Written by Grace Gott

Last year while at the US Embassy, I found myself frustrated at the political nature of their work which often translated into a barrier and reluctance to respond to human rights and developmental concerns. Apart from differing goals, I loved the life of a diplomat and the ability to explore the world while helping people (just in a different fashion than I preferred). Therefore my goal for this summer was to get a grasp of the work that is done by International non-governmental organizations (INGOs).

I started the summer of 2023 working with a think tank that mostly focused on political rights and I learned a lot of important communication skills such as writing a press release and an opinion editorial and also did a lot of capacity-building-centered events, created social media infographics and finalized the reports that this organization was working on. I appreciated that working in a think tank allowed me to feel like I really understood the topics we were writing about. After every report, I felt like an expert. I worked in this think tank for the first 6 weeks of the summer and then got the chance to explore a variety of other INGOs that worked in the social human rights field. I spent 2 days a week working at an anti-trafficking organization and 2 days a week working in the community engagement team at an organization that provided assistance to urban refugees.

At the anti-trafficking organization I was working on a project where I was documenting aftercare services for trafficking victims in different countries in the region that way when our organization rescues foreign national victims from trafficking we can connect them with an organization in their home country that can provide for them an ensure that they do not end up back in a situation that will allow them to be re-trafficked. This job taught me a lot about the reality of human trafficking, but also taught me the importance of partnerships in INGO work. One of the most shocking things to me about this work is the impact of gender and the moral panic of specific forms of trafficking which translates to other forms of trafficking having fewer resources dedicated to them. For example, those who had been victims of sex trafficking had many more resources than those who were involved in labor trafficking or forced scamming. Similarly, women and children had far greater resources and there were some countries that did not have any shelters at all for adult men. I learned similar concepts at the urban refugee organization such as the importance of INGO partnerships as I got the chance to attend a Protection Working Group meeting where Refugee organizations discussed issues that they are having and casework and together sought solutions. I also got the chance to understand the importance of trying to create a life that is not just about survival. For example, my organization hosted a farm that made milky mushrooms both as a source of food security and income for the refugees. However, when completing a needs assessment event with some community leaders there were complaints from community members and children about these mushrooms not tasting good and therefore they were asking to switch plants to something that these community members would like. This was a really cool reminder that just because one is in an underprivileged position doesn’t mean that they should have to give up basic luxuries such as eating food that is enjoyable.

Because I got to work for 3 different organizations this summer, I learned a lot about the importance of company culture and the differences in larger and smaller INGOs. While there is so much passion in smaller INGOs, much of their time is dedicated to applying for grants and they are often bound to projects with little flexibility because of these grants. Smaller INGOs biggest barrier is definitely finances. Smaller INGOs also mean that each person takes on a larger role and has more responsibility. I also learned that it is easier for smaller organizations to have a company culture that is not accommodating often because of the supreme authority of the director and because of the lack of an established HR department. Whereas embassy/governmental work and work of international organizations like the UN are less bound by laws, NGOs can only do as much as the local government allows, which specifically in the refugee context, in which refugees in Thailand are  considered stateless, was frustrating, but allowed me to gain a better understanding of the barriers that INGOs face. INGOs do really great work abroad and it was an honor to be able to learn about them this summer.

Grace Gott received the Internship Scholarship from the Tobias Center for Innovation in International Development in the summer of 2023.

Written by Tim McGowan

Working with the Human Development Forum Foundation (HDFF) has given me many opportunities to experience a variety of aspects of development and security promotion. From my first week, I realized that HDFF placed a large emphasis on combining the practical with research through our preparation for Hostile Environment Awareness Training (HEAT). By assisting in the Hostile Environment Awareness Training which occurred early in my internship period, I saw firsthand the importance of high-quality training for humanitarian workers. During this training, I witnessed humanitarian workers from various organizations learn how to survive attacks when distributing aid, the importance of finding the right cover, proper first aid techniques, and what it is like to be kidnapped while in the field. The instructors helped teach me along with the other interns while the scenarios were going on so that we could see what to avoid or what we should attempt to do when placed in situations like those simulated in this training. One of the most important aspects of this training to me was the dinners each night. During these dinners, we all had the opportunity to talk with each other about life experiences and create lasting friendships and connections that transcend the organizations we worked for. This let me learn from those in the development sector about how they started their careers and has helped me understand what I needed to do to start my own career in this sector.

