Week 1
My arrival to the CEELI Institute, despite no direct flights from Dulles, was made easy by the transport van that picked me up from the airport and dropped me off at the Villa Grébovka. My room is a spacious double with a private entryway, bathroom, and small kitchen on the lower second level. I was given a short tour of the Villa by a CEELI staff member before I laid down to rest.
The next morning, I received a detailed schedule of my first three weeks and met everyone who was in the office. The Program Officer for the Ukraine Fellows, who is also the Internship Coordinator, gave me an overview of my role, and explained how I will bounce between the different departments (Events, Programs, Communications) during the next ten weeks. Because the Villa is in the middle of the Havlíčkovy Sady Park on top of a hill, every office window has a beautiful view of the city below.
In the afternoon, I was registered for a free Prague Castle Walking Tour. But first, I had to navigate the tram system to get there. Luckily Prague was ranked second (only behind Berlin) in 2023 for the best public transportation in the world. I navigated just fine and arrived by the river in Old Town.
My tour guide was an American who moved to the Czech Republic eight years ago for a change of pace, and strongly encouraged those on the tour to do the same. We took a tram uphill to the Castle District and walked around the Strahov Monastery, St. Vitus Cathedral, multiple palaces, and saw the changing of the guards. It was a three hour walk up and down hill, but the sunshine definitely helped me fight jet lag.
On Tuesday, I met the Executive Director, Robert Strang, who explained CEELI’s goals, structure, and finances. Throughout the week I also met one-on-one with the Communications Manager, Director of Programs, and the Events Team. It was great to understand the role each person plays, especially because of the limited number of employees, typical at a nonprofit organization.
This week, I researched nonprofits in Prague that could partner with the Ukrainian Fellows. The Fellows are investigative journalists, human rights defenders, anti-corruption activists, and providers of humanitarian assistance who come to Prague to continue their work in a peaceful atmosphere. The Czech Republic has welcomed about 310,000 refugees since the beginning of the war in February 2022, more per capita than any other country. My research was also a great introduction to the diversity of organizations related to anti-corruption, freedom of the press, human rights, and humanitarian aid located in Prague.
I also learned the basics of Salesforce, created folders and name tags for the upcoming programs, and reviewed CEELI’s website and social media accounts. On Thursday, I attended Prague Book World, where co-workers spoke on a panel about Ukraine civil society and digital threats.
Lastly, I attended and took notes at CEELI’s annual Central and Eastern European Judicial Exchange Network Conference. This program brought together more than fifty judges, prosecutors, and legal experts from fifteen countries, including a federal judge from Florida and a prosecutor from my hometown of Chicago. The first panel discussed the use of judicial vetting in fighting corruption. The second panel debated whether specialized bodies (courts/offices) that fight corruption are effective mechanisms or not. Lastly, representatives from various countries (U.S., Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Ukraine) discussed the use of plea bargaining in corruption cases.
