks from JHR's past overseas interns. JHR's executive to talk about JHR's programs in Africa. This is followed by a discussion on what to expect in the workplace (challenges and highlights), how to overcome challenges and how to make the most out of your placement.
DAY 2: Human Rights and the Media.
- Morning-Workshop led by an African human rights experts. This is followed by a debate on human rights with participants taking different sides.
- Afternoon- Workshop led by an African media experts. Participants will be given JHR's emergency protocol mechanism and a discussion on JHR's emergency protocol will follow.
- Dinner-JHR will host an informative dinner for participants where at least four potential employers will be brought in for a roundtable discussion about how the participants should be preparing and where to look for their next potential job.
DAY 3 - DAY 5: Centre for Intercultural Learning (CIL) training, focusing on cross-cultural issues, culture shock, safety and other elements related to living and working overseas.
Overseas
The selected Media Training Officer intern will work with the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) in Lilongwe, Malawi. MISA focuses on the need to promote free, independent and pluralistic media across Southern Africa. The intern will work with MISA's staff to improve human rights and governance reporting in Malawi in the following ways:
1) Manual on Human Rights and Democracy Reporting: The intern, in partnership with local journalists and MISA staff, will research and write a manual on human rights and democracy reporting in Malawi, including best practices and lessons learned. The manual will be provided to all local journalists and media houses.
2) Workshops: The intern will facilitate workshops for local journalists on locally relevant human rights and democracy-related issues and the most effective ways in which to cover them in the media.
3) Media Monitoring: As requested by MISA, the intern will regularly monitor various local media outlets to determine which human rights issues are being covered and the ways in which they are being covered. The intern will regularly report to MISA, helping them to shape future outreach and programming.
4) Media Monitoring Tool Development: As requested by MISA, the intern, while monitoring the media, will develop a media monitoring tool for MISA staff. This tool will allow staff members to continue human rights media monitoring once the interns placement finishes.
5) Canadian Engagement: The intern will regularly post to JHR's Abroad website, helping to engage Canadian's back home in their work, the work of their host organization. |
