TOU Summer Student Internship Program
A Four-Week Intensive Internship for Students Ages 17-22
from June 23 - July 19, 2022

Since 2005, the Temple of Understanding has implemented its commitment to education of youth by hosting a Summer Student Internship Program. This program launches students' careers as global citizens who care about the humanitarian goals embraced by the UN. This year's program will be virtual due to Covid, and will include many aspects of the in-person program as well as additional programming. Student interns will attend open meetings of the United Nations Security Council, the UN General Assembly, and various committees as well as participate in the 2022 High-level Political Forum meetings. In addition, students accepted into this program have the opportunity to meet virtually with various speakers from UN organizations, missions, and NGOs, pursue independent research, learn about different religions through virtual religious site visits, participate in volunteer work, collaborate with other interns, and more!

Since becoming virtual in 2020, we have been able to reach an even broader international student body. We encourage participants to engage in discussion groups to explore their own spiritual and religious backgrounds and persuasions as well as share their cultural identity with their peers. This is as close to international exchange as we can offer during the pandemic but, we still find that lasting peer friendships across cultural and religious divides are forged to achieve our mission of interfaith understanding in pursuit of a more peaceful world.

The minimum age this year is 17. Applicants must be 17 years old by June 20, 2022 to participate in the program. Deadline for applications is March 11, 2022.

"The TOU virtual summer program was a great opportunity to learn about international relations, global issues, and the way that different people have fared with the pandemic around the world. I had the chance to meet people from various nations, religions, and cultures as well as construct an investigation on an issue I was greatly interested in during my four weeks in the program. I would recommend this program to people from various backgrounds and believe it gives us all an
opportunity to open our minds and become better global citizens." 
- Intern from the 2021 Virtual TOU Summer Internship Program