WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2021) A group of young US students and recent graduates began participating in the first ever internship organized by the Russian Public Affairs Committee (Ru-PAC) and designed to improve relations between the United States and Russia, Ru-PAC founder and president Hunter Cawood told Sputnik.
"We've brought on 12 interns for the summer program who started in May. Most of them are college students or recent graduates who are looking to build their experience/credentials in international relations or more specifically Russia-US relations," Cawood said.
Ru-PAC is an independent, non-profit and non-governmental organization dedicated to developing and strengthening the relationship between the United States and Russia through education, dialogue, and policy recommendations that promote the interests and security of both countries, the organization's website read.
The 3-month internship gives participants practical experience, along with opportunities to publish articles, research, as well as the ability to network with other like-minded individuals, Cawood said.
"Essentially, the goal of Ru-PAC's internship program is to give young people in the American pro-Russia movement an opportunity to get involved and help strengthen Russia-US relations," he added. "Our hope is to give them the tools and experience they need to eventually become leaders in our grassroots movement."
All interns assigned to different Ru-PAC groups will have an opportunity to work on Russia-US relations as analysts, researchers or public relation specialists.
"The people who intern for Ru-PAC are people who love the United States and see that a better relationship with Russia is vital to American national security, beneficial to American businesses, and positively impacts the rest of the world," Cawood said.
A few participants have Russian heritage but most of them are ordinary Americans from California, Virginia, Washington, Georgia and other US states who want to improve relations between two countries.
"The internship is unpaid, but our interns are given ample opportunities to develop their professional portfolio while working with us," Cawood noted.
Ru-PAC also will provide interns with recommendation letters and will consider them among top candidates for opened positions inside the organization, he added.