After returning from this training, I was tasked with monitoring the Myanmar conflict and plotting where different incidents occurred throughout Myanmar for biweekly security consultations in collaboration with other HDFF workers. Under Dr. Wilfried Herrmann’s guidance, I was able to see important trends in the Myanmar conflict and the importance of research in protecting companies and humanitarians in conflict areas. This when paired with the experience I had with HEAT earlier showed me the duality in humanitarian protection. Research and practical training are both needed to protect those who work to help after disasters and work in the development sector. Working at HDFF was a great way for me to combine my concentration in diplomacy, security, and governance from my undergraduate studies with my concentration in global development in my graduate studies. Security goes hand in hand with development and I am glad that I was able to see this firsthand through my internship at HDFF.

Shifting away from my conflict related duties, while working for the Human Development Forum Foundation I took the initiative to use my previous knowledge of public relations to design new logos and rebrand the various trainings and programs that HDFF offered so they would convey what was entailed in a way consumers could better understand. Along with this task, I had the privilege of meeting with Dr. Wilfried and the other interns every week to discuss topics from the history of world politics and cultural awareness lessons to career development advice. These talks were extremely insightful because of the experience Dr. Wilfried has in these areas, and the diversity of those in these conversations as the four of us were each from differing countries that range vastly in culture and approaches. Overall, I have had an extremely insightful time while working at HDFF and feel invigorated that I have practical experience now that I can utilize along with what I have learned while being a student at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

Tim McGowan is a graduate student at Indiana University. He received an Internship Scholarship from the Tobias Center for Innovation in International Development during the summer of 2023

Written by Annabel Prokopy

I arrived in Kwale County, Kenya on the evening of June 1, 2023. As the sun was setting, I traveled up Kwale Road through the stunning tropical landscape towards the small town of Kwale: my home for the next month. My driver was quick to point out the maize fields that we were passing – a small reminder of home in Indiana.

Kwale Town is where the office of the Hijabi Mentorship Program (THMP) is located. I was lucky enough to become connected to THMP this past year through consulting with the Global Development Consulting program and greatly admired their community-based approach towards empowering women in Kwale County. That’s why, in January, I reached out to their director, Nimah, asking if I could spend part of my summer interning with THMP. I hoped to develop a deeper understanding of their work and of the place. Through this invaluable opportunity, generously funded by the Tobias Center for Innovation in International Development, I have certainly gained this understanding alongside countless other life lessons and experiences.

As an intern with THMP, I spent the majority of my time out in the community: helping to support community events, facilitate trainings and programs, and provide healthcare services to women and children. Most days, I would travel in a tuk tuk (a sort of small car that can take you and a few others a short distance) or on the back of a motorbike (called a “boda”) down Kwale Road towards Diani with my colleague and now good friend, Caroline. We would spend the day visiting children’s homes, the homes of women, and small medical practices where Caroline would provide free and vital healthcare services, particularly to address the impacts of gender-based violence (GBV).

Simultaneously, I worked to create a map of the social services available to women in multiple sub-counties of Kwale County using QGIS. This resource is something that THMP hopes to use to better visualize the availability of services and to increase the effectiveness of their programs by focusing on areas where services are lacking. In creating the map, I talked to the people in the leadership of children’s homes, hospitals, and police services to collect descriptive data including what community resources they utilize and what their goals are. This gave me the opportunity to form a much deeper understanding of how these various institutions function, the challenges that they face, and their roles within the community. I unexpectedly gained a significant amount of insight into the social work scene in Kenya, which led to interesting conversations about how it compares to and is simultaneously different from the United States. Similarly, I was interested to learn about the resources that women have when faced with GBV and to consider how these can also be compared.

Through THMP, I was connected to a small organization that is in its early stages called Graceful Ageing Initiative. This organization provides support to vulnerable elderly community members in Kwale who are not supported through social services. Much of this support is related to challenges presented by GBV. I decided to spend some time collaborating with the initiative to create a video about them – something which they are particularly looking forward to using in order to push their programs off the ground and to gain support.

