Communications and Public Relations Internship (Fall 2023: In-Person & Remote)
About Us:
Founded in 1954, the World Service Authority (WSA) assists individuals worldwide in understanding and exercising their human rights and duties through legal education and advocacy.
Mission: To educate about and promote human and environmental rights, world citizenship, world law, and to create the institutions of law that will assist humans in living together peacefully with each other and sustainably with the Earth.
In addition to its legal advocacy and public educational outreach, the WSA issues global identity and travel documents (such as the World Passport, World Birth Certificate, World Political Asylum Card, World Marriage Certificate, International Exit Visa, etc.) as mandated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other regional and international agreements. Peace, justice, human rights, and global governance issues are of primary concern to the WSA.
Internship Details:
- Fall Semester
- 4 to 6 hours per week in person or online
- Must be available during Eastern Time afternoon hours
- In-depth intern orientation and training
- Provides experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application in a professional setting
- Weekly seminars and ongoing training
- Academic credit toward degree (depending on school requirements)
Responsibilities:
- Advance the mission and goals of the organization through social media platforms
- Create written content for social media platforms
- Produce videos, photos, art, and graphic designs for social media platforms
- Grow social media following
- Write and design monthly newsletter and interact with mailing list / followers
- Network with individuals and organizations to inform them about the organization’s work and to create potential partnerships
- Research and implement fundraising strategies and crowdfunding campaigns
- Write grant proposals
- Initiate new projects to enhance the effectiveness of the organization
Qualifications:
- Strong research, writing, editing, and communication skills
- Strong attention to detail
- Art, graphic design, video, and/or photo-editing skills (required)
- Experience in social media, networking, media relations, fundraising, and customer service (preferred)
- Enthusiasm for and a demonstrated interest in human rights, peace, and justice issues
- Culturally Sensitive
Outcomes:
You will
- Recognize the function of non-profit and public-interest-sector work in human rights, international law, peace, and world citizenship
- Understand and appropriately apply public relations strategies and social media marketing techniques
- Identify and use digital resources to further an organization’s mission
- Communicate effectively with the public using multiple tools and platforms
- Create and implement your own communications projects
- Engage your classroom learning in your internship work
The internship program is conducted and supervised by a human rights lawyer with more than 30 years' experience in the fields of human rights, international law, and international relations. Student interns will receive feedback regularly and will have the resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the organization to support the students' learning outcomes.
Unpaid Internships Allowed under the Fair Labor Standards Act:
Compensation Type – Unpaid - WSA/WCG is a Non-Profit, Charitable Organization
- The intern (intern/extern/trainee) and the World Service Authority (a non-profit organization) clearly understand that there is no expectation of compensation.
- The internship provides training that would be similar to that which would be given in an educational environment, including the clinical and other hands-on training provided by educational institutions.
- The internship is tied to the intern’s formal education program by integrated coursework or the receipt of academic credit.
- The internship accommodates the intern’s academic commitments by corresponding to the academic calendar.
- The internship’s duration is limited to the period in which the internship provides the intern with beneficial learning.
- The intern’s work complements, rather than displaces, the work of paid employees while providing significant educational benefits to the intern.
- The intern and the World Service Authority understand that the internship is conducted without entitlement to a paid job at the conclusion of the internship.
- Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor also recognizes an exception for individuals who volunteer their time, freely and without anticipation of compensation for charitable, civic, or humanitarian purposes to non-profit organizations. Unpaid internships for public sector and non-profit charitable organizations, where the intern volunteers without expectation of compensation, are generally permissible.