Due to decades of conflict on the island of Mindanao, a generation of young Muslim professionals has not had the opportunity to observe democratic governance or to develop the skills needed to shape public policy.

Many of these young Muslim professionals from conflict-affected areas in Central and Western Mindanao are committed to sustaining the peace through democratic processes. To redress this deficiency in governance and policymaking, a Congressional internship program has been established by USAID to enable the best and the brightest of future Muslim leaders to acquire practical knowledge, skills and perspectives on public policy making and on national and local governance systems.

The Congressional Internship Program for Young Muslim Leaders (CIPYML) is a partnership project between the Philippine House of Representatives, Mindanao State University, and USAID's Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program.

The competitively selected interns immerse themselves in the process of legislation-based policy formulation and project implementation. They work with various Congressional committees on specific policy interests and also participate in special training programs and field visits to local governments and Cabinet agencies. The interns interact regularly with members of the House of Representatives and officials, which gives them the chance to serve as advocates for their region and develop an informal network of contacts for future reference.

"I realize now that problems in our region are not always addressed well at the national level because they aren't understood," says intern Isman Abdurahman. "On our visits to government agencies, we take the opportunity to clarify the situation for them." Adds Mohammad Alih Samsa, another intern: "Learning has turned out to be a two-way process." Since governments at all levels in the predominantly Muslim areas lack skilled policy designers and implementers these interns are an important resource for policy development and effective governance.