PRESS RELEASE: UNI-CAPITOL WASHINGTON INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
16 DECEMBER
2011
This Christmas, a dozen university students from across Australia
will head off to Washington, DC to spend their summer interning inside the
American Congress as part of the Uni-Capitol Washington Internship Programme
(UCWIP).
But before crossing the Pacific the students travelled to
Canberra today to meet with the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and received a
few words of advice for their time in the US capital as unofficial ambassadors.
Based in the US, UCWIP is a not-for-profit exchange offering students
from 8 universities two-month, full-time internships across a bipartisan array
of offices in the House and Senate as well as the non-partisan Helsinki
Commission office. Each of the students has been closely matched to their
offices through a competitive application process.
Carl Tessman from the
University of Queensland said: “Through my internship with the House Judiciary
Committee I hope to learn about the American judicial and legislative systems
and do my bit to keep up the good reputation Aussie interns seem to have up in
the Capitol.” UCWIP recently received the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for
Internationalisation from the University of Queensland.
Helen Babb, from
the University of Melbourne and to intern with House Assistant Democratic Leader
James Clyburn, said “I'm extremely excited. I hope to become a diplomat and this
internship provides unique hands-on exposure to US domestic politics, foreign
policy and its relationship with Australia.”
UCWIP aims to promote and
strengthen the American-Australian relationship by offering young Australians
rare insights into the inner workings of the American legislature while offering
congressional hosts opportunities to explore through these young Australians the
often parallel public policy debates in Australia.
During their time in
the US, interns undertake a range of tasks including legislative research,
writing, and constituent liaison. They also attend committee hearings and press
conferences.
Programming for UCWIP interns includes briefings by the US
State Department and the Australian Embassy; day trips to Philadelphia,
birthplace of the American republic and Constitution, and Gettysburg, site of
the pivotal Civil War battle. Past interns have also attended presidential
swearing-in ceremonies and related inaugural festivities.
UCWIP was
created by Eric K. Federing, who directs and manages the program pro bono. His
American-Australian internship efforts began in 1999. Prior to that, Federing
was a senior congressional advisor for a dozen years as communications
director/press secretary for Rep. Norm Mineta of California, the House
Transportation Committee, and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. Federing is a
board member of the congressionally-chartered National Conference on Citizenship
and by day an Executive Director for KPMG LLP.
With the 2012 intake,
Federing will have organized and shepherded 130 internships across 13 program
years. UCWIP’s intake will be drawn through 10 Australian universities in 2013.
“To say my role is a privilege is a tremendous understatement,” said
Federing. “I travelled extensively throughout Australia in the 1990s while still
a congressional advisor, speaking at universities and to business groups and
think tanks. I was inspired to look for new paths to bring Americans and
Australians together in ways that were genuine, sustainable, and personalized. I
eventually thought that a best way to do this would also give something back to
two communities I cared about -- Australia and Congress – by connecting them.
The real stars of it all, of course, are the hugely enterprising students, with
fullest credit for fulfilling this concept owed to them, their universities and
all the congressional hosts.”
Partnering in UCWIP is Daphne Clones
Federing, herself a former senior economist with the Joint Economic Committee in
the US Congress and Federing’s
wife.
Τη γνωρίζετε; Αρκετοί ΝΑΙ,αλλα και πολλοί θα την ιδουν για πρώτη φορά.Το πανέμορφο κορίτσι έχει καθε λόγο να χαίρεται και να βλέπει με αισιοδοξία μεσα απο το 2012 μιας και η χρονιά αυτή την φέρνει κοντά στο Λευκό Οικο και θα γνωρίσει απο κοντά την ηγεσία της Αμερικανικής ζωής..Κλεονίκη Κεραμά,γεννημένη στη Μελβούρνη πριν 21 χρόνια,κόρη του Γιωργου και της Σοφίας .Το όνομα το πηρε απο τη γιαγιά της,Κλεονίκη Γκατζίδου,και της το "έδωσε" η νονά της Αλία Παπαγεωργιου.. Λεπτομέρεις για το πως και το γιατί διαβάστε την επίσημη ανακοίνωση που μας εστάλη στην αγγλική..
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