In response to the health and travel concerns related to COVID-19, the CBA International Initiatives team mobilized quickly. As of March 20, 2020, all 30 Young Lawyers International Program interns placed overseas, and needing to return to Canada, have been repatriated. While the situation continues to change rapidly, our top priority remains the health, safety and well-being of our volunteer interns, staff and local partners globally.
We are in frequent and regular communication with interns. We are monitoring for COVID-19 symptoms and regularly communicating the Public Health Agency of Canada’s guidance on the established steps to take to stay safe and avoid spreading the virus. We are providing support to interns in following this guidance when necessary.
We also recognize the impact that the global pandemic has had on our partner organizations. We have arranged for the majority of the interns to complete the remaining weeks of their placement remotely, so as to reduce any negative effects their early departure might have had on our partners’ projects.
The tentative departure date for the next cohort remains on schedule for September 2020. The deadline for applications remains April 30, 2020. At this time, we are optimistic that we will be able to place the 2020-21 intern cohort with partner organizations around the globe as scheduled, and so will continue to recruit interns for that cohort and match them to partners and placements. However, we will continue to monitor the situation and will provide updates with new information.