Office of International Programs

These internships are part of the Brazil LAB Internship Program.

The Brazil LAB is an original initiative, gathering Princeton faculty and students working in and on Brazil and on subjects Brazil is helpful to think with. Spearheaded by PIIRS and in synergy with various departments, programs and initiatives, the LAB | Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies | is a multi-disciplinary research and teaching hub for exploring the country’s history, politics and culture, along with its regional significance and international connections.

Imazon
Location: Santarem, Brazil
About: During 1980s in the Amazon region, the scarcity of applied and reliable research on landscape transformation weakened the speech that aimed to raise awareness for important
issues, such as the identification of the environmental degradation causes and the development of new alternatives to achieve sustainability.
 
After identifying this issue, the American researcher Chistopher Uhl, obtained funding to create a Civil Society Organization, bringing together newly trained professionals with good energy and leadership skills, Beto Veríssimo and Paulo Barreto. Thus, Imazon was founded in 1990, under the following guidelines: i) work close to the problems and with emphasis on the empirical and multidisciplinary approach; ii) use the scientific method as a basis for understanding the issues; iii) focus on critical and complex issues; iv) act with persistence until problems are solved; v) anticipate trends; vi) offer solutions that are feasible in the socioeconomic and cultural context of the Amazon; vii) recognize that there are many Amazonian and many legitimate interests; and act in an integrated or coordinated manner with other organizations.
 
Imazon’s mission is to promote the sustainable development in the Brazilian Amazon with the development of new studies, the support to public policies formulation, technological innovations and strategic results dissemination.
 
In the last 12 years, Imazon has been the key organization supporting the conservation of mosaic of protected areas in “Calha Norte” region, in the state of Para, Brazil. In 2006, the Institute was responsible to support to the creation of about 33 million acres of Conservation Units – the largest initiative to protected tropical forests in history. Imazon’s role includes carry out conservation and biodiversity studies, assist the public consultations process, support Advisory Councils, developed the management plan for the Protected Areas, support the environmental education programs, use satellite images to monitor deforestation and forest degradations among other activities.
 
Intern Responsibilities:
PROJECT 1:
Protected Areas of Juruti, Pará, Brazilian Amazon
Location: Municipality of Juruti, Pára State, Brazil
 
Overall goal is to protect around 12,155 acres of forest, through the creation of Jará Protected Areas and the development of its Management Plan in Juruti, Para (Brazil). Imazon is conducting the technical study and the consultation process required for the establishment of the Jará Protected Areas. Subsequently, it will elaborate the Management Plan for the protected areas and will establish its Consultation Council, as required by the Brazilian Enviromental law. Later, based on the management plan, Imazon will propose the infrastructure plan, including architectural proposal for the visitation center and administrative building and the layout for ecotourism trails, bike paths, etc. Finally, we will elaborate and execute the environmental education and communication programs, as well as a Governance Structure Proposal for the Jará Protected Area.
 
The intern will support the area’s socioeconomic, biological and environmental surveys. It may also support activities regarding the public consultations and the communication and environmental education strategies.
 
PROJECT 2:
Application of the Social Progress Index (SPI) and the Sustainable Development Objectives
(SDG) in Juruti
Location: Municipality of Juruti, Para, Brazil
 
The SPI is an analytic tool for quantitative and qualitative measurement of social and environment indicators. Social progress corresponds to a society’s ability to provide basic human needs for its citizens; to establish the essential elements that enable citizens and communities to improve and maintain their life quality; and to create the necessary conditions for the individuals to reach their full potential (https://www.socialprogress.org).
 
The SDG the United Nations initiative to support a plan of actions to achieve sustainable development goals by 2030. It contains 17 Objectives and 169 goals that should be adopted by
countries and other geographical scales. They are based in the urge to guarantee human rights, eliminate extreme poverty and hunger, achieved gender equality and sustainable development. The ODS seeks to balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental.
 
Imazon will use both SPI and SDG to elaborate the basis for Juruti’s sustainable development strategy. The student will be able support us collective primary data as well analyze economic, social and environmental secondary data related to SPI and SDG.
 
