Kyle Hyde - International Bridges to Justice

Summary

This blog will be used to document my internship in Geneva, Switzerland working for IBJ, both to reference professionally and to memorialize a once in a lifetime experience. The blog mostly focuses on providing substantive perspective surrounding the projects that I work on during my internship, however, I was able to experience some worthwhile memories that are worth sharing. It would be impossible to reflect on the culture of IBJ without mentioning the experiences the interns had together.


X. La fin de mon stage

In this post, I discuss the last few days that I spent in Geneva. My voyage home was quite eventful and took several days before I was back home in my bed resting before the start of my 2L year.

IX. Miscellaneous Projects

In this post, I discuss other projects that I was assigned. I also discuss some excursions I took outside of work;

VIII. British Raj and the Scar of Imperialism

In this post, I discuss the ongoing project of creating a Criminal Defense Manual for India. I worked on this project with another legal intern, an IBJ staff member, and an Indian lawyer to create a manual for criminal defense concepts in India.

VI. Week 4 and Samöens

This week, I began collaborating with other legal interns on the creation of an updated India Criminal Defense Manual for criminal defense lawyers in India to reference for substantive legal information and case law pertaining to constitutionally protected rights. During the weekend, the IBJ interns traveled to a chalet in the Alps.

V. Week 3 and La Fête de la Musique

This week, I spent most of the week preparing for a visit from the US State Department. In my spare time, I experienced a Genevois tradition called La Fête de la Musique.

IV. The Mauritanian - Un Événement Privé

In this post, I discuss a once in a life time opportunity IBJ staff received. One of IBJ's board members, Nancy Hollander, was portrayed in a film, The Mauritanian, and she invited us to a private screening of the film. UN staff, international lawyers, and law students were in the audience as we watched the horrifying and true story unfold.

III. Week 2 and une Manifestation Politique Genevoise

In this post, I discuss my second week in Geneva, which included further work on the proposal for the project in Afghanistan, participating in a feminist demonstration, and getting to talk with a trans trailblazer and former public defender, Mia Yamamoto.

II. La Première Semaine

In this post, I reflect on my first week working at IBJ which included a very interesting funding proposal and a full board meeting.

I. Des États-Unis à la Suisse

In this post, I reflect on my journey to Geneva. Part of this discussion requires some analysis of why I decided on working for an international NGO and what I hope to gain from this experience.