For four months I was interning at the South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Tbilisi. Since my time at the Foundation began early in the year, my first and main task consisted of summarizing and evaluating all projects from the passed year in order to draft an annual report for the BMZ in Germany. Writing this report right in the beginning of my internship gave me a good overview of the great variety of projects implemented by the HBF SC. As I am academically focused on peace and conflict studies and human rights, I highly appreciated the opportunity to independently research the human rights situation in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and conduct interviews with different peace and conflict organizations in the region. Writing a great number of reports on conflicts, human rights and politics in the South Caucasus was an added value to my research and writing skills and my knowledge of the region. Social media and smaller writing tasks were also on my agenda. By spending time in Georgia, receiving insights into the projects of the Foundation, and my individual research gave me understanding of Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijani politics, economics, and culture.
I am currently studying Conflict, Security and Development Studies at King’s College London and I will write my master thesis about transitional justice in the conflicts of the South Caucasus, which will hopefully give me the chance to travel back to Georgia very soon.