The internship at South Caucasus Regional Office of Heinrich Boell Foundation was one of the first in-office working experiences for me. I felt very comfortable in this warm-hearted atmosphere which in my opinion is something quite unique. The work was very interesting and I gained great insight into Georgian society and politics as well as into how political work is undertaken concretely.
I was able to have an in-depth look into different fields of Foundation’s activity, such as Energy Transition in the South Caucasus, LGBTI Rights in Georgia and Green Activism in the region and its challenges in rural as well as in urban areas. As an intern I had a high level of self-responsibility and freedom, which trained my skills of time and organization management.
In general, I think it wasn't the best choice to begin my internship and a Georgian language course directly after having arrived to Georgia. Although having been in Georgia before, one or two weeks of orientation in language and culture before the start of the internship would have helped for a smoother start of the internship period.
I am very grateful for the many opportunities to write articles and reports which motivated me to stick with writing in the future. A very special experience was the Green Academy in Tskhaltubo which the Foundation organized during my stay. It gave me the feeling of being with like-minded people and it was very interesting to discuss about their different ideas for a Green Social Movement in Georgia.
Right now I am finishing my Bachelor's degree in Political Sciences with a thesis on national identity in Georgia, for which my stay was truly inspirational. For the future I want to stay in touch with the Black Sea Region and especially South Caucasus, both professionally and non-professionally.
January, 2016