INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME

Each year, the FW de Klerk Foundation hosts interns from South Africa and abroad, offering them the opportunity to gain significant exposure to constitutional law advocacy and to further develop their writing skills.  

The FW de Klerk Foundation will be offering two internship programmes. The duties for the internship for each programme have been outlined below.

Intern Duties for the Constitutional Advancement Programme:

  1. The Intern will assist in managing all campaigns related to constitutional advancement and compliance, as well as coordinate and support various campaign activities.
  2. The Intern will aid the Constitutional Advancement team by providing accredited constitutional training services to parliamentarians and municipal officials. The Intern will also assist in the preparation and creation of training materials and support trainers during sessions.
  3. The Intern will assist in promoting constitutional education in schools (focusing on engaging the youth) and develop and distribute educational resources and materials.
  4. The Intern will help manage the compilation of constitutional performance indexes for government departments by gathering and analysing relevant data for index reports.
  5. The Intern will assist in organising lectures and events on constitutional advancement, including handling logistics, invitations and follow-up communications.
  6. The Intern will contribute to the development of election surveys and polling toolkits. They will also analyse survey data and prepare reports.
  7. The Intern will assist in promoting reconciliation as a key component of nation-building and assist in supporting initiatives that emphasise South Africa first, based on the National Constitution and Bill of Rights.
  8. The Intern will provide relevant information to the Marketing Manager for promotion on social media and distribution. They will also help create content for the weekly Centre for the Constitutional Transformation of South Africa (“CCTSA”) bulletin.

Intern Duties for the Constitutional Rights Programme:

Scholars are invited to apply for an internship with the Constitutional Rights Programme. (Legal scholars will be given preference.)

  1. The Intern will help compile the Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights Report Card 2024 and assist the Foundation’s staff in researching and collating the impact on each of the applicable constitutional rights, by inter alia:
    • Collating the Foundation’s research, submissions, articles and statements on each right;
    • Researching policy documents, annual reports from government departments, as well as Inter-Governmental Organisations and Non-governmental organisations regarding human rights issues in South Africa;
    • Researching court decisions on the subject at hand (by visiting www.safllii.org or www.constitutionalcourt.org.za, etc.) for pertinent decisions; and 
    • Monitoring the media and reporting back on any relevant news relating to constitutional rights in the relevant year. This may be done via websites such as www.mailandguardian.co.za, www.iol.co.za, www.news24.com and www.dailymaverick.co.za for pertinent stories (not anecdotal) to support the Intern’s research.
  2. The Intern will assist with the organisation of the launch of the Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights Report Card 2024. This will include assisting with logistics, invitations and follow-up communications.
  3. The Intern is expected to write two (2) articles per month during their internship, on a topic related to the Foundation’s constitutional research work. The Intern may choose a topic and a supervisor of the Foundation will provide advice and suggestions for their article. The Intern may decide to submit a case summary which will be considered in place of one article. 
  4. The Intern is expected to do desktop research work on a current constitutional topic as assigned by a Foundation staff member. 
  5. The Intern is expected to monitor the development of proposed legislation in Parliament and attend Portfolio Committee meetings as assigned by a Foundation staff member. 
  6. Where relevant, the Intern will attend meetings alongside the Foundation with other organisations to discuss recent national developments that will, or may have, an impact on the enjoyment of constitutional rights in South Africa.
  7. The Intern may be asked to provide information to the Marketing Manager for promotion on social media and distribution.
  8. From time to time, the Intern will be asked to participate in administrative tasks involving the Foundation. 
  9. The Intern is expected to attend two (2) check-in meetings a week with their supervisor where they will give feedback on their research. 
  10. The Intern may be requested to participate in and/or focus on other ad hoc themes as directed by the Foundation during their tenure. 

Please note that the Internship applications are now closed. 

If you have any questions or queries, please feel free to contact us on info@fwdeklerk.org.