Jayne Murphy
My internship at MDAC was for a period of 3 weeks, but if I could change one thing, it would be to extend my stay! You are made to feel so welcome by the staff as soon as you arrive and the tasks you are given are so interesting that time flies and before you know it your internship is over. The main reason I would recommend applying for an internship at MDAC, is that you are not here to do unimportant work. Not only do the staff make you feel part a team but so does the tasks they assign for you.
During my time working at MDAC, my tasks focussed around the ASPEN project which is an anti-stigma campaign that aims to reduce stigma and discrimination against people with depression. My work consisted of researching general codes of practice for employment, linked with reasonable accommodation, researching employers groups on disability and writing up country reports; giving details on the disabled population, laws and policies and the status of employment. I also organised the data for the Summer School, which illustrated the success of MDAC in educating students who participated in MDAC’s Mental Disability Law in Practice course at Central European University this summer. Furthermore, I proofread documents for the shadow report on Hungary’s compliance with the CRPD; the report was distributed at the annual UN meeting on disabilities in New York.
Other tasks included structuring the newsletter representing April – June 2010, editing blurbs of previous interns and staff interviews to ensure they were prepared for the publishing deadline. Before taking part in the internship, my career path and dissertation were following the route of commercial law. However, since working in Budapest and seeing firsthand the changes that MDAC are making to the world of human rights, the disadvantages at which disabled people are met with and what a fascinating and motivating working environment human rights can be, my career path will be altering to ensure I utilize the skills and knowledge I have gained from MDAC.
Comparing MDAC to work experience I have done in the past, the environment is friendly, energetic and determined and I cannot do justice when describing how welcoming the staff really are. When I arrived I was assigned to a supervisor who offered direction and supports you throughout your time here. This is an experience I will never forget, not only because it opened my eyes to the injustices that human rights law has to amend but the beautiful city of Budapest only added to the ideal internship.
Jayne Murphy
Intern with MDAC, summer of 2010