The PASI 428 Internship at Council for International Development

Presented by Dominique Kafatolu

Abstract

The PASI 428 Internship is part of the BA Honours programme in Pacific Studies and involves a supervised work placement in a public sector agency, private sector establishment, or non-governmental organisation with a focus on Pacific issues. Students are required to work between 150–200 hours, write a 3,000-word reflective essay, and provide a public seminar presentation about their work experience. Over the past 15 years, the PASI 428 Internship has played a valuable role in producing career-ready graduates from the Pacific Studies BA Honours programme.

Biography

Dominique Kafatolu is currently completing his Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Pacific Studies, after completing a Bachelor of Arts triple majoring in Development Studies, Pacific Studies and Cultural Anthropology in 2020. Dominique hails from the villages of Haveluloto and Hofoa (Tongatapu) in Tonga and from the islands of Atiu, Aitutaki, Rakahanga and Mauke in the Cook Islands, and was born and raised in Porirua.

For his PASI 428 internship, Dominique was given the opportunity to work as an intern for the Council for International Development (CID). Whilst there, he worked on a variety of tasks for the organisation with a focus on Unsolicited Bilateral Donations (UBDs) to the Pacific Islands after tropical cyclones. Dominique loved this experience, saying “I really enjoyed my time at the Council for International Development helping promote the issues that some Pacific Islands face from well-meaning but unusable donations of goods. The organisation (CID) does an amazing job in the humanitarian sector and it was an honour to represent them.”