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Global Affairs and Development Internships

Future leaders of international community development are being forged at The Washington Center through the Ford Motor Company Global Scholars Program. Combining an international awareness with practical resources, skills, mentorships and training, this program explores ways in which the participants can contribute to the welfare of their communities.

Ford Global Scholars center their work on advancing the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The program includes study focused on:

• In-depth understanding of the MDGs.
• Facilitating strategic global partnerships.
• Promoting the best business practices to advance the MDGs.
• Examining poverty, health, gender equality, access to education, the environment, sustainability, and other important issues.

The program also promotes the exchange of cultural knowledge and skills and provides a platform for structured conversation.

The Ford Global Scholars will analyze the mechanisms needed to continue advances on the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), learn how to facilitate strategic global partnerships, and promote best business practices to advance these MDGs. The issues they will examine include poverty, health, gender equality, access to education, the environment, and sustainability. The program also promotes the exchange of cultural knowledge and skills and provides a platform for structured conversation.

The 15-week program integrates a full-time internship placement with course instruction on international community development. It is complemented by various programming, including panel discussions, site visits, informational interviews, workshops, simulations, and more. These opportunities prepare young leaders to make complex public policy decisions necessary to advance social issues in a global environment.

Through the Ford Global Scholars Program, students will:

• Think critically about the role of the U.N., its achievements and challenges.
• Analyze the evolving history and areas of progress since the creation of the Millennium Declaration in 2000.
• Describe the major areas of concern still pending to be solved.
• Discuss the role and impact that private and public organizations can have in solving some of the most pressing issues.
• List several specific solutions that communities around the world can implement in order to help the public and the private sectors in alleviating some of the problems that are jeopardizing sustainable development.
• Explain how solving some of the pending issues can contribute to achieve sustainable development, a cleaner environment and better trade relationships and practices around the world.
• Assess how economic growth in developing countries can impact successful resolution of the most profound social challenges and raise living standards of its citizens.
• Speak coherently about how cross-cultural collaboration can be improved around the world.
• Demonstrate the influence that the media and politics have on advancing best practices to achieve the goals.
• Present practical situations and recommendations for meeting the MDGs by 2015.
• Practice proper protocol, understand procedures, and become comfortable with skills such as negotiation, caucusing, and speech making.
• Maintain constructive discussions, as they examine and resolve problems based on existing plans and identify where plans need to be refined.
• Effectively execute plans of action, decisions, and deal with crisis situations.

Created in Partnership with the Ford Motor CompanyIn 2008, The Washington Center received major funding from Ford Motor Company to create this unique program. Since its inception the Ford Global Scholars Program has hosted over 100 students in Washington, D.C. Students have come from Sao Paulo and Salvador, Brazil; Chennai, India; Saint Petersburg, Russia; Johannesburg, South Africa; Hanoi, Vietnam and the United States.

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