Author: Rosie Boughton-Shields

I am thrilled to join the CGP team as their first summer intern. I graduated from university last September with a degree in Politics and International Relations and I am now looking to pursue a career within the political advocacy field. My initial interest in international development was spurred by a belief in a moral responsibility of those with the means to fight the extreme poverty and injustice that many face around the globe. This passion inspired me to study politics and international relations at university where I began to understand the breadth and complexity of international development and gained exposure to a wide range of perspectives. This led me to complete a paper on the politics of Africa in my final year where the role of aid and development provided a key lens for studying the continent and its relations with donor countries. It also gave me exposure to critiques of international development and an appreciation of the high standards and scrutiny that the sector is held to.

I applied for the internship at CGP because it provided the opportunity for me to combine my key passions of politics and international development and to gain insight into both the world of parliament and international development organisations. This internship was especially appealing as working within a small team will provide the opportunity to gain experience in a diverse range of roles and hopefully enable me to get a better idea of what career I would most like to pursue in the future. I am inspired to work for an organisation where the alignment of moral international duty and national interest, the marrying of heart and mind, is emphasised, especially when, due to the pandemic, people are facing hardships both at home and across the globe. I am particularly excited to be working with CGP at what feels like a critical time for the promotion of aid: the interconnectedness of the world, and its crises, has been magnified by the pandemic and, due to its economic impact, hard decisions are having to be made domestically while the suffering of those in the poorest countries has been heightened.

I really value the opportunity to gain experience in a sector that straight out of university seems rather impenetrable and intend to make the most of it!