Why an International Interns Day?
4.5 million students do an internship in Europe every year. It has become a requirement to get a job. But, most internships do not fulfil their purpose. Policy makers, media and employers are understanding the importance of a better framework for internships. But it is not enough. The objective of this year edition is to create a fully transparent labour market for young people by collectively rating the quality of their internships. 20 NGOS and universities from 8 countries join forces internationally partner to:
1) create full transparency on young people working conditions
2) empower the interns’ community
3 ) achieve concrete political change
Events around the world on November, 10th
More events are coming!
Brussels, Belgium
Launch event on the 9th evening. Event at the European Commission on the 10th.
More info to register soon
Madrid, Spain
Event 10th of November (morning) at the University of Alcala “Enhancing the quality of Internships”
More info to register soon
Paris, France
More info to register soon
Geneva, Switzerland
More info to register soon
Budapest, Hungary
More info to register soon
Join your local community for the International Interns’ Day, November, 10th 2015
Key decision makers who endorse us
Marianne Thyssen, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labor Mobility
“Traineeships are important stepping stone to work but they need to be valuable and �take place under good working conditions. A traineeships should be an investment, not a substitute for free or cheap labour. I warmly welcome the work of InternsGoPro which complements our efforts at EU level to promote quality traineeships.”
Martin Schulz, current leader of the SPD
Very much share spirit & objective of the International Interns Day for paid, quality, formal internships – stepping stone to full employment/further education.
Terry Reintke, Member of European Parliament
“We need to end the exploitation of interns as cheap labour! By hesitating to enforce effective measures the EU tolerates the precarious conditions of millions of young people in Europe. We call for quality internships that are paid, based on a signed agreement with fair working conditions and established learning contents. If we do not act now, the social marginalization of young people in Europe will proceed.”
Ulrike Lunacek, Vice-President of the European Parliament
“The legal framework and the quality assurance of internships is problematic in many countries. Real traineeships and entry level jobs with long long-term perspectives are needed”.
Read the full message
Brando Bennifei, Member of the European Parliament
“…Such initiative is even more important since it is taking place after a very important Strasbourg session where Members of the European Parliament have extensively discussed with outgoing Commissioner László Andor the issue of youth employment and conditions of young people in the labour market. Indeed, we all need to use this momentum to make sure that young people and their conditions are put at the core of the EU agenda for the next 5 years.”
Watch full video message
Jutta Steinruck, Member of European Parliament
“Interns and Trainees are often used as cheap labour while doing the job of a regular employee. We need to make sure that young people can get quality jobs like everyone else. Therefore, the EU quality framework for internships should be more concrete, clearly stating guidelines and minimum standards for working conditions of interns. Particularly, an adequate salary and social protection schemes are crucial since interns are often unpaid which puts them at risk of poverty and social exclusion.”
Edouard Martin, Member of European Parliament
“I fully support the European Interns’ Day. The European Union has to be the driving force and a model in the fight against precarity. Why wouldn’t the EU and its institutions be the first ones to sign the European Label for Quality Internships! I am voting for it!”
Sylvie Guillaume, Member of European Parliament
“At the European level, we need to develop a legal protection and a powerful framework to support youth workers, volunteers and interns”.
Maria Arena, Member of European Parliament
“All the initiatives, as the European Interns’ Day, aiming at restoring equality in the labour market for young people, must be supported. The temptation of some, basing their arguments on the crisis, to impose to young people lower job standards and conditions, are unacceptable. Quality jobs for young people is a right, as well as a strong lever to recover from the economic crises”.
Lead Organisers
InternsGoPro
Brussels, Belgium
InternsGoPro is a social enterprise with the mission is to improve the overall conditions of internships in Europe. We do so, by increasing the transparency on the labor market for students and graduates. For this, we developed the “European Label for Quality Internships” to certify employers offering high quality internships.
European Youth Forum
Brussels, Belgium
http://www.europeanyouthforum.org
http://www.youthforum.org/quality-internships
The European Youth Forum (YFJ) is the platform of youth organisations in Europe. We advocate for a European Quality Charter on Internships and Apprenticeships that lays basic quality principles for internships and apprenticeships to become a valuable and quality experience across Europe.