Filming the video was an unforgettable experience. I spent the day traveling down dirt roads into the mountains on the back of a motorbike to reach the remote homes of community members that the organization supports. I then had fascinating conversations with them about their lives and the challenges that they face. It was absolutely invaluable. Through these conversations, I was able to practice some of the Swahili that I have learned throughout the year in order to connect with the community members, who often spoke little English. These conversations left me with a lot to consider about access to services, the role of small-scale agriculture in livelihoods, and how a small community-based organization can be successful in improving lives. The organization was also interested in learning more about how they can consider funding opportunities and how to develop polished internal policies; I was able to use skills that I gained through consulting with HLSGDC this past year to go through some of these steps with them.

Outside of interning, I had the most incredible time exploring coastal Kenya and meeting countless wonderful people. The geography of the area is stunning: with beautiful white sand beaches, a national park in the rainforest, and access to fascinating cities to explore. While for the majority of my internship I stayed in a small hotel in Kwale, learning to live on my own and gaining a better sense of the town, I also found the opportunity to stay at a hostel in Diani – a nearby town on the coast – where I made life-long friends with other young people from all around the world. On my days off, I swam in the depths of the Indian Ocean and hiked to the most stunning waterfall, avoiding biting safari ants along the way. My memories of Kwale are truly beautiful and unforgettable.

My internship with THMP was invaluable and many meaningful conversations throughout my time in Kenya helped me to process and express my experience. Rather than understanding the issues that THMP addresses from the viewpoint of an outsider, I gained a nuanced insider perspective. I had the opportunity to understand how a community organization addresses needs in a way that is directly helpful, how organizations within a community cooperate and impact each other, and spent significant time reflecting on my role as an outsider within the community. Ultimately, I was able to contribute to THMP’s initiatives in ways that they expressed would be directly impactful to their work, learned more than I will ever find words to express, and grew immensely as a person along the way.

Thank you to the Tobias Center for giving me the opportunity to have this experience and to the entire THMP team for being so welcoming to me in Kwale, Kenya. I hope to return soon. Asante sana!

Annabel Prokopy received the Tobias Center for Innovation in International Development Internship Scholarship in the summer of 2023.

Author – Thomas Day

This past summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to study abroad in Rome, Italy. My study abroad experience was not only a study opportunity to learn the Italian language and culture, but I also interned at an Italian Think Tank, Centro Studi di Politica Internazionale (CeSPI).

On a normal day, I would wake up at my dormitory at 8 am and meet my friends in the lobby to start walking to class. On our commute to class, we walked past the Vatican, which was a mere 5-minute walk away from our dorm, and then went to a cafe where we would order cornettos and cappuccinos. For the rest of the morning, we would attend an Italian class. I found this class to be extremely practical because the instructor knew many of us had no background in Italian and knew that we were only in Italy for the summer, so our professor prioritized learning phrases we would use daily. She also would take us on field trips to cafes and popular squares to speak to Italians on the street. I found this to be extremely useful, and I felt comfortable asking for help, ordering meals, and having basic conversations in Italian by the end of the summer.

After Italian class, I would go to my internship at CeSPI, which was right next to the Roman Forum and a 5-minute walk away from the Colosseum. CeSPI is well-known in Italy for being a leader in migration research and for being one of four Think Tanks that informs the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. One of my jobs at CEPSI over the course of the summer was to write a policy recommendation on an issue that intersected with migration. For me, it was easy to decide the perspective I wanted to intersect was climate change, which has defined most of my undergraduate research at Indiana University. My topic ended up being on Improving Migrant Resilience in the Face of Vulnerabilities Amplified by Climate Change in Italy. I chose this topic because daily, I would interact with migrants on the streets of Rome, where their vulnerabilities are very apparent. Migrants are more likely to have low-income jobs where exploitation is common, insufficient housing, and little access to healthcare. Additionally, migrants in Rome make up a significant percentage of the homeless population and often find sanctuary at places such as the Vatican. My research over the summer focused on how climate change exacerbates current migrant problems and how they will only get more severe as temperatures and climate impacts worsen. For me, this topic was fascinating to research because the subject of the research felt present and so I felt incredibly pressured to ensure my policy recommendations were supported by the research and were viable options to be implemented by the Italian government.

When I wasn’t in class or at work, I was with an amazing group of new friends that I made during my study abroad. We went to museums, ate at popular restaurants, and explored the side streets of the eternal city. Because everyone came from different academic backgrounds and interests, I felt like I was constantly learning and trying new things.

