Partners in Humanity Programme Internship: for Muslim-Western understanding

Location	Washington, DC
Summary	Search for Common Ground’s Partners in Humanity program is seeking candidates for a part time winter/spring internship to support operations of our Washington, DC office. The Partners in Humanity Intern must be a registered junior, senior, recent graduate or graduate student in a related field. This internship involves lending support to various projects, especially editing and research, at the direction and under the supervision of the CGNews Managing Editor, Laurna Strikwerda and Partners in Humanity Assistant Director, Juliette Schmidt. The Partners in Humanity program is designed to address feelings of mutual fear and suspicion between the West – especially the United States – and the Muslim world that have arisen because of perceived and real injustices, extreme inequality in political and economic opportunity, and pervasive stereotyping. To improve perceptions, and promote understanding and communication between the Muslim world and the West, Partners in Humanity seeks to cultivate a sense of shared destiny and serve as a catalyst for Muslim-Western partnerships that reflect mutual respect, a shared commitment to addressing problems and meeting needs, and an ongoing process of mutual learning and challenging of stereotypes. We believe this attitude and approach reflect the most effective means for creating long-term progress and security. The Common Ground News Service, www.commongroundnews.org, provides op-eds, features and analysis by local and international experts on a broad range of issues affecting the relationship between Muslim and Western communities. CGNews commissions and distributes articles that are constructive, offer hope and promote dialogue and mutual understanding, to news outlets worldwide. CGNews is available in Arabic, English, French, Hebrew, Indonesian and Urdu.
Responsibilities	Intern duties are wide-ranging and may include, but are not limited to, the following: • Researching, contacting, and commissioning authors for CGNews articles; • Reading and commenting on weekly CGNews articles; • Editing assistance for CGNews; • Communicating with authors of CGNews articles; • Tracking CGNews article republications and researching republishing media outlets; • Contributing to CGNews development, monitoring and evaluation; • Contributing to various research and writing projects aimed at bettering Muslim-Western relations; • Miscellaneous data entry
Minimum Qualifications	The ideal candidate will exhibit: • Excellent editing skills in English; • Good writing and communication skills; • A keen interest and knowledge in international affairs, especially pertaining to Muslim-Western relations, international media, and/or conflict resolution; • Excellent organizational abilities with a proactive style; • A self-starting, enthusiastic and flexible approach; • Computer proficiency and experience with Internet research; •Arabic or French language skills a plus, but not necessary.
Salary	This is an unpaid internship
To Apply	The Partners in Humanity Intern must be a recent graduate or graduate student in a related field. Interested candidates should e-mail a cover letter and resume to: Laurna Strikwerda: lstrikwerda@sfcg.org In your cover letter, please clearly state why our program is of interest to you, what you can bring to it and what you hope to gain from it. Also, please include the dates of your availability and the number of hours per week to which you can commit. We are requesting a 20-30 hour per week commitment. Please note this is an unpaid internship. For more information on our projects in the Partners in Humanity department, visit http://www.sfcg.org/programmes/humanity/programmes_humanity.html. For more information on the Common Ground News Service, visit us at http://www.commongroundnews.org