A local councillor has set up an international political experience company focussing initially on the USA political scene.
Councillor Patrick Brown who represents the Rowallene area for the Alliance Party is no stranger to the area of international politics as he studied this subject for his degree at Sheffield University in International Relations and has visited the United Nations as part of one of his projects.
Politrip Ltd, