From the UVU students secretariat of the Women of the Mountains Conference 2011 to Internship in South African Parliament
In March of 2011 I helped organize the High School Student Essay Contest for the Women of the Mountains Conference (WOM), as well as its student organizing committee. I have to admit I was only helping with the conference for the extra-credit but after I started getting involved, my interest peaked and my understanding for the importance of civil rights, gender issues, and the role of sustainable mountain development (SMD) initiatives continued to grow. The Women of the Mountains conference helped me to make new friends from around the world who encouraged me to branch out and accomplish continued efforts both in Utah and in a global setting. The skills developed while working with the organizing committee, had given me a closer look at international diplomacy and I ultimately decided that an internship in the South African Parliament during summer 2011 would only progress my skills and interest in international affairs, and provide a platform for my efforts to support sustainable development. My goals with the internship were achieved because of the great contribution from our organizing committee to the success of the Conference, when many institutions at UVU provided me with opportunities to earn grants and scholarships in order to fund my trip to South Africa.
I fell in love with South Africa after serving a church mission there for two years. Naturally when I started looking for internships I wanted to go to a place I was somewhat familiar with. My familiarity with the region and my applied knowledge to sustainable development made South Africa a perfect match. I applied to several opportunities in different political parties that I knew would help me grow in my academic research interests. Serendipitously the one that I felt agreed with my principles and morals the most, the Democratic Alliance (DA), accepted me as an intern. It was there that my application began.
Research projects
While I was there, I promoted the Women of the Mountains conference, SMD agenda as well as the UN Mountain Partnership. This got the attention of my supervisor and I was asked to help with a number of research projects.
The research office was highly efficient and very politically active. All of the researchers had their Masters degrees that covered a multitude of portfolios they had written statements for and had researched.
I helped with a few research projects during my time in the research office. The first project I helped on was a youth entrepreneurship campaign the DA Youth had launched in South Africa. My research consisted of finding statistics of unemployment amongst South Africans ages 18-30 and finding out why they were so high. In addition to researching unemployment I researched solutions that the government could do to help the youth get jobs. The DA youth used my research to create their own final statement and proposals that they presented in a discussion document and statement they gave to the President. While they did not use my solutions exactly I as I wrote them they used elements of my solutions. This is of course was very understandable because I wrote from the perspective of a conservative American. The DA being a liberal party believes in a bigger government and more government involvement especially with the economy. Many of my solutions were based on what I learned from the Women of the Mountains Conference and the Sustainable Mountain Development class and agenda.
Meeting with various MPs and DA leaders
During my internship I had the opportunity to meet with a lot of MPs and discuss their portfolios with them.
I am with Helen Zille, Leader of the DA and Western Cape Premier (second from the left), Aubrey Robinson (far left,) an intern from the University of Utah and another intern Thomas Keelan (far right) from Brown University, RI
Some of the MPs and Leaders I met with were:
I am with Lindiwe Mazibuko (Center), DA Parliamentary Leader, and Aubrey Robinson (Right) another intern from the University of Utah
Meeting with these MP’s and having them explain exactly what they do with their portfolios to me was an incredible experience. They all had expertise or a passion for their respective areas. They also spoke about what they do in their position of the official opposition member of the committees.
Denise Robinson was amazing because she took us on visit to her local constituency of Atlantis. Atlantis is one of the largest Coloured townships in South Africa. She took us to two of the local schools and to the town council offices. She also took us to some local members of the community who were starting grassroots movements on sustainable development issues. Some of which were quite interrelated to those issues addressed in the Women of the Mountains conference. One woman, Mama Catherine, runs a battered woman’s shelter and soup kitchen. She employs many of the battered women with making blankets, crafts and other various things to sell in town and many of the game lodges.
This gave me a lot of perspective on how initiatives like this can help me promote the values of Sustainable Mountain Development, and provide real life application of concerns and issues dealt with during the conference. Although less than 1% of South Africans live in mountainous areas they have many impoverished areas. Many of the initiatives there to help impoverished areas sustain themselves would easily transfer over to sustainable mountain development. Solar powered water heaters and smaller solar panels to power simple energy, i.e. a few light bulbs or outlets, in small houses decreases reliability on the government who often implements rolling blackouts across the country in the winter time.
Conclusion
My experiences throughout my internship have been entirely beneficial. I am fortunate to have been able to apply theory and learn first hand on global issues dealing with South Africa, politics, political structures all relating to sustainable development. It was one of the best learning experiences I have ever had, and given me new opportunities to further research and study current political world issues.
I am with Patricia De Lille, Mayor of Cape Town
My efforts have also resulted in creating a permanent internship position in the South African Parliament for the UVU students. The SMD agenda and strengthening ties between Utah and other mountain nations in Africa, which has helped me succeed in my internship and it will continue to aid in others successes, will be continued by future UVU students, who will participate in that program.
Brandon Merrill, International Relations Major, President, Sustainable Mountain Development Club, UVU
