Volunteers and interns have contributed to Cividep-India’s work immensely. Welcoming volunteers to work with us has been our way of facilitating participation of students and youth in social change. Their commitment and enthusiasm has made a definite change in the quality and reach of Cividep-India’s activities.
If you are interested in volunteering with Cividep-India, please send your curriculum vitae to info@cividep.org
Mark Strammans
During my PhD field research in Bangalore I was invited to work in the Cividep-India office, and was supported by the team. I was warmly welcome and very much enjoyed the working atmosphere and the direct exchange about my research issues with the staff. The stay provided me with first-hand insights into the issues. THANK YOU very much!
Tulika Bansal
I interned with Cividep-India during summer 2006. Being a International law student with interest in Human rights and CSR, Cividep-India was the right place to start my professional involvement in these topics. Working within the small Cividep team allowed me to learn a lot about CSR, human rights violations in the Indian textile industry and cooperation with various stakeholders such as garment workers, trade unions, lawyers and partner NGOs.
Mr. Gopinath encouraged me to take up different opportunities during my time at Cividep-India; from working on an OECD complaint and general research on CSR to meeting with partners and conducting my own research.
My positive and valuable experiences at Cividep-India made me decide to continue in the field of Human Rights and CSR in future steps I made, during my Master degree and following professional steps.
Thank you for everything.
Alice Gartland
During my placement I put together an initial report on the Companies Act in India and general principles relating to corporate accountability, setting out relevant legislation and issues to review going forward. The research was used to inform and focus Cividep-India’s work in this area. One of the most rewarding aspects of the placement, was having the opportunity to learn from the different members of the Cividep-India team. Overall, the placement greatly improved my knowledge and understanding of corporate accountability issues and has made a valuable contribution to my career development.
Laura Ceresna
I worked with Cividep-India during my master thesis research on labour rights and working conditions in the garment sector in Bangalore. During the whole process Cividep-India was a great help and provided contacts to garment workers, union representatives and even garment manufacturing companies and suppliers. Without their help and expertise I would have never been able to collect the amount of significant data. After graduating from university I volunteered for Cividep-India and had the opportunity to look into a new field: working conditions in the mobile manufacturing sector in South India. Organisations like Cividep-India are important to promote labour rights particularly in export oriented sectors such as garments and electronics and inform the public about labour rights abuses. Moreover, Cividep offers people from all over the world the opportunity to participate and support their work.
Savraj Kaur
I was selected to share my skills in the Bangalore Cividep-India office through the Asian Foundation for Philanthropy’s British-Indian diaspora internship programme, and spent a summer conducting interviews, writing and handling e-communications work for both the garment and electronics sectors, as well as conducting educational activities with the children of garment workers.
People’s organisations like Cividep-India and its affiliates are extremely important tools in the human rights world, as they embrace the ability to empower labourers through education, unionisation and campaigning… and influence international companies to respect human rights and conduct their trade with a conscientious approach.
Being an active member of such an organisation made my work and stay in Bangalore a highly regarded experience, and I will surely continue to support the work of Cividep-India for years to come. Much appreciation to the gracious and cooperative Cividep-India colleagues, awe-inspiring and strong-willed union workers, and everyone else who made my placement captivating!
Mahoo Lyimo
I volunteered with Cividep-India during the summer of 2010. During my placement I was given the opportunity to research and create a report relating to sexual harassment in the workplace faced by garment workers. Through Cividep-India’s extensive connections I was given the opportunity to talk to an array of inspirational people including people within the local Government and leaders of certain women’s organisations. Accordingly I gained some invaluable knowledge not only about the legal framework currently in place within India but also about the cultural attitudes that are still pervasive within society and which continue to act as an obstacle for any progressive change. The Cividep-India team are a warm and open group of people who welcomed me in whole-heartedly to ensure that I had a productive and pleasurable placement. It was definately an experience I will never forget.
Stella James
The research project with Cividep in June 2011 has been one of the most insightful research work that I have had the opportunity to pursue. My work was to look into the implementation of labour laws in the garment industry in Bangalore, and prepare a report on the same. The work allowed me to take my knowledge of labour laws beyond what I had studied in the classroom. The extensive field work that accompanied the analysis of the relevant national and international laws also gave me a whole new perspective on research. The environment was warm and friendly, and I felt very welcome. I especially want to emphasize that I was treated as part of the organization and at no point did I ever feel that I had to treat the others as my superiors, which set it apart from all my previous internships. It was a wonderful experience and one that I shall not forget.
Jason Chelat
I worked at CIVIDEP for a three week internship in my fourth year of law school. Although I was initially skeptical of the amount of work I could get done in this short span of time, I am grateful for everybody at CIVIDEP for ensuring that I learnt a lot during the time I worked with them. During the course of my internship I worked on the issues related to conditions of labor in electronics and garment sector in India. I had an opportunity to see how labor legislations that I had studied about were functioning in real life situations and to meet and interact with union leaders and workers in some of the most exploitative areas of work in India.
Coming from an academic environment that was starting to convince me that legal research was increasingly getting alienated from grassroots experiences and problems, it was refreshing to work at an organization like CIVIDEP. I am grateful for CIVIDEP for giving me an opportunity to work with genuine, sincere and hard working people and making me feel not only welcome at their organization but also useful in some way.
Thanks!