Germany offers internships for the youth in Moldova

Three young persons will benefit from the International Parliamentary Scholarship (Internationales Parlaments Stpendum) as from 2008. It is financed and organised by the German Bundestag in cooperation with three universities from Germany. Young persons will have opportunity to complete a 3.5 month internship in the office of a Member of the German Bundestag and 4 weeks at a political foundation in Berlin, as well as to graduate a complementary academic programme organised by those three German universities. The programme starts on March 1 and lasts for 5 months. According to the Press Service of the Parliament, the young persons speaking German and interested in the political process, as well as in strengthening democratic reforms, are invited to submit their applications at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Chisinau and at the Parliament of Moldova. The selection of participants will be organised in two stages. The Parliament in Chisinau together with the Embassy of Germany will select eight candidates until May 31, and in September a delegation from Germany will select three of them to keep their terms in Bundestag. The participants will be offered a monthly scholarship worth EUR 450 from the funds of the Bundestag. The programme covers expenses related to accommodation, health, casualty and civil liability insurance, and the airfare. The eligible persons shall be born after March 1, 1978, must have the citizenship of Moldova, higher education degree and should aim at a professional career in the public service, political activity, media etc. Advanced German is a basic condition for the participation in the programme. Each year, the German Bundestag, in cooperation with Berlin's universities, offers approximately 115 young people from different countries - currently 25 - a unique opportunity to complete an internship lasting for several months in the office of a Member of the German Bundestag, and thus to familiarise themselves with the decision-making in German politics and gain experience in the field of parliamentary work. The countries participating in the programme are Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia, Macedonia, Poland, Belarus, Moldova, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, USA, Ukraine and Hungary.