2 Internship vacancies
Wageningen University and the Knowledge Platform for Humanitarian Exchange (KUNO) seek to examine policies and practices to mitigate and prevent conflicts between asylum seekers, host communities and aid actors along the EU border in Greece. We are looking for two interns to assist in this project and, if Covid-19 measures allow, engage in short fieldwork on the Greek islands of Lesbos, Chios, and Samos later this summer.
Since 2015 there has been much attention to the plight and circumstances of asylum seekers, and to the practical and moral challenges of the ‘hotspot approach’ on the Greek islands. The containment of asylum seekers in inadequate conditions and the effects of their presence on local host communities, has resulted in clashes among asylum seekers and the host community, and aid workers and volunteers have become targets of hostilities. Rather than a humanitarian safe space, these islands have become increasingly insecure for actors involved, complicating governance and protection of asylum seekers and the security of aid workers.
This project aims to explore how local and international actors engage with asylum seekers and host communities that mobilize around their frustrations in three migration hotspots of Lesbos, Samos and Chios. The project is related to the Knowledge Platform Security and Rule of Law. The aim is to bring together experiences and best practices that can improve programming and cooperation for stakeholders involved. The policy relevant output will be used as input for further sharing and debate with the (Dutch) humanitarian community and the more independent volunteer organizations.
We ask
- Students with a background in development and humanitarian studies, with prior (MSc) fieldwork experience, and who are able to start on short notice.
- Independent workers and team players.
- Students who are available to work on this project from the beginning of June – October.(Further arrangements on time, hours per week, and precise duration of the internship will be discussed)
The first part of the internship concerns desk research and online consultation with stakeholders.
The second part involves semi-structured in-dept interviews with project staff with experience in the Greek migration hot spots, and other concerned stake holders. Ideally, the project facilitates short fieldwork for interviews in the Greece scheduled for August – or the beginning of September.
Please apply by sending an expression of interest and a short note on why you are a good pick for this internship before 7 June to Bram Jansen.
More information
Please contact: Bram Jansen (Sociology of Development and Change) @ bramj.jansen@wur.nl or +31317487249.
Sociology of Development and Change 