Background
UCLG ASPAC is the largest regional section of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), an amalgamation of International Union of Local Authorities (IULA), United Towns Organization (UTO), and World Association of the Major Metropolises (METROPOLIS) set up in Ghent (Belgium) in 1913, in Aix-les-Bains (France) in 1957 and in Paris (France) in 1985, respectively. UCLG was established on 1 January 2004 and is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain. Following this unification, UCLG ASPAC was established in Taipei on 14 April 2004, as the new entity of IULA ASPAC. UCLG ASPAC’s Secretariat is based in Jakarta, Indonesia.
UCLG is a worldwide association of local governments and the officially recognized voice of local governments by the United Nations. UCLG ASPAC has linkages to more than 7,000 cities and local governments. It represents well over 3.76 billion people – more than half of the world population – and incorporates economically fast developing countries such as China, India, and Indonesia.
UCLG ASPAC is the key knowledge management hub on local government issues in the Asia-Pacific region. It promotes democratic local government, supports cooperation between cities, local governments and their associations, and facilitates programme, network and partnerships to develop the capacity of local governments and the associations. Moreover, UCLG ASPAC represents local governments politically within the international community, and with the United Nations and its agencies. It also promotes inclusive societies which safeguard equality, social and economic justice, and sustainable development. UCLG ASPAC is engaged in all relevant thematic fields for nurturing sustainable development comprising local economic development, climate change, disaster resiliency, culture, strategic planning, decentralization, municipal finance, gender equality, women leadership and empowerment and good governance.
In 2018, UCLG ASPAC was assigned by the Global Secretariat of Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM) to host the Secretariat of Global Covenant of Mayors Southeast Asia (GCoM SEA). GCoM is a globally coherent and regionally adapted alliance of cities, local governments, and their partners who are voluntarily committed to actively combatting climate change and transitioning to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy, in line with Paris Agreement. To date, GCoM has worked to align existing and new city support structures through local coalitions of partners – with further support from the Global Secretariat – and have been responsible for setting up and managing their own region-specific approaches, as well as locally relevant governance and technical assistance systems.
In an attempt to enhance the performance of the UCLG ASPAC Secretariat, the Internship Programme is established. The programme is intended to deliver professional development opportunities for university students and fresh graduates to acquire new skills and experiences through participating in UCLG ASPAC activities. The Internship Programme features on-the-job capacity building and learning at the Secretariat.
Objective
The main objective of the Internship Programme is to provide professional exposure to students or fresh graduates through involvement in the programmes and activities of UCLG ASPAC. The Interns also will be able to develop expertise in the application of theory from their background to the practical issue of local governance and other relevant thematic works of UCLG ASPAC and to increase knowledge and experience in dealing with city and local government cooperation and coherence in the Southeast Asia region, focusing on mitigation and adaptation of climate change. It is expected that the Interns can obtain in-depth knowledge of the UCLG ASPAC Secretariat functional activities and the issue of local governance as the result of the internship period.
- Qualifications
The candidate must:
- Be at least in the 6th semester of his/her undergraduate programme or postgraduate programme in the fields of development, urban/regional planning, business administration, public administration, international relations, environmental, English department, computer science and/or related areas.
- Have a minimum GPA of 3.0 (out of 4.0)
- Possess excellent English Speaking and writing skills
- Have an analytical, data-driven, detailed mindset
- Have experience in either of these softwares:
- Zoom/Webex
- Canva/Adobe InDesign
- Social Media
Assignments and expected outputs
The duration of the alumni internship programme is three (3) months. Under direct supervision of the GCoM SEA Secretariat, the intern is expected to perform the following tasks:
- To support GCoM SEA activities on daily basis related to EU and GCoM SEA visibilities
- To compile documentation from various resources, incl. UN agencies, international NGOs, and other stakeholders’ activities.
- To assist in collecting and updating the database of GCoM SEA Secretariat.
- To provide assistance to updating materials for publication on the official website of GCoM SEA Secretariat.
- To provide support to any GCoM SEA’s projects in seminars, workshops, conferences, and/or ASPAC related events where applicable.
- To support GCoM SEA secretariat on design and social media activities
At the end of the internship, the following outputs are expected:
- A final report detailing the intern’s experience and the works assigned.
- A report detailing the outcomes of the various seminars, workshops or conferences attended (where applicable).
Completion of Internship
Upon completion of internship and a satisfactory conclusion, the Interns will receive a Certificate of Service signed by Secretary General.
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