EFB Community members to start their two week internship in the EU

Seven EFB Community members are starting their two-week internship in the EU as part of a Civil Trust Building project. The Civil Trust Building project is an international civil society project for the promotion of the enlargement of the EU Member States. Out of 180 applicants, seven candidates were selected to spend two weeks in one of the EU Member States - Austria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Applicants were selected according to the following criteria: interest in and knowledge of EU policies, particularly enlargement; good organizational and communication skills; readiness to work in a team; an NGO background; 18-35 years old; and a good knowledge of English. They will be placed in following organizations: Austria: The World of NGOs will host Mr Edmond Fejza candidate(Macedonia) Hungary: European House will host Ms Teuta Peja (Kosovo) and Ms Jelena Kamenko (Croatia) Italy: ARCI will host Ms Ajsela Spahija (Albania) Romania: The Pro-Democracy Association will host Ms Milica Milonjic (Montenegro) Slovakia: The Slovak Foreign Policy Association will host Ms Ivana Sljivar (Serbia) Slovenia: The Centre for Information Service, Co-Operation and Development of NGOs (CNVOS) will host Ms Ilma Ibrisevic (Bosnia and Herzegovina) This internship will include the distribution of the Enlargement questionnaire, preparation of the National Citizens’ Consultations, and a bus tour with the Enlargement Labyrinth. They will work on the implementation of the Civil Trust Building project; familiarize themselves with the political, social, cultural and civil realities of the host country; and participate in preparations and the holding of a national citizens’ consultation on EU enlargement, organized by the host organization. Through meetings, visits and other forms of contacts, the candidates will also: disseminate information about the daily realities of their country from a human perspective; and learn how public opinion of the host country views the perspectives of EU enlargement; as well as assist in preparations for the international bus tour with the Enlargement Labyrinth touring the EU member project countries in September 2012. In addition, the candidates will distribute the enlargement questionnaire; provide news items for the project website; share their individual experiences; and report on their experience as an intern. After the internship candidates will participate at the evaluation meeting scheduled for 25th June, 2012 in Vienna. More information will be online after the Vienna meeting. The aim of the Civil Trust Building project is to familiarize EU citizens to the specific situation of candidate and potential candidate countries of the Western Balkans region, and about the perspective of future EU enlargement in general. Civil society organizations on both sides of the fence can play an important role in this process by – among other things – promoting public debates and carrying out information and awareness-raising campaigns. Countries of the Western Balkans have a potential to join mainstream European processes and contribute on a partnership basis to the shaping of the Europe of the future. The European House (project leader) together with CSO partners from the region from five other EU member states are all committed to the notion of EU enlargement. More on Civil Trust Building More on EFB Community Network