Organisers
Universidad de Alcala
Madrid, Spain
The University of Alcalá is among the best in the world according to the QS Stars international quality accreditation system, which also gives the UAH its highest rating in Teaching, Internationalisation, Employability, Infrastructure, Innovation and Social Commitment.
Pay Your Interns Initiative
Geneva, Switzerland
Interns, students and young professionals wish to denounce the discriminatory reality of unpaid internships in the UN system and other organizations.
Génération Précaire
Paris, France
Précaires masqués venus sur terre pr éduquer les honnêtes gens à la rémunération des jeunes #emploi #stage #insertion #interns contact@generation-precaire.org.
Stagiares Sans Frontières
Paris, France
http://stagiairessansfrontieres.com
Stagiaires Sans Frontières (Intern Without Borders) is developing a new concept : shared internship between a company (80%) and a non-profit organization/social business with high social impact (20%). Our ambition is to reinvent internship (in the long run full time jobs) and to foster relationships between the corporate world and social innovators through young people’s energy and commitment.
Interns Australia
Melbourne, Australia
www.internsaustralia.org/
Interns Australia is the support and advocacy body for interns and students undertaking work placements in Australia.
Repubblica Degli Stagisti
Milan, Italy
http://www.repubblicadeglistagisti.it
La Repubblica degli Stagisti è una testata giornalistica online nata per approfondire la tematica dello stage in Italia e dare voce agli stagisti.
Brussels Interns NGO
Brussels, Belgium
http://www.bingo-brussels.eu
By working closely with both employers and the professionals, the Brussels Interns NGO (B!ngo) ASBL and its partners want to contribute to the shift of the job-market mentality, towards one where quality early job experiences are the rule instead of the exception.
Agora Jeunes en Europe
Paris, France
Ganhem Vergonha
Porto, Portugal
http://ganhemvergonha.pt/
Ganhem Vergonha! (in English, Shame on You!) is an activist online platform created to denounce abuse committed by employers and job offers announcers. Initially, the project main goal was to contribute to the regulation of job search websites. But later, Ganhem Vergonha! has focused on creating awareness for different labor exploitation phenomena, like non legislated internships, fake volunteering, unpaid jobs, recurrent salary delay or spec work.
Canadian Intern Association
Canada
www.internassociation.ca
The Canadian Intern Association is a national not-for-profit organization that advocates against the exploitation of interns and aims to improve internship experiences. Our work focuses on public education, law reform, academic research and gaining media coverage of intern issues across Canada and around the world.
Geneva Interns Association
Geneva, Switzerland
www.internsassociation.org
GIA is an association of interns working at the United Nations, International Organizations, Private Sector, NGOs & CERN in Geneva. GIA was founded in October 2011 by 24 interns from 8 different organizations. GIA is here to help connect you with people and events in Geneva as well as to provide social, professional and academic growth opportunities while in Geneva.
International Young Professionals Foundation
Canberra, Australia
www.iypf.org
The organization was formed to meet a need at the time to create an organization whose goal was to produce a global community of young professionals creating a better world for current and future generations through local and global action.
Fair Internship Initiative
New York, USA
https://www.facebook.com/QFRII/
As the youngest contributors to the United Nations, we strongly believe in and are committed to the values of our organization. We therefore wish to align the working conditions of interns within the System with the values the UN stands for, which are undermined by the status quo.
Junior Chamber International
Brussels, Belgium
www.jcithoe.com
JCI is a membership-based nonprofit organization of 200,000 young people, aged 18 to 40 years, spread among 5,000 communities and present in more than 100 countries around the world. Each JCI Member shares the belief that in order to create lasting positive change, we must improve ourselves and the world around us.
Intern Labor Rights
Washington D.C., USA
www.internlaborrights.com
Intern Labor Rights meets every week in New York City. Our meetings are informal and casual, and anyone interested in this issue is encouraged and welcome to attend.
Make Sense
Paris, France
www.makesense.org
We connect Social Entrepreneurs with supercool individuals ready to take up their challenges : spot a Social Entrepreneur, take up his challenge and celebrate with the Sense-Makers accross the globe when it is solved.
Project 668
Brussels, Belgium
www.project668.org
We are an EU-wide professional development community of current and former trainees from the EU institutions that aims to fight youth unemployment. We want to be the one stop shop of reference for our community to bridge the gap between trainees and potential employers