On the weekends, we traveled around Italy either by night bus or train. Some of the main sights included Venice, the rolling hills of vineyards in Tuscany, the beautiful Amalfi Coast, and the history of Pompeii. My favorite moments of the summer were deep conversations with friends under the columns of the Vatican, hikes to the Neolithic caves outside of Matera, and looking at the Milky Way in the heart of the Italian countryside.

The summer was packed to the brim with learning opportunities and memories, both from the academic and social sides. I am so grateful for this experience and to the people involved. I made friends and memories that will last a lifetime. I would like to thank the Tobias Center for Innovation in International Development for supporting my study abroad this summer and for their continued support throughout my undergraduate career!

In international development, viewpoints can widely differ over the role of private and public actors, as well as domestic and international investment, in growing economies worldwide. This summer, as a Policy and Research Intern at the US-ASEAN Business Council in Washington, D.C., I had the opportunity to become involved the intersection of these perspectives and discover how eager cooperation between stakeholders was not only common, and but also produced incredible results. The opportunity to pursue this internship was made possible through the generous support of the Tobias Center, who allowed me to expand my professional skills during my internship and prepare for a career in international development analysis.

Through my work at the US-ASEAN Business Council, I gained a practical understanding of how governments and businesses across borders and cultures seek mutual development. ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political union of ten Southeast Asian nations, which together hold over 650 million people with a variety of cultural backgrounds, as well as over $3.5 trillion US dollars in nominal GDP. The US-ASEAN Business Council engages with both ASEAN as a political entity and the governments of each of its nations on behalf of its American business members across a variety of sectors.

My work at the US-ASEAN Business Council allowed me to gain a granular knowledge of how political actors engage with the private sector to encourage development. In my internship, I had the opportunity to work with the Council’s ASEAN, Singapore, Energy, and Sustainability portfolios. The most prominent work I was involved with was drafting analytical updates. In these regular updates to the Council’s hundreds of business contacts, I would collect news for each portfolio, summarize recent policy changes in a government or business sector, and analyze the implications of these changes for American businesses. From Singapore’s June cabinet reshuffle to changes in Indonesia’s energy regulations, these updates provided me with both in-depth analytical experiences, as well as exposure to the economic dynamics of the entire region and its investment partners. As a result, I now have a better understanding of how political factors in a nation influence how investment into development flows from overseas.

The myriad of meetings, webinars, and networking opportunities at the US-ASEAN Business Council also exposed me to a range of expertise, perspectives, and potential career opportunities in international development. The Council frequently hosts summits, missions, and events connecting Southeast Asian heads of state and ministers with its American member companies. For example, I had the opportunity to help with the planning and note-taking for the Council’s Singapore Business Mission. There, a delegation of members went with the Council to meet with Singaporean leaders. Although the conversations were focused on Singapore, an already developed nation, the companies were interested in how their engagement with Singapore would lead to development throughout the rest of the region through further investment and trade. Aside from these higher-level meetings, the Council is also heavily involved in ground-level support of Southeast Asian businesses, such as the ASEAN SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) Academy programs I had the opportunity to help coordinate. The US-ASEAN Business Council also frequently engages with U.S. government secretaries, ambassadors, and other officials to help communicate how American businesses are working to develop Southeast Asian nations. Finally, I was encouraged as an intern to attend webinars and other events occurring at international conferences and D.C. thinktanks that were relevant to my portfolios. Participating in these meetings allowed me to better understand the skills and experiences that would support my continued career in international development, as well as build connections with experts and professionals throughout the policy world.

As I complete my final year as a graduate student at Indiana University, my internship at the US-ASEAN Business Council will be a defining aspect of my academic and professional growth here. Through my internship, I gained a deeper understanding of how the public and private sectors guide each other that I can apply towards my International Development concentration coursework for my Master of Public Affairs at O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. In addition, the knowledge I gained of the ASEAN region and its economic growth will be instrumental for my graduate thesis on Chinese and Japanese investment in Southeast Asia through my Master of Arts in East Asian Studies at Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. Finally, the connections I established at the Council and throughout the international policy analysis sector will be instrumental in guiding my post-graduation career opportunities. I am grateful that the Tobias Center helped me to experience the range of international development occurring at the intersection of governments and businesses across nations through this amazing internship.