The program allows members from developing environmental NGOs to spend up to a month with more experienced NGOs. During their stay, interns will get an inside view into the overall operations of a successful NGO, as well as experience running a specific campaign or project. Interns will develop management and leadership skills that will help them effectively run their own nonprofit environmental organizations and projects at home. Internships also provide participants with valuable work experience and an opportunity to exchange views and skills across cultural and political borders.
"Rather than use Western experts to teach young environmentalists what to do and how to do it, we realized that we have the talent right here, so we thought 'Why don't we use it.' We need to look at the strengths of regional organizations and have them be mentors," says Krystyna Wolniakowski, regional director of Environmental Partnership in Central Europe.
Alexander Juras, the REC's Local Office and Outreach team leader, agrees with Wolniakowski's assessment: "The real benefit is that we're allowing NGOs in the region to learn from each other, rather than from Western experts. This gives local 'capacity-building' a whole new meaning."
But it is not just young, inexperienced environmentalists who will benefit from the guidance of their more experienced colleagues. The organizations that have agreed to host interns will not only fine tune their skills by teaching them to others; they will also build confidence in their ability to take leadership roles in the field of environmental protection.
The Polish Ecological Club (PKE), for instance, is eager to take the knowledge they have acquired and pass it on to others. "They feel good about their organization and what they have accomplished and now they are willing to share," says Wolniakowski. "And by sharing, they will learn how to communicate and improve their own capacity."
There is already lots of interest. The phone is ringing off the hook at the EPCE office in Wroclaw, where candidates are enthusiastic about the project. Though the priority is to develop long-term cooperation between NGOs across national borders, Wolniakowski says some Polish NGOs have suggested they would like to work with PKE. This is fine too, she says, because it develops links between NGOs that might not otherwise have a chance to cooperate.
At the very heart of the project is a "do what I do, not just what I say" attitude on the part of the sponsoring organizations. REC and EPCE have been cooperating for years, supporting each other with expertise and information. But this is the first time they have co-sponsored an initiative, showing that funding organizations, and not just grassroots NGOs, can also pool their resources to get maximum results from regional programs.
| ELTP HOSTS | ||||
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| The four host NGOs taking part during the first year are: Eco-Baltic Foundation, Polski Klub Ekologiczny - East Pomeranian Chapter (Poland); PCOLA (Slovakia); SEVER Center for Environmental Education and Ethics Rychory (Czech Republic) and Hajduboszormeny Youth Environmental Organization (Hungary). For more information, please contact the REC's local offices, REC Head Office, EPCE offices or host NGOs directly. | ||||
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