The Pacific Media Centre has provided an internship base for Virginie Ribadeau Dumas, a French postgraduate student from the University of Rennes, who is completing a political science/journalism major.
Dumas’ internship will be in two parts. From July 12 to July 30, 2010, she has been based at the PMC at AUT University. From August 1 to mid-September she will be based at Scoop Media's offices in Wellington.
The PMC and Scoop Media are co-publishers of Pacific Scoop, a new independent media "hub" launched last August.
During her internship, Dumas is being assigned to research French Pacific issues and New Zealand parliamentary politics and current political events.
She is being mentored by the project's Asia-Pacific editor Selwyn Manning. The results of her research will be expressed through reportage and analysis, and published on Pacific Scoop. Dumas writes:
My name is Virginie, and I’m from Paris. I study in Rennes, in the western part of France, at the Political Sciences Institute. My majors are foreign affairs and journalism/communication.
My goal is to specialise in culture and/or Asian affairs. Internships and experience abroad lie at the heart of my school curriculum. One exchange year is required to graduate, as well as minimum of two-month work experience, preferably abroad.
I had been in Asia a few times already and felt a deep interest in the region, that’s why I chose Hong Kong for my exchange year in 2008-2009.
There I studied social sciences, humanities and Asian studies, and started learning Mandarin. I took advantage of my location in Asia to explore furthermore the continent, visiting China, Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
As for my work experience, immediately after my exchange year, I applied for an internship at the French Embassy Press Department in Wellington. I worked there for three months, covering French issues, screening New Zealand newspapers and managing the embassy’s website.With this internship, I hope to acquire a better understanding of foreign affairs by getting an idea of what's behind the scene.
Back in France in September 2009, I went back to school for my first year in a Masters in Journalism and Communication.
During this year, I have worked in a joint venture between my university and l’Express, a French weekly news magazine, first as an editor then as communication manager for a special release on the city of Rennes.
Before starting a new school year, my second masters year, I felt I needed more work experience. Which is why I applied for an internship at Scoop.
The first part of my task here is to cover French Polynesia and New Caledonia issues for Pacific Scoop, as most of the news is in French, but still of high interest for New Zealand and the region.
Down at Scoop headquarters in Wellington, I will be covering parliamentary issues at Scoop headquarters, while I’ll keep on screening French Pacific issues for Pacific Scoop.
Virginie Ribadeau Dumas
