2008 Castan Centre Intern

Harshani Dharmadasa, International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, The Hague

Profile

Harshani is a fourth year Arts/Law student, who has a deep passion for human rights, gender equality and social justice, both at home and internationally. She has always been an active member of neighbourhood and community organisations helping get things done at the local level. As an intern for the Public Interest Law Clearing House, Harshani regularly conducted interviews with clients and gained familiarity with the practice of public interest work and the provision of access to justice for disadvantaged members of the community. Most recently, as an in-house intern for the Castan Centre she enjoyed the intellectual and creative process involved in complex research and human rights projects. Harshani also currently teaches English within the Sudanese refugee community in Footscray.

Her commitment to social justice also led Harshani to undertake field work in international development and human rights protection.  She has worked as an intern at the United Nations Regional Office in the United Arab Emirates in 2006, where she helped to organise the celebration of International Women’s Day, conducted interviews with refugees and prisoners and assisted pro-bono lawyers in preparation for appeal cases. In 2005 she volunteered in Sri Lanka, which had been tragically hit by the tsunami that swept Asia that same year. As part of a relief team that visited several rural communities affected by the tsunami, she assisted in the provision of clean water and sanitation to villages and the education of safe water management to tsunami survivors.  

Harshani loves to travel overseas, work abroad and learn about other cultures. Her arts studies in politics (focusing on international politics and political systems) and her language skills complement these interests. In 2007, she was part of the Monash team in the 2007 Annual Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration that successfully made it to the final rounds in Hong Kong and Vienna. She has also worked in the past as a paralegal for Etihad Airlines in Dubai. 


International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, The Hague