The IPS UN Bureau has an internship programme for a minimum of four weeks and a maximum of three months. The programme is open primarily to those aspiring to be journalists -- and specially those interested in covering UN-related issues, including poverty, human rights, health care, refugees, children, disarmament, peacekeeping, gender empowerment and sustainable development.

Intern Anne-Kathrin Keller interviews a Nigerian actress campaigning for ActionAid.

The internship, which is unpaid, provides our interns access to UN press briefings, General Assembly and Security Council meetings, UN seminars and NGO meetings held at the Secretariat. Our interns also have opportunities to conduct interviews with UN diplomats and senior officials in the UN system. The internship not only provides insight into the inner workings of the Organisation but also gives our interns an opportunity to report on issues of global concern.

At any given time, we have had three to seven interns working out of the IPS

Bureau located on the fourth floor of the UN Secretariat. Our offices are sandwiched between CNN and BBC. Our interns have come from Afghanistan, Brazil, Britain, Germany , India, Italy, Nepal, Netherlands, Mongolia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, and United States. Our web site can be accessed at: www.ipsnews.net.

IPS UN Interns (left to right): Alexandra Stahl, Germany; Anita Petry, Brazil; Anne-Kathrin Keller, Germany; Rajiv Fernando, Sri Lanka/U.S.; Anuradha Kher, India; Nergui Manalsuren, Mongolia.

As with most news organisations at the UN, our interns have to pay their way to New York and find accommodation on their own. Because the UN's Department of Public Information, on instructions from the U.S. State Department, insists on an I-visa (I for information) for UN press credentials, we generally provide a letter to the respective U.S. Consuls to facilitate the visa process. This rule, however, does not apply to students with U.S. passports or permanent residency green cards, who do not need visas.

Our internship programme is best suited to students (at the Bachelor's or Master's Degree level) who are following academic courses in journalism, media communications, international affairs or environmental studies.

Besides coverage, interns are also expected to support the overall functioning of the IPS UN Bureau through tasks such as research, fact checking, monitoring the usage and publication of stories, and support to events held by IPS at the UN.

For further information, write or call:

Thalif Deen, UN Bureau Chief,
Inter Press Service (IPS) news agency,
Room S-485, United Nations,
New York, NY 10017
Phone: 1-212-963-6156

IPS offers other internship programmes in different locations around the world. Please have a look at the following opportunities:

* For internships at the IPS European office in Berlin, please write to

* For internships at IPS Asia-Pacific offices, please write to:

* For internships at IPS Africa offices, please write to:

* For internships at IPS Latin America offices, please write to: