New Internship Program in Myanmar enables young candidates to run for Parliament

Three former interns were nominated by their parties to contend for parliamentary seats in the 2020 election. Others were permanently employed by their party by the end of the program to work in the head office, or to be focal points in the local office such as Parliamentary Support Centers and Research Departments. And most of the alumni are strongly engaged in electoral processes as campaigners, voter educators and so on. 

These were some of the positive outcomes of the recent Myanmar Parliamentary Internship Program by DIPD Myanmar. The third and most recent batch graduated their internship program in August 2020.

Hands-on experience 

The Myanmar Parliamentary Internship Program (MPIP) is the very first internship program for the young members of political parties in the country. The goal is to enhance youth participation in politics through ‘hands on’ experience with policy making processes, legislative processes while supporting Members of Parliament. The program is designed to push forward young political leaders who will contribute to the democratic transition of Myanmar and greater inclusion of youth in politics – creating a safe space for youth in politics.

The idea is that politically engaged young people work as interns for Members of Parliament from their political parties. The interns also undergo training about the basic norms of political parties and their functions, the electoral system, the parliamentary system and daily works of MPS. More specifically, they will be helping with doing assignments, data collecting, preparing policy briefs and directly engaging with members of parliament.

Less young candidates

The internship program started in 2018 and is recognized by members of parliaments, parties and young people. Its importance is acknowledged by parliament, as the MPs need more support in their daily work.

Unfortunately, less young candidates ran for the election in 2020 compared to the election in 2015, where 734 young candidates contested. In 2020 the number of young candidates was 600. This emphasizes the need for the internship program to get more people involved in politics.