PROJECT 3:
Sustainable Landscape Program (PTS)
Location: Municipalities of Oriximina, Faro and Terra Santa, Para, Brazil
 
Sustainable Landscape Program is a long-term program (15 years) that aims to create a model of integrated sustainable development (social, economics, environment and cultural) in the northern region of Pará State where are located the largest protected areas in the World. This initiative promotes the inclusion and sustainability, by strengthening local public institutions, creating sustainable economic activities, promoting social participation as well the preservation of traditional cultures and the environmental conservation.
 
It was created in 2015 through a partnership between North River Mining (MRN) company (MRN) with three major NGOS: Imazon (www.imazon.org.br), Ecam (http://ecam.org.br) and Agenda Pública (https://www.agendapublica.org.br ) in collaboration with local governments and social organizations. The Program operates in the municipalities of Oriximina, Faro and
Terra Santa.
 
The Imazon activities that the student will assist during the internship program, are: Economic Development: Develop and implement a strategy for economic development of the region’s in key areas such as sustainable agriculture, forest management, ecotourism, non-timber forest products, sports fishing etc. Conservation: support activities to reduce deforestation, forest degradation and increase the capacity of local government to carry out programs with urban forests, environmental licensing and environment education.
 
Qualifications:

• Basic knowledge about conservation and environmental education/humanities
• Good interpersonal skills and empathy
• Eagle to learn and share new experiences
• Good written and oral communication skills
• Statistics (intermediary level)
• Portuguese or Spanish (at least intermediary level)

Instituto de Estudos da Religião (ISER)
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
About: The Institute for Religion Studies, ISER, is a civil society organization, of a secular nature, committed and dedicated to the cause of human rights and democracy. It emerged in the Brazilian context of the 1970s and aims to promote studies, research and also social intervention in line with the plural thematic axes of Brazilian society, such as the defense and guarantee of rights, public safety, environment, religious diversity, among others.

Intern Responsibilities:
Project in progress in ISER in some of the thematic areas: The student will work as a research assistant on some of our projects, working directly with the research coordinator.

• Public security
• Memory
• Truth
• Justice
• Religion and politics
• Prison system
• Religion
• Climate change

Institutional communication: The student will work directly with the communication coordinator, helping to maintain the website, building infographics and other graphic materials.

Qualifications:
Academic Background/Interests: Humanities/political science students, who are interested in human rights, public safety, religion in society, state violence and memory, truth and justice. Students of graphic design, who are interested in the above topics.

Technical Skills: Translation (Portuguese/English), research, data collection, analytical vision. For graphic designers: familiarity with infographics and with WordPress.

Languages and Level of Fluency (speaking/reading/writing): Intermediary Portuguese at minimum.

Additional Requirements: Proactivity, desire to work with meaningful issues, interest in Brazilian politics and post-colonialism.

This internship is offered in collaboration with Veredas Abroad.
 

Justiça Global
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
About: Justiça Global is a nongovernmental organization that has been active since 1999 acting on the protection and promotion of human rights and in the strengthening of civil society and democracy. We work in several Brazilian states in partnership with organizations and social movements, in four thematic lines: a) Institutional Violence and Public Security (VISP); b)Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (DHESCA); c) Communication (COM); and d) Human Rights Defenders (HRD).

The work of Justiça Global is to document and report violations of human rights, defend and formulate public policies, strengthen democratic institutions and organizations and guarantee the rights of victims of human rights violations. To do this, it articulates the following action strategies: research and documentation, training, political influence, strategic international litigation, communication and networking.

Intern Responsibilities:
Visual Communication: Experience with illustrations, layouts, layout, treatment and editing of images, development and control of visual identity, assistance in creating printed images and communication for the dissemination of campaigns, assistance in social media, organization.

Translation / Revision: The trainee will be responsible for translating or revising texts on the subject of Human Rights for the website, creation of subtitles in videos, material for sending projects of the organization and translation of texts in general. For the translation, the domain of Portuguese is fundamental and for the revision of texts that have already been translated into English, it will be necessary to master the native language (English). The texts have a language strongly related to the area of Law and Human Rights.

Jurisprudence: Set up a database of jurisprudence based on the decisions of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and international treaties.

Academic Background/Interests: Candidates with human rights interests are encouraged to apply.

Languages and Level of Fluency (speaking/reading/writing): An intermediate or advanced level of the Portuguese will be a differential, especially for translation and jurisprudence positions.

This internship is offered in collaboration with Veredas Abroad.