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H.OPES Foundation is opening an internship position in support of project design and project management. The intern will work alongside the Project Design and Operations team on the two strands that run in parallel throughout the Foundation’s work: writing applications for new projects while supporting the management of projects already under implementation.

Remote · 6 months · start in the second half of October 2026 · working languages Italian and English.

The role

Over six months, the intern will learn how a funding proposal is researched, structured and submitted, and how an ongoing project is run day to day. Tasks are assigned according to the candidate’s experience and adjusted as the internship progresses.

Project design and proposal writing

• Researching calls for proposals and tenders, monitoring donor priorities and keeping the donor database up to date.
• Contributing to the drafting of concept notes, full applications and supporting documents for EU and non-EU funding.
• Assisting with partner identification and the preparation of partnership documents.
• Supporting the preparation of logical frameworks, work plans and budgets.

Project management

• Contributing to the coordination and implementation of ongoing projects, including logistical support.
• Supporting administrative tasks related to the Office’s needs.
• Drafting news items for the Foundation’s websites and reports for internal use.
• Assisting with interim and final reports, and with position and policy papers for ongoing projects.
• Taking part in project meetings and preparing minutes.

Profile

• University degree in law, EU affairs, political science, economics, public policy or a related field.
• Strong written and spoken English and Italian; other languages are an asset.
• Clear and precise writing, with attention to structure and detail.
• Interest in EU programmes and international cooperation.
• Ability to conduct research and organise information, to learn quickly and to work within a team.
• Experience in drafting, implementing and reporting INTPA/EEAS, AMIF or Erasmus+ projects is an asset.

We are open to strong candidates whose profile differs from the one described above.

How to apply

Applications, comprising a CV and a cover letter, should be sent to vacancies@h-opes.org by 7 October 2026.

H.OPES Foundation is an equal opportunities employer. Applications are welcome from women and men, and from persons with a disability or special needs, who meet the profile above.

On 19 September 2026, a delegation from Syria’s Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) visited the Centro Conservazione e Restauro La Venaria Reale, near Turin, for a working meeting and a tour of its conservation laboratories and School of Higher Education. The delegation was led by Masoud Badawi, Director General of DGAM, with Lina Kutiefan, Deputy Director.

The visit took place within the collaboration between H.OPES Foundation and the CCR on cultural heritage in fragile and post-conflict contexts. It was also attended by the Piedmont Region and the Municipality of Venaria Reale, whose presence reflects the territorial dimension of this cooperation.

The meeting opened a dialogue on the conservation and restoration of Syria’s cultural heritage and on training, drawing on the CCR’s expertise in these fields. The delegation’s programme continued with a visit to the Reggia di Venaria and to the Museo Egizio in Turin.

On 8 July 2026, the Board of Directors of H.OPES Foundation coopted Federpesca, the National Federation of Italian Fishing Enterprises, as a member. Federpesca holds the seat as an organisation and is represented on the Board by its Director General, Francesca Biondo.

Founded in 1961 and associated with Confindustria, Federpesca represents Italian fishing enterprises before national and European institutions. It has worked alongside H.OPES for nearly a decade in international cooperation, on sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, the blue economy, training and institutional dialogue, including a memorandum of understanding signed in 2021 with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources of Somalia.

Its presence on the Board brings the productive fisheries sector into the governance of the Foundation, and strengthens the connection between that sector and our cooperation work in partner countries, particularly in the blue economy and in fisheries governance.

H.OPES Foundation has been formally registered in the list of non-profit organisations maintained by AICS — the Italian Development Cooperation Agency — under Article 26 of Law 125/2014. The decree of registration, number 0000008, was issued on 15 May 2026, following an application submitted in December 2025. The accreditation qualifies H.OPES Foundation to access AICS funding instruments for international development cooperation, in line with Italy’s official development assistance framework.

The eight partner organisations of the TRAFFICKING project met in Rome on 12 and 13 March 2026 for the project kick-off meeting, hosted by lead partner FILEF BASILICATA. The two-day session established the steering committee, agreed the workplan timeline, and opened the comparative survey of human trafficking contexts across six EU partner countries — Italy, Norway, Belgium, Serbia, Turkey and Greece. Each partner presented the national context, providing the baseline for the Exploratory Dossier that will inform the curriculum design. Sessions also addressed the competence dictionary for the Expert in Prevention, Protection, Support and Research for victims of trafficking, and the digital training platform to be built on Skillbanks and Canvas. H.OPES Foundation presented the communication and dissemination plan for the project’s EU-level advocacy component. The first Joint Staff Training is scheduled in Athens, coordinated by To Hamogelo tou Paidiou.

