From the UVU students secretariat of the Women of the Mountains Conference 2011 to

Internship in South African Parliament

In March of 2011 I helped organize the High School Student Essay Contest for the

Women of the Mountains Conference (WOM), as well as its student organizing committee. I

have to admit I was only helping with the conference for the extra-credit but after I started

getting involved, my interest peaked and my understanding for the importance of civil rights,

gender issues, and the role of sustainable mountain development (SMD) initiatives continued to

grow. The Women of the Mountains conference helped me to make new friends from around the

world who encouraged me to branch out and accomplish continued efforts both in Utah and in a

global setting. The skills developed while working with the organizing committee, had given me

a closer look at international diplomacy and I ultimately decided that an internship in the South

African Parliament during summer 2011 would only progress my skills and interest in

international affairs, and provide a platform for my efforts to support sustainable development.

My goals with the internship were achieved because of the great contribution from our

organizing committee to the success of the Conference, when many institutions at UVU provided

me with opportunities to earn grants and scholarships in order to fund my trip to South Africa.

I fell in love with South Africa after serving a church mission there for two years.

Naturally when I started looking for internships I wanted to go to a place I was somewhat

familiar with. My familiarity with the region and my applied knowledge to sustainable

development made South Africa a perfect match. I applied to several opportunities in different

political parties that I knew would help me grow in my academic research interests.

Serendipitously the one that I felt agreed with my principles and morals the most, the Democratic

Alliance (DA), accepted me as an intern. It was there that my application began.

Research projects

While I was there, I promoted the Women of the Mountains conference, SMD agenda as

well as the UN Mountain Partnership. This got the attention of my supervisor and I was asked to

help with a number of research projects.

The research office was highly efficient and very politically active. All of the researchers

had their Masters degrees that covered a multitude of portfolios they had written statements for

and had researched.

I helped with a few research projects during my time in the research office. The first

project I helped on was a youth entrepreneurship campaign the DA Youth had launched in South

Africa. My research consisted of finding statistics of unemployment amongst South Africans

ages 18-30 and finding out why they were so high. In addition to researching unemployment I

researched solutions that the government could do to help the youth get jobs. The DA youth used

my research to create their own final statement and proposals that they presented in a discussion

document and statement they gave to the President. While they did not use my solutions exactly I

as I wrote them they used elements of my solutions. This is of course was very understandable

because I wrote from the perspective of a conservative American. The DA being a liberal party

believes in a bigger government and more government involvement especially with the

economy. Many of my solutions were based on what I learned from the Women of the

Mountains Conference and the Sustainable Mountain Development class and agenda.

Meeting with various MPs and DA leaders

During my internship I had the opportunity to meet with a lot of MPs and discuss their

portfolios with them.

I am with Helen Zille, Leader of the DA and Western Cape Premier (second from the left),

Aubrey Robinson (far left,) an intern from the University of Utah and another

intern Thomas Keelan (far right) from Brown University, RI

Some of the MPs and Leaders I met with were:

1. Gareth Morgan- Water and Environmental Affairs

2. Geordin Hill-Lewis- Public Service and Administration

3. Denise Robinson- Women, Youth, Children, and People with Disabilities

4. Lindiwe Mazibuko- Rural Development and Land Reform, Parliamentary Leader

5. Dr. Wilmot James- Education

6. Patricia DE Lille- Mayor of Cape Town

7. Helen Zille- DA Leader and Western Cape Premiere

I am with Lindiwe Mazibuko (Center), DA Parliamentary Leader, and Aubrey Robinson (Right) another

intern from the University of Utah

Meeting with these MP’s and having them explain exactly what they do with their portfolios

to me was an incredible experience. They all had expertise or a passion for their respective areas.

They also spoke about what they do in their position of the official opposition member of the

committees.

Denise Robinson was amazing because she took us on visit to her local constituency of

Atlantis. Atlantis is one of the largest Coloured townships in South Africa. She took us to two of

the local schools and to the town council offices. She also took us to some local members of the

community who were starting grassroots movements on sustainable development issues. Some of

which were quite interrelated to those issues addressed in the Women of the Mountains

conference. One woman, Mama Catherine, runs a battered woman’s shelter and soup kitchen.

She employs many of the battered women with making blankets, crafts and other various things

to sell in town and many of the game lodges.

This gave me a lot of perspective on how initiatives like this can help me promote the values

of Sustainable Mountain Development, and provide real life application of concerns and issues

dealt with during the conference. Although less than 1% of South Africans live in mountainous

areas they have many impoverished areas. Many of the initiatives there to help impoverished

areas sustain themselves would easily transfer over to sustainable mountain development. Solar

powered water heaters and smaller solar panels to power simple energy, i.e. a few light bulbs or

outlets, in small houses decreases reliability on the government who often implements rolling

blackouts across the country in the winter time.

Conclusion

My experiences throughout my internship have been entirely beneficial. I am fortunate to

have been able to apply theory and learn first hand on global issues dealing with South Africa,

politics, political structures all relating to sustainable development. It was one of the best

learning experiences I have ever had, and given me new opportunities to further research and

study current political world issues.

I am with Patricia De Lille, Mayor of Cape Town

My efforts have also resulted in creating a permanent internship position in the South African

Parliament for the UVU students. The SMD agenda and strengthening ties between Utah and

other mountain nations in Africa, which has helped me succeed in my internship and it will

continue to aid in others successes, will be continued by future UVU students, who will

participate in that program.

Brandon Merrill, International Relations Major, President, Sustainable Mountain Development Club, UVU