TUI Care Foundation

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University of Groningen MA International Relations

Track: European Politics in a Global Perspective

TUI Care Foundation

Placement Report

Richard Brunnquell de Stachelski

E-mail: r.brunnquell.de.stachelski@student.rug.nl University supervisor: Ms. Sonia Mascarell Ordovas Placement supervisor: Ms. Anna-Lena Strehl

Address: Volmerlaan 3, 2288 GC Rijswijk, The Netherlands Time period: 01. October 2020 – 03. March 2021

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

Recently, I successfully completed my internship, and this report aims to illustrate my experience. When applying for this position, a few personality traits, such as Curiosity and having interests in multiple fields: Politics, Law, Economics played a key role. It also influenced my choice when applying for my Bachelor degree in International Relations. After a 4 years long degree in a top university in Brazil, I saw myself once more craving extra knowledge, this time however the European Integration phenomenon – what is nowadays know as European Union – was my main aim. That’s what motivated my decision to pursue a Master degree in European Politics at the University of Groningen.

The placement at the TUI Care Foundation is a constituent part of my MA degree since to successfully graduate placement is mandatory. It took place between October 1st_{2020 up to}

03rd_{March 2021 at the External Affairs and Operations department. Due to the Covid-19}

Pandemic, this internship was entirely home-office based, which I will dedicate an exclusive sub-section to present the outcomes and general guidance to future interns who will inevitably face similar working conditions. This report will describe the application process, the tasks I have performed, the main outcomes to my professional career, and the institutional background. Furthermore, I will evaluate my placement supervision as for my performance as an intern.

Before interning at the TUI Care Foundation, I have also interned at the German-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (AHK) in Brazil for almost two years. Despite not being my first experience as an intern, this position enhanced my working abilities as I saw myself in a completely new professional environment interning at a Corporate Tourism Foundation. It automatically fulfilled one of my main objectives – of exploring alternative professional areas in which my academic background is compatible and thus having a career is feasible – along with the fact that it was also entirely home-office based and also my first professional opportunity in The Netherlands. It also allowed me to acquire knowledge in the sustainable tourism field, the functioning of a Tourism Foundation, Covid-19 relief activities, the employment of tourism as an economic development tool, among others. I am very grateful for this experience and its influence on my professional life.

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2.0 INSTITUTION

TUI GROUP & TUI CARE FOUNDATION

My Internship was performed at the TUI Care Foundation which is one of the TUI Group’s Corporate Foundations. The TUI Group (TUI AG) is an open capital company listed in the TSE 250 index, in the Quotation Board of the Open Market on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and regulated Market of the Hanover Stock Exchange. It consists of multiple subsidiary companies, but also joint ventures, in multiple tourism industry sectors, from Hotels and Resorts, Airlines and Cruises, tour operators, and travel agencies across the globe which makes TUI the World’s leading tourism group with over 1.600 agencies, online portals, 5 airlines, over 400 hotels, 17 cruise liners, covering the entire tourism chain with approximately 27 million customers in 180 regions, strongly committed to sustainable tourism and counting with over 70.000 employees.

The TUI Care Foundation was founded by the TUI Group. Connecting holidaymakers to good causes support education and training opportunities for young people; promotes the protection of the natural environment in holiday destinations, and helps local communities to thrive sustainably and benefit from tourism. Recently, however, TUI Care Foundation has been aiming in assisting in locations that were heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting local communities with supplies and providing financial relief to small touristic businesses strongly impacted by low demand or even non-existing demand, since travelling in 2020/2021 is not recommended or even forbidden.

Projects such as the Covid-19 Relief Programme for Tourism conducted by the TUI Care Foundation in partnership with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in locations where tourism is a key component for economic growth, for instance, Indonesia, Kenya, Jordan, and Mexico supported financial support for small local businesses to preserve the tourism industry, but also the local community life standards by protecting jobs and empowering local entrepreneurship.

On the other hand, under the sustainability pillar, projects towards nature conservation and animal life protection were also implemented, such as the one in partnership with Chako Zanzibar in Tanzania which promotes opportunities for the local youth and artisans by offering training and income opportunities after implementing a plastic upcycling station, students are

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expected to join an environmental education programme and approximately 20% of the Island’s plastic waste will be collected and recycled thanks to the initiative.

Also the TUI Turtle Aid initiative, one of the key environmental programmes managed by the TUI Care Foundation, promoting sea life preservation in Cape Verde, Turkey and Greece, in partnership with local organizations, ‘Project Biodiversity’ on the island of Sal in Cape Verde, DEKAMER in Turkey, and Archelon in Greece. The initiative protects eggs from poachers and predators, rescue sick or injured turtles by providing shelter and treatment, and promotes awareness of the importance of protecting turtles among the local community through educational programmes but also among visitors promoting sustainable tourism.

2.2 MOTIVATION

International Relations is an extremely broad field which can be employed in both, public and private sphere. Multinationals, Non-Governmental Agencies, Non-Profit Organizations, Governmental Bodies, Supranational Institutions, Consultancy Agencies, among others. For this reason, looking for an internship position can be challenging, simply because with an IR educational background there are multiple fields to be explored and picking one might be tough.

Just as mentioned previously, I have had the chance of exploring the political-economical side of International Relations in my first internship. This time I was looking for something new, an unexplored field. During the vacancies research, I employed exclusively online platforms on which I could upload my Cover Letter and Curriculum to the positions that matched my professional and personal interests the best. That is how I found the internship position for the TUI Care Foundation and also applied for it.

The application process itself was quite clear and straightforward, I had a motivational letter accompanied by an updated CV and filled in an online form with my data. When reading the vacancy description what motivated me the most was that after years submerged in the international relations field I had never been exposed to the approach that tourism could be employed as a development tool. Also, the topic of sustainable tourism and the opportunity to intern at a Corporate Foundation of the World’s largest tourism business played an important role in the decision-making process.

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After a few weeks, I received an email from Ms. Anna-Lena Strehl, thanking for my application and further inviting me for an interview, which due to the Pandemic took place online, respecting all restrictions and recommendations from the Dutch Government and TUI’s safety measurements.

The interview lasted approximately 45 minutes, Ms. Strehl provided me with all basic information about the company, and further specific information concerning the TUI Care Foundation tasks, main programmes, what my tasks would be likely. We discussed my academic and professional background, my skills, such as organizational abilities and spoken languages. After a few days, I received an email where a five-month internship contract was offered and I formally accepted it.

After accepting the offer, a few bureaucratic steps were required, such as providing the human resources department with a valid passport or identification document so that my nationality could be confirmed, hence establishing that I could be legally employed under Dutch and European Union Law with no necessity to have a working permit. Proof of enrollment at the University of Groningen was also requested and, last but not least, I had to sign the contract. On the first day of the internship, I went to the TUI Headquarters in Rijswijk, where I met my internship supervisor, Ms. Strehl.

As mentioned already, the internship was integrally home-office based, except for the first and last day of the internship, when I went to the office to pick the computer up and subsequently return it. I would like to emphasize that TUI and the TUI Care Foundation had very strict safety measures in place, in other to preserve their employees and interns physical integrity and health.

3.0 PLACEMENT

The placement began on 1st October 2020. On the first day, I have been remotely introduced to the TUI Care Foundation team through a video conference. My supervisor guided me through all the internal platforms and procedures and also walked me through the facilities. I was equipped with a laptop and an access badge to the building. Next, I will illustrate what my main tasks were during the internship. However, it is important to mention that since I was allocated with a small team, many ad-hoc tasks were also given to me. The ad-hoc tasks will not be described in this report, since they were not performed regularly, but rather when extra

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3.1 TASKS

• Analyze the results of the foundation’s partnerships, based on the contribution to the KPIs

One of my main tasks during the placement consisted of Key Performance Indicators reporting. For each programme run by the foundation, an annual report was provided. My task consisted of analyzing every report, from all projects and extract from it all relevant data to keep track of how the project was developing throughout the years and how the TUI Care Foundation promoted development in local communities. This data was employed in the elaboration of presentations and official reports. In total, I spent two months out of five dealing with KPI’s evaluation and reporting.

• Provide internal and external support for the project application and reporting database

The TUI Care Foundation received on daily basis applications from all over the world for its projects through an online platform. I assisted my placement supervisor in identifying which applications were aligned with the programmes pre-requisites and which applications were not eligible in a transparent and professional manner. Moreover, we would also analyze if the application was completed and assist applicants with any possible doubt that they could have concerning the procedure. This task was performed during the entire internship.

• Support in Communications and Visibility

One of my long-term functions was to manage all TUI Care Foundation social media platforms. This task included the elaboration of a social media monthly reporting tool and a monthly presentation to be used internally at the foundation. The main objective was to monitor and evaluate the external communication performance. This task was quite challenging at first since it involves a great deal of responsibility, and I lacked previous experience in the external communication field, but I adapted quickly and was able to perform this task individually in an efficient way during the internship. The data was employed in reports elaboration, communication strategy, and in the formulation of a presentation to the foundation team where

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• Manage inquiries and requests from potential partners and stakeholders by overseeing the info-box account

This role involved a lot of trust and independent work and it was one of my responsibilities during the entire internship. It was a simple task but still demanding and essential for the good functioning of the foundation. The team relied on me to forward requests from our partners to the responsible manager and assist anyone facing adversities while applying for our projects or online webinars. Since I was in charge of the info-box, sending invitations to participants and helping with technical matters for online events was also one of my responsibilities during the internship.

• Responsibility for turtle adoption data tracing

In November 2020, the TUI Care Foundation launched a new initiative to promote animal welfare, raising awareness of turtle life preservation. Under this programme, people could adopt a turtle through an online platform. I was given the responsibility to trace this program’s data, following its flow and applications. Furthermore, when the provided information was unclear, it was also my responsibility to ask our partners for clarification and forward it to my supervisor.

• Media Coverage & Research

During the placement, it was one of my main duties to keep track of all published contents refereeing to the TUI Care Foundation or any of its programmes. This task involved a lot of discipline since it could only be successfully performed by carrying out daily research about the foundation. Furthermore, it was also my task to conduct researches in general. This research involved locating potential partners in diverse countries, such as Portugal, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, and Tanzania. My language skills were very well used for this specific task, it was also time-consuming and demanded a lot of independent work, organization, and discipline. This kind of activity was present during the entire internship.

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• Administrative and logistical support to the team

As I have mentioned previously, I had to sporadically perform ad-hoc tasks which were not contemplated by my daily obligations. This tasks could include, but were not limited to: Assisting the team preparing detailed presentations about the TUI Care Foundation programmes or the development of specific activities, taking note of the board of trustees meeting highlights, assisting one of the team members using one of our social media channels, assisting in the collection of data concerning our external communications, updating internal files and manuals, among others.

3.2 PLACEMENT SUPERVISION

In this section, I will provide an in-debt evaluation of my placement supervision. Me and my former supervisor, Ms. Strehl, has very straight-forward and professional communication. Since we were both in home-office communication was mainly conducted through daily phone calls in the morning when I had the chance to pose questions and comments, and also received instructions for upcoming tasks. I always felt heard and I have always been assisted when needed.

Working from home is not always easy, especially under the COVID-19 restrictions, when I was not able to interact with my supervisor in person. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, I never felt that our communication was negatively impacted by this. Feedback was also provided in a very clear way, and my doubts answered as soon as possible. Since I was the only intern at the Foundation, I mostly tried to solve small issues independently, but if more complex situations arise I could always look up to my supervisor. My supervisor was always open and friendly which made my life easier, I always felt comfortable asking for extra guidance if needed, scheduling an online meeting or sending an email. In general, the team was very communicative and helpful.

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4.0 CONNECTION TO THE STUDY PROGRAMME

I am enrolled in the European Politics in a global perspective track of the International Relations Master Programme. As I have mentioned in the introduction section, International Relations – and also European Politics – is an extremely broad field and co-relating it directly to my placement is not an easy task. However, as I have learned in one of my research seminars, “European Policy-Making”, sustainability and green agenda are of extreme relevance for the European Union and hence for European policies.

Many projects developed by the TUI Care Foundation aimed at sustainability topics and were co-founded by the German Government and its partner agencies. In other words, it is one of the European Community founding members and one of the European States in which green policies are widely implemented and promoted financing green initiative outside its borders. Inevitably, there is a very well-established connection between European Policies and Sustainability issues.

It is also possible to correlate my placement from an IR theoretical perspective, through an Economic Political Economy perspective. Multiple projects carried out by the TUI Care Foundation acknowledged tourism as a tool for economic development in low-income countries and vulnerable communities. Promoting and finance development is also a task carried out by the European Union and its European Neighborhood Policy (ENP), strengthening ties with non-EU countries to their mutual benefit and interest. Also under the EU politics scope, the EU Development Fund is widely used to promote regional development in the Member States, a relevant topic for the EU budget negotiations that I also studied in one of my research seminars, “the politics of the euro-crisis”.

The tasks I performed during my internship assisted in my professional development. I feel now more confident and experienced, with improved organizational skills, self-discipline, communication. I also acquired new knowledge in fields that were not directly connected to my studies, mainly in the external communication field which I understand as an asset for my professional life.

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5.0 CONCLUSION

I do not doubt that this internship was a very valuable experience for me and it will contribute to my career. Interning at the TUI Care Foundation helped me understand how I can employ my academic background in fields that, at first, might not be seen as something connected to International Relations but that after a more detailed analysis can easily match my knowledge. Learning how a Corporate Foundation works, and having the chance to see how tourism and development and sustainability are somehow connected was important for me.

Furthermore, working 100% of the time from home was also a valuable experience since this working style might persist for a while. It is also an asset since I am already familiarized with the adversities that it might have on my performance, allowing me to organize myself to conduct my tasks more efficiently. Such a condition was also essential to enhance my communication skills. I have always been open and communicative but once presential interactions were no longer possible, adapting to this new reality was needed.

I am also grateful for the opportunity to learn more about a corporate foundation external communications which allowed me to also improve my professional language skills. Nevertheless, this internship will also contribute to my future professional career, when making a decision in what area I would like to be in and what type of organization to work for.

TUI Care Foundation