Meet Hana, our new intern: “I want to see what philanthropy in action really looks like.”

This week our small team has grown with the arrival of the intern Hana Peric who will spend the following month interning with us. Hana is a second-year student at Amsterdam University College where she studies liberal arts with a focus on international relations and human rights.

“I decided to study in a liberal arts programme based in Amsterdam because I wanted a certain amount of freedom in choosing my courses so that I could explore different aspects of fields I am interested in and decide what exactly I wanted to focus on. My focus is currently on international human rights and conflict resolution”, says Hana.

The SOLIDARNA Foundation is always open to the young (and the older) who want to share their skills and knowledge, improve themselves, work on human rights protection, and fight with us for a “better today” for everyone. Hana chose SOLIDARNA for her month-long internship because she identifies with the goals of the Foundation:

“I particularly like the principle of regional human rights support which I find to be crucial component of strengthening human rights overall. On top of that, I think that focusing on current problems in the region and actively improving individual human lives is extremely important and commendable work, so I am very grateful for the opportunity to participate in it. I hope to pick up some practical skills and see what philanthropy in action really looks like as I have so far mostly been concerned with theory“, Hana points out.

When it comes to interests, Hana is particularly invested in women’s rights, from the recent protests in Iran to reproductive rights in the United States, so she is looking forward to the opportunity to work within our new Women’s Fund.

“I am also passionate about the rights of refugees and other migrants all across the world, which is an issue SOLIDARNA also touches on through the Solidarity with Ukraine Fund. On a more global level, I particularly care about issues caused by climate change and the consequences it will have for already vulnerable and marginalised parts of the population. I have recently also started to educate myself on demilitarisation and rehabilitation of child soldiers“,she adds.

As far as plans for the future are concerned, Hana is still not certain what she will be focusing on for her master’s degree, but after finishing university she could see herself working in an international organisation, government institution or in the non-profit sector.

Just as the young need an opportunity to get working experience, we need the fest young people like Hana bring to organisations with their activism, never-ending stream of ideas, willingness to tackle different tasks and overall good vibe.