Working as an Intern at the Permanent Representation

“My name is Darren Hernandez. I was an intern at the Permanent Representation as part of my Master’s degree in Public International Law. I highly recommend an internship at the Permanent Representation! The team is small and close-knit, and I quickly felt at home.

Born and raised in Curaçao, I was very interested in the relationship between the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Council of Europe during my internship. The Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of four countries, in Europe and in the Caribbean: Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Netherlands. The Permanent Representation represents all these countries, also working in cooperation with the islands. Several Council of Europe treaties also apply to the islands. During my internship, we had high-level visits from the Caribbean: the Curaçaoan Minister of Justice and a deputy from Bonaire visited Strasbourg. As part of the team, I helped with the coordination and planning of the visits. I also had the chance to witness Papiamentu getting recognized under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.”

Thought-provoking events and work

“The Permanent Representation has many interesting initiatives each year that you also get to work on. The Amsterdam Rainbow Dress’ visit to Strasbourg and the exhibition on Dutch slavery history especially impacted me, as they sparked much conversation on equality for all persons.
As a law student, I also found it very interesting to help with the preparation for the meetings on the implementation of rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, which are held four times a year. This gave me a better understanding of the interaction between law and politics and the implementation of international rulings, a topic that did not receive much attention during my studies.”

Social Contact
“At the weekly Committee of Ministers meetings, at other meetings and outside of work, you have a lot of contact with the other Permanent Representations, especially with trainees and interns. I liked this aspect, as you get to know people from all over Europe and see how much European countries have in common. Besides the great colleagues at the Permanent Representation, the other trainees also made my time in Strasbourg unforgettable. With an internship at the Permanent Representation, you get a built-in social circle, so to speak. The other interns are in roughly the same situation as you: they have also all recently moved to Strasbourg, are around the same age and have a similar schedule. I became good friends with the other interns and am still in regular contact with some!

All in all, I can highly recommend an internship at the Permanent Representation in Strasbourg, both professionally and socially!

During your internship, you will learn a lot about the work of the Council of Europe, but also about diplomacy in general, cooperation and responsibility. You receive good guidance from the colleagues at the Permanent Representation and get involved in the work. I am very grateful to my colleagues for a great time.

If you have further questions about an internship in Strasbourg, do not hesitate to message me via LinkedIn!

Darren Hernandez”