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Funding

Self Funded

Internship: Office of the Director-General

InternshipFrance · Paris

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)

Application Deadline

December 31, 2026

Official Page

Can you apply?

Here's who can apply

Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.

“You should be currently enrolled AND on the 3rd (third) year or final year of your Bachelor’s degree; … You should be currently enrolled in your second university degree, Master's or PhD degree or equivalent; … You must have completed a Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD degree no more than 12 months prior to the issuance of the Internship Agreement, as determined by the completion date indicated on your diploma.” Eligibility

  • Education required

    Bachelor Enrolled · Bachelor

  • Age requirement

    ≥ 20 yrs

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The Office of the Director-General at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris takes interns into its Cabinet, where they work under one of the Director-General’s advisors. This posting fills a pool of intern candidates, not one specific opening.

Interns spend one to six months preparing notes and opinions on administrative, political and communications issues. Those in the Speechwriting Pool (Pôle Langage) help draft speeches, talking points and articles in French and English, and revise the Director-General’s correspondence.

Benefits & funding

  • No pay: UNESCO gives no compensation, financial or otherwise.
  • 2.5 days of leave a month, plus 1 working day per complete month.
  • Limited workplace insurance, only for injury, illness, disability or death caused by the internship work.
  • You pay your own travel, arrange any visa, and must prove comprehensive health insurance for the whole stay.

Eligibility

  • Aged 20 or over.
  • One of: enrolled in the third or final year of a Bachelor’s; enrolled in a second degree, Master’s or PhD; or holding a Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD completed no more than 12 months before the internship agreement is issued (diploma date).
  • Technical/vocational applicants: final year at a specialised institution, or graduated within 12 months.
  • Excellent written and spoken English or French.
  • No nationality restriction is stated.

Application process

  1. 1
    Apply online in English or French by 31 December 2026; the questionnaire on skills, competencies, experience and interests must be finished within one hour.
  2. 2
    Your candidacy stays in the intern pool for six months; hiring managers contact only those they select.
  3. 3
    No word within six months means the application was unsuccessful.
  4. 4
    UNESCO signs only its own Internship Agreement, never a university’s internship convention.

Program timeline

  1. Application deadline

    Dec 31, 2026 (midnight)

  2. Six months after applying

    candidacy lapses if no hiring manager has made contact

  3. Start and end

    agreed with the hiring office, 1–6 months

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