Internship reflection

After over two months abroad, my internship at Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) is drawing to a close, and so it’s a good time to look back and think about the projects I’ve done, and what I’ve learned during my internship.

One of the most valuable parts of this summer has been getting to observe the work of a think-tank from the inside. From the outside, it may be easy to write off think-tanks as a waste, or as people just blowing hot air. In working at CDD-Ghana, however, I’ve come to appreciate the amount of hard work, dedication, patience, and research that goes into being on the cutting-edge of democracy issues, and how important think-tanks can be. For example, CDD-Ghana is involved in many exciting, informative projects, such as the Afrobarometer project, where citizens of several African countries were surveyed for their thoughts about government.
I’ve had the opportunity to learn not only about Ghanaian government, but about governance issues in other African countries as well. The summer has also been an illuminating experience due to the research-driven nature of my internship, a big change from jobs I’ve had in the past. My coworkers are amazing, and it’s been wonderful to work with so many accomplished professionals dedicated to the work of improving governance in Africa.

I’ve gotten to work on a variety of projects, exposing me to lots of different legal issues in Ghana and beyond. For example, I prepared an HIV/AIDS anti-stigma training manual to help those is power adopt a human rights approach to HIV/AIDS. I found it fascinating to critique a draft bill about NGOs, pointing out things that should be addressed so that government actions relating to NGOs are more transparent and an improved legal environment for NGOs is created. I’ve gotten to do plenty of research and reading, but still feel like there is so much for me to learn about democracy in Africa.

It’s been an amazing summer. I’m exciting to go home soon, but I’ll treasure the experiences I’ve had here in Ghana. Less than two weeks to go!