BABSEA 2009 International Legal Studies Internship Program 18 May - 9 August 2009
Connecting Interns from Around the World – the conclusion of the
May – August 2009 BABSEA International Legal Studies Internship!
Following the path of the previous five years, BABSEA is pleased to announce the successful completion of its May-August 2009 International Legal Studies Internship Program. The program was, and continues to be, a study abroad course with experiential, hands-on social justice legal work in Southeast Asia. Between May and August this year, BABSEA welcomed approximately 50 interns from around the globe including the USA, Canada, France, England, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos and Cambodia.
 The first two weeks of the internship were based in the charming city of Chiang Mai, Thailand where our BABSEA Community Legal Education Program Office is based. Our interns attended workshops on community legal education methodologies and curriculum development with a semi-strenuous hike up to Wat Doi Suthep thrown in for good measure. Week three of the program was “community immersion week” and saw our interns travelling to rural Northern Thailand to live and work with the local Thai families.
With not a moment to rest upon their return to Chiang Mai, our interns immediately ventured to their respective country placements in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam to work with both in our BABSEA office in Cambodia or with BABSEA’s partner organizations and communities. The projects that our interns worked on depended on the current legal issues and needs of the country and the organization. Needless to say, the work of our interns was vast and varied. Highlighted achievements this year included the following activities:
Creating an SMS animation for victims of sexual violence Developing legal curricula on children’s rights, women’s rights, criminal law and legislative drafting Initiation of community legal education programs in six Vietnamese universities Research on defense rights related to human traffickers Participated in campaigns to stop illegal housing evictions The creation of mock trials to be used in legal education in three different SE Asia countries Development of curriculum for legal clinics throughout the region Teaching land law and rights to rural communities in Cambodia Teaching human rights and law, using English as a Foreign Language, in detention centers
 In addition to promoting access to legal justice and battling for human rights, our interns got in touch with their artistic, athletic, spiritual, culinary and even agricultural sides. Not shy of getting their hands dirty, our interns helped to build shake dams, planted banana trees and replanted rice paddies.
Following eight weeks in their country placements, our interns returned to Chiang Mai for the final week where they painted the special BABSEA Human Rights Wall and participated in the BABSEA 2009 Interns Running for a Cause Event. After sharing their experiences with the whole team, they regrettably bid farewell to one another and to BABSEA.
The internship was no doubt an incredibly rewarding and enriching experience for everyone involved – the interns, BABSEA team members, BABSEA’s partner organizations and the communities they served. On behalf of the BABSEA team, we would like to express how proud we are of our legal interns and thank them for their invaluable contribution. They have been a true inspiration and will be a tough act to follow for our future interns.
BABSEA would also like to thank our partner organizations and communities for all their support during the 2009 internship.
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BABSEA Intern’s thoughts on the Internship:
“Like a puzzle, you can’t see the full picture until you start putting the pieces together – it might be a slow process at first, but the final product is a masterpiece.
… Our mission as interns for BABSEA is to act as liaisons and to assist in the creation of community and clinical legal programs in institutions throughout Southeast-Asia. These programs are critical in assisting students at universities in becoming successful and effective lawyers. An effective legal system is key in strengthening the rule of law within a country. And by strengthening the rule of law, we are slowly dissolving the power struggles and humanitarian violations these countries often experience.
In short, as a BABSEA intern, we are a puzzle piece belonging to one big masterpiece – creating change and promoting justice.” – Joi Kush
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BABSEA will host another formal legal internship program from 23 November 2009 – 6 February 2010 for universities that have a summer break during that period and is planning to begin accepting applications for the May-August 2010 Internship in September 2009. See BABSEA 2009/2010 International Legal Internship Program.
BABSEA also accepts and encourages persons interested in interning and volunteering with us to apply for positions outside of these formal dates. See BABSEA Volunteer Program.
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