CWS Global Engagement Internships

Center for Cross Cultural Learning – Wellesley in Africa (Rabat Medina, Morocco) November 30, 2011

Center for Cross Cultural Learning – Wellesley in Africa (Rabat Medina, Morocco)
Updated version 2012

I – General information about Host institutions
The CCCL is a private Moroccan educational institution founded by Moroccan academics experts in the field of cross-cultural learning. The Center organizes a variety of cultural and educational activities, which include language courses, seminars and lecture series on Moroccan society and Arab and Islamic cultures as well as educational excursions to various parts of Morocco. The CCCL also sponsors art exhibits and musical performances. The aim of these activities is to provide participants with opportunities to learn from the rich cultural diversity of Morocco and to better understand and appreciate the country’s cultural heritage.
CCCL promotes better understanding between people of the world through Study Abroad programs, Service Learning, Language learning (Modern standard Arabic “Fus’ha” and Moroccan colloquial Arabic “Darija” as well as Tamazight “Berber”), Trainings in Intercultural Learning, leading, non-formal education, Human Rights Education and youth participation. Moreover, CCCL organizes for its participants – including the interns- the Homestay that is also an intensive cross-cultural experience, not a tour or travel program. You will be received as a member of the family and involved in the daily activities of that family. You will also have opportunities to go off and explore the host community independently. The Homestay Program offers participants special insight into the Moroccan society through experiencing daily life, customs, values, and language. There is no better way to learn and improve your knowledge about a culture and a language than to live with a family and experience daily life first-hand. You are given the opportunity to participate in meals -half board-, conversation, and daily activities. Most host families have volunteered their homes, motivated by the idea of building cross-cultural friendships. They do not see their home as a hotel. Most families want to get to know you as a person and hope to continue the friendship after the homestay. Host families are carefully selected and screened. Some families have hosted students before, but for others it is a first-time experience. Your family might be a couple with or without children, or an extended family in the medina with more than just members. In many cases, participants are matched with families that have children. All participants, however, must be willing to accept the family matched to them. Within each family, you will experience a different dynamic. Typical family activities often include attending family parties, visiting relatives, going to the movies with a host sibling, enjoying long dinners, socializing with the neighbors over Moroccan tea, and exploring medina souks, sites, and city centers together.
For further information please check the following website: www.cccl.ma
The internship might also take place at Thaqafat association the main partner of CCCL. Thaqafat Association is a non-governmental Moroccan organization (NGO) dedicated to fostering cross-cultural respect and appreciation within Morocco as well as internationally. Providing opportunities for people of various backgrounds to exchange their ideas, perspectives, and projects in mutual respect is at the core of Thaqafat’s philosophy. The eagerness of Thaqafat members to teach and learn, their motivation to work for a better future for all, and their openness to diversity has gained them the respect of their community and that of partner organizations.
For more information please check the following website: www.thaqafat.org.ma .
Our goal is to enhance mutual respect and acceptance of the other with no discrimination through empowerment and equality between all cultures.
Our motto is: “We go further than simple learning; we are in continuous search for a better understanding”.
Our main partners are the School for International Training, Experiment for International Living, Boston University, Wellesley College, City College of New York, Humboldt State University, Williams College, Thaqafat association…
Upon arrival the supervisors will provide the interns with a useful orientation about the work atmosphere and the planed schedule as well as the information that they should know about Morocco.
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II- Internship Description for 2012
1-Important Qualifications:
Required:
• Excellent English writing, speaking, reading and proofreading.
• Computer skills (Word, Excel, power point, a brief notion about access, internet research).
• Open minded and has flexible personality.
• Motivated to stimulate toward action.
• Eager to learn.
• Takes initiatives.
• Likes challenges.
Desired:
• Organizational skills,
• Archiving,
• Communication,
• Library management,
• French language skills desirable for interns to find their ways around, in the city and country
2- Important requirements:
• Involved in different CCCL departments and in different activities.
• Respect the Moroccan customs and norms and the host institution regulations.
• Ready to be intellectually challenged and able to adjust with the changes of certain tasks.
• Eager to share with the others, be it peers in the program or people met throughout their stay in Morocco.
• Interns should get in contact with CCCL two months prior the beginning of the program in Morocco in order to tailor the internship according to both the intern and CCCL expectations.
3- Intern’s duties:
An intern at CCCL or Thaqafat association is expected to be a learner. She should expect to continue learning throughout the internship and while learning she should be:
• Delivering and working on assignments and projects that she is expected to accomplish with the supervision of a supervisor or a coordinator
• Getting immersed with the diversity of the CCCL or Thaqafat tasks and duties, not that she will gain expertise in any of them, but to familiarize herself with the work environment, place, people, type and pace of the work.

4- CCCL or Thaqafat interns experience highlights:
• Interns will be able to acquire certain skills such as leadership skills, organizational skills, teaching and living in a diverse environment.
• Benefit from the CCCL or Thaqafat staff professional experience.
• Experience the concrete professional world and improve the personal career by gaining a valuable knowledge.
• Become part of the community.
• Learning from people about the daily life in Morocco either through homestay families, host institutions staff, programs’ participants or by being part of the community as a whole.
• Enhance thinking communication, problem-solving and interpersonal skills.
III– Interns projects for summer 2012:
The interns will get a chance to work on different projects depending on their skills and experiences. They will be working under the supervision of the responsible of each department.
Brief description of the projects:
Intern I:
This intern will work part time at CCCL main building with the Department of Moroccan Languages and Culture (DMLC), and the other part at Thaqafat Association.
Mornings: Thaqafat Association :
- Help in the marketing of Thaqafat’s programs
- Proofread administrative documents of the Association
- Update Thaqafat website, brochure
- Update Thaqafat brochures
- Work on Thaqafat facebook page
- Work on Thaqafat library
- Work on NGOs database
- Thaqafat outlook
- Archive

Afternoons: Department of Moroccan Languages and Culture “DMLC”
- Proofread the administrative documents
- Work on archives and classification of documents and materials
- Work on database of the students’ registrations
- Help prepare the documents that should be posted on the extranet
- Help update the documents of the following academic year
- Collaborate in establishing some new projects that are related to teaching language to non-native speakers.
Intern II:
Library:
- Helping in the updating of the general library database
- Update database of ISPs
- Burn our conferences on DVDs
- Collect all our scanned readings and organize them by thematic order and then burn them into DVDs
- Work on the rearrangement of shelves + check-in/out of books (daily basis)
- Assist the our students when needed
- Update regulations of library
- Draft an assessment evaluation on our library services, have it filled out by participants then draft a assessment report of recommendations to improve our services
- Since we are thinking about adding an online library services on our website sometimes in the future; then, I suggest having this intern work on a study proposal to help us launch this (based on her experience from her home university but also from research to be done on internet)

Other:
- Help update our CCCL Website
- Help update our Facebook accounts (CCCL, SIT summer, and other programs)
- Draft assessment reports/recommendation on our website/Facebook accounts
- Updating our general contact database to be used on the Extranet
- Drafting assessment reports on our programs pages on partners websites (i.e. BU programs pages on BU website, etc…) and have student work with relevant coordinators to gather materials and documentations + update texts if needed

This internship will run from May 28 to July 31, 2012. Housing will be provided through a homestays and $1,000 will be deducted from the stipend to provide that. Two internship positions are available at CCCL.