On behalf of Douglas Comer, President of World Heritage USA, U.S. National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, and Charles Musiba, Chair of the International Exchange Program (IEP) Committee, we are pleased to share this Call for Applications for the 2023 International Exchange Program.
We are seeking:
Interns – graduate students or emerging professionals interested in strengthening professional heritage skills while gaining international experience. Learn more and apply here.
Hosts – heritage organizations willing to provide an intern with hands-on training in historic preservation or heritage conservation. Learn more and apply here.
Since 1984, the International Exchange Program has worked with heritage partners around the world to provide hands-on training opportunities for emerging cultural heritage professionals. To date, more than 700 interns from over 100 countries have participated in the program. The IEP sends participants from the United States to internship placements abroad and welcomes international participants to placements in the United States, in order to expose the next generation of heritage professionals to global best practices of historic preservation and heritage conservation. In this way, the program encourages the cross-cultural exchange of ideas and practices, enabling hosts and interns to learn from one another and increase their impact in the heritage field.
The cultural heritage field is one that requires collaboration between people and organizations from different countries, communities, and cultures. In our increasingly interconnected and globalized world, organizations and emerging professionals must analyze and solve heritage problems from a variety of perspectives. By participating in the IEP, interns gain international experience at an early stage in their careers, broadening their worldview and preparing them for success in multicultural environments. In addition to strengthening professional heritage skills, the IEP fosters lifelong relationships between participants and their host organizations, creating a global network of heritage professionals. These connections have resulted in continued collaboration between people, communities, and organizations on heritage projects around the world.
Unable to participate but want to support the IEP in other ways? Sponsor an IEP intern!
Your contribution to the International Exchange Program will make it possible for World Heritage USA to offer more opportunities that facilitate the cross-cultural exchange of ideas and best practices of historic preservation and heritage conservation!
We hope that you will support this year’s International Exchange Program by applying to participate, sponsoring an intern, or both! For more information about the 2023 IEP, please visit our website. If you have any questions, please contact Katelynn Cunningham at programs [at] WorldHeritageUSA.org.