The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Internship Program: APPLY!!!

admin October 22, 2023

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The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Internship Program

DEADLINE: 31 October, 2023

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Internship Program

Background

The African Continental Free Trade Area – AfCFTA is the world’s largest free trade area bringing together the 55 countries of the African Union (AU) and eight (8) Regional Economic Communities (RECs). The overall mandate of the AfCFTA is to create a single continental market with a population of about 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of approximately US$ 3.4 trillion. The aim is to enable the free flow of goods and services across the continent and boost the trading position of Africa in the global market. 
The AfCFTA is one of the flagship projects of Agenda 2063 of the African Union (AU): The Africa We Want, the AU’s long-term development strategy for transforming the continent into a global powerhouse.
The AfCFTA would like to offer an opportunity to students who possess adequate knowledge and skills in relevant areas to work as interns (for a specified period) and gain some practical experience and international exposure.

Context

Given the critical role to be played by the AfCFTA in moving the continent forward towards the achievement of its development agenda, it has been deemed necessary to create a platform for a number of African students, possessing the required knowledge and skill levels to be introduced to the work of the AfCFTA, through an internship program.
The internship program is designed to bring highly qualified and motivated students with diverse backgrounds into the Secretariat to work on projects linked to the Strategic Orientations of the Secretariat and to support the corporate functions of the Secretariat. Its main goal is to give successful candidates the opportunity to improve their analytical and technical skills in an international environment.
The program is primarily educational and aims to expose participants (interns) to the workings of the AfCFTA at an early stage and strengthen their personal and early professional skills. It will provide an avenue for participants to gain an exposure and some hands-on experience in various applicable fields, while learning in a multi-cultural environment.

Objectives

1.   To provide students the opportunity to gain an exposure to the work done at AfCFTA
2.   To offer a learning platform to students who qualify to serve as interns
3.   To provide students, the opportunity of experiencing, first hand, the work of one of the ambitious projects of the African Union
4.   To promote the AfCFTA to the general public, especially the youth and encourage them to work hard towards achieving their aims of working with International Organizations