Hello everyone. I'm Minahil Tauseef I'm from [INAUDIBLE] Pakistan, and I'm going to be a junior here at Mount Holyoke. And majoring in international relations with a minor in public policy and [INAUDIBLE]. And this internship was part of my Nexus minor. 

So this summer, I interned in Washington, DC at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. So IFES is an international non-profit organization that provides support for elections in new or emerging democracies all over the world. It was a very large organization with a very wide spread global impact, as we will see. [INAUDIBLE] provided assistance in 145 countries and currently has field offices in over 30 countries all over the world. 

So an interesting experience was one morning we had breakfast-- all the interns had breakfast with the CEO of our organization. And while talking to him, I found out that he himself was in Pakistan during the 2013 national elections. And it was really interesting to hear about his perspective on our elections and the work that IFES had done collaborating with the election division of Pakistan. So I know the first question for a lot of first years and sophomores is how to find an internship. So this internship was part of the international internship program at the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives. Kirk is here who has [INAUDIBLE] you can talk to him if you're more interested. 

So for this particular internship I actually went to apply twice. I had to apply first to the IIP. And then I also had to apply through their own online application portal. And it was a long process because after [INAUDIBLE] that I had to fill out. And afterwards, there was an interview. 

So IFES works to advance the governance and democratic rights by providing technical assistance to election officials, applying field-based research to improve the electoral cycle and empowering the under represented to participate in the political process. So my work had to do with the third point because I worked specifically in the general elections department. I was working towards increasing the political participation of the women in emerging democracies. 

These are just some of the issues of the gender in elections team dealt with. And one of the most important was violence against women in elections. So in the organization, we had to put teams devoted to different regions, like Latin America, South Asia, et cetera. But the gender team was [INAUDIBLE] programs in different regions. So Zimbabwe, Kenya, Haiti, Guatemala, Tanzania, are just some of the examples of the countries that I helped with and that our team was working on this summer. 

I'd like to give you an idea of how the gender team worked. They would conduct gender analysis in these regions and integrate the gender perspective into all IFES programs. And then work with field offices to provide advanced election management bodies and civil service organizations to integrate women empowerment into all of their work. They also conducted their own [INAUDIBLE] activities to increase governance agency as both elected representatives and voters. 

So what I did in the organization was-- so a lot of my work was research related. So whatever projects they were working on, I would provide research related to the situation of women in those countries. I provided project management support for global gender programs. To give you an example, my supervisor went to Kenya for two weeks during my internship. So I facilitated her work there by carrying out research and data related to electoral violence in Kenya, and provided her with whatever resources she needed. 

And in my research it was surprising to me just how prevalent violence against women in elections is. Just in the 2007 presidential election in Kenya 1,100 people died, 600,000 were displaced, and women and children were burned alive. And in a country like the US, you wouldn't even think that the electoral process in emerging democracy was so more [INAUDIBLE] political violence. Violence is often used as a tool to discourage women from seeking public office. 

So I also provided logistical and administrative support to the gender group. This was mostly in the form of a lot of writing and editorial work. So I updated old documents for internal use. For example, I compiled a list of all the tools and resources used by the gender team. And I updated their donor profiles. 

Their donors were [INAUDIBLE] global affairs, Canada, US Aid, et cetera. So I attended internal meetings. And this where I learned a lot about the workings of a nonprofit organization and the international development sector. It was interesting to see how IFES would receive potential projects from the US agency for International development, stating their budget and goals. And then IFES would put together a proposal stating why they should be chosen for the budget, and how they intend to achieve those goals. 

For example, one of the first meetings I attended was to discuss a proposal from US Aid Office explain why a million dollar to increase transparency in election administration. One meeting I attended was to debrief the gender work done in Haiti where IFES had implemented a woman [INAUDIBLE] had implemented a project and provide legal assistance to female candidates, and connected to the other administrative. So it's important to take initiative during your internship. So when I heard about the success of their work done in Haiti, I offered to write an article which was later published at the organization's website. 

Lastly, I provided social media support by managing the IFES gender Twitter account, which was something I worked on every day. So my supervisor was really great. And she really wanted me to get the most out of my experience in DC. And so she would send me to attend and report on events related to gender issues at various organizations. 

One of the first events I attended was a community market at the Health Committee on Foreign Affairs on Capitol Hill where I saw the House pass the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017. This was really interesting to see the Congress in action. And I also was able to see Congress pass four other bipartisan measures. 

I went to the Georgetown Institute for Women Peace and Security where I saw the launch of a research study on the role of women in transitional justice. I also went to the National Democratic Institute, where I attended a [INAUDIBLE] to discuss how to address challenges faced by LGBTI communities in the political process. And I attended a discussion at the United States Institute for Peace where experts from USIP and the World Bank discussed the world development report for 2017. 

So my internship provided a lot more than just the work I did, by my entire overall summer experience, which was great, because I lived in DC, and I absolutely love living there. This was my first time living completely independently. I had a great apartment. I had [INAUDIBLE] with me. And we had a lot of fun together. 

There was a lot to do and a lot to see. [INAUDIBLE] who you best summers of my life. And while went way over budget, it would have not have been possible without [INAUDIBLE] you guys. [INAUDIBLE]. But it was definitely worth it. 

And it wouldn't have been possible without LYNK funding. So I'm very grateful to Mt. Holyoke. And I would advise all the first years and sophomores in this room to take advantage of all the opportunities the school has to offer. Thank you so much for coming out [INAUDIBLE]. 

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