Project: TRAFFICKING — Professional Training to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings in the EU (Erasmus+ KA220-VET)

A delegation of six senior officials from the Assembly of Kosovo, in Rome for a study visit organised by H.OPES Foundation, met with the leadership of CNEL — Italy’s National Council for Economics and Labour — on 24 October 2025. The meeting was facilitated by Counselor Francesco Riva, Vice-president Claudio Risso (CISL) and Nicola Tavoletta, President of ACLI Terra.

The visit took place weeks after Kosovo’s formal accession to the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), opening a direct institutional connection: CNEL offered to support Kosovo’s nascent advisory body CES as it develops its working methods and its relationship with both the EESC in Brussels and its Italian counterpart in Rome. The delegation also visited the Italian Chamber of Deputies, welcomed by MP Roberto Morassut, and the Permanent Representation of the European Parliament in Rome.

The EU-funded project “Improving Parliamentary Governance in Kosovo” concluded with a formal conference at the Assembly of Kosovo in Pristina on 22 October 2025. Opening remarks were delivered by Huber Perr, Head of the Cooperation Section at the EU Office in Kosovo, Arben Loshi, Secretary General of the Assembly, and Stefania Valentini, President of H.OPES Foundation. Federico Gallas, Director General of H.OPES Foundation, presented the project’s main outcomes. Blerinda Idrizi, Gender Equality Expert, presented the Gender Equality Manual developed in cooperation with the Assembly — one of the project’s principal institutional deliverables.

Maurizio Montagnese has been appointed President of the Consulta per le Persone in Difficoltà (CPD), the principal coordinating body for disability and social inclusion policies in Turin. H.OPES Italia ETS, a member of the CPD network, notes the appointment and looks forward to continuing its collaboration with the Consulta.

A delegation of six senior officials from the Assembly of Kosovo, led by Secretary General Arben Loshi, conducted a two-day study visit to the European Parliament in Brussels on 3 and 4 February 2025. Organised by H.OPES Foundation in the framework of the EU-funded project “Improving Parliamentary Governance in Kosovo”, the visit addressed parliamentary administration, inter-departmental cooperation, staff recruitment and training, and the role of research in legislative processes. H.OPES Foundation President Stefania Valentini participated in the session on democracy support and capacity building.

H.OPES Foundation has opened a new office in Mogadishu, authorised by Somalia’s Ministry of Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation. The office will support the Foundation’s work on parliamentary governance, institutional development, and blue economy in Somalia. A regional office for Puntland is operational in Garowe.

H.OPES Italia ETS and Regione Piemonte have launched @insideeurope, an Instagram channel dedicated to news and analysis on the European Union and its member states. The channel is part of the Inside Europe programme, which targets young people in Turin and its metropolitan area through civic education activities, workshops and multimedia content production.

A session at the Assembly of Kosovo on 28 May 2024 examined the implications of the 2023 Ljubljana–The Hague Convention on international cooperation in the prosecution of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Expert presentations were delivered by representatives of the Ministry of Justice of Slovenia. The session was facilitated by H.OPES Foundation in the framework of the EU-funded project “Improving Parliamentary Governance in Kosovo”.

At the request of the Parliamentary Committee on Health and Social Welfare, H.OPES Foundation organised a two-day working session in Durrës, Albania, on the legislative implications of Kosovo’s application for Council of Europe membership. Sessions focused on the European Social Charter — its monitoring framework, reporting obligations, and relevance to Kosovo’s legislative agenda. The session was chaired by MP Fatmire Kollçaku and facilitated by Admir Duraj, H.OPES Foundation’s chief technical adviser, and gender equality expert Blerinda Idrizi.

H.OPES Foundation met with Glauk Konjufca, President of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo, in Pristina to review progress on the EU-funded project “Improving Parliamentary Governance in Kosovo”. Discussions addressed the Assembly’s institutional performance, its public visibility, and the role of inter-parliamentary cooperation in Kosovo’s path toward Council of Europe membership and EU integration.

The six-month course in Melkite icon painting, funded by Regione Piemonte and implemented by H.OPES Foundation in Damascus, concluded with two public exhibitions. Forty-five participants produced 116 icons over the course of the programme. The first exhibition was held at the Faculty of Theology of Damascus; the second at the Zawaya Art Gallery. Each attracted over 2,000 visitors. The project contributes to the preservation of the Melkite iconographic tradition and to the professional development of craftspeople in the Damascus area.

His Beatitude Yousef Absi, Patriarch of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, led a delegation to the Damascus Faculty of Theology to review the progress of the icon painting course funded by Regione Piemonte and implemented by H.OPES Foundation. The delegation included Syria’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the President of the Virtual University of Syria, and the President of the Faculty of Theology. Students presented their work under the supervision of Father Theophilus Leos, responsible for the practical sessions in traditional iconography with natural pigments.