“It was an exciting experience for me to merge theoretical learning with practical concepts experienced in the real working environment. Through the Intern Fellowship Programme, I have gained valuable insights on working with other individuals to promote peace.” - Catherine Bangura, Intern at the Institute for Economics and Peace

Following the success of its pilot year, the Intern Fellowship Programme (IFP) recently completed its 2nd round of placements which provided fifty students from local tertiary institutions with practical experience in peace and development issues. This initiative which is being implemented by UN in Zimbabwe with UNDP as the lead in partnership with UNICEF and UN Women selected third year and graduate students from seven institutions to take part as fellows. Twenty-six organisations from government, private and the non-profit sectors hosted the students from 2019 -2020.

“The fellowship gave me the opportunity to learn and gain experience in advocating for women’s empowerment by harnessing the power of media as a communication tool.” – Bazel Chinyonga, Intern at the Zimbabwe Women’s Bureau

“My internship at Musasa was rewarding, I acquired new skills in terms of peace building and got to apply the things I learnt at school over the past two years.  I had the opportunity to  create documentaries, newsletters and newspaper articles; update the organisations social media platforms; and take pictures during roadshows and workshops.” – Melody Chaibva, Intern at Musasa Project

“Doing an internship exposed me to many different aspects in my field of study. It helped me realize the areas I excelled at and those I needed to develop more. I was able to try out new tools, learn new skills along the way and leverage my mistakes to motivate me to improve.”- Nyaradzo Chikomo, Intern at the Institute for Economics and Peace

By building a national pool of young peacebuilders in Zimbabwe we are supporting the advancement of Sustainable Development Goal 16 – promoting peace, justice, and inclusive societies.  To learn more about the fellow’s internship experiences read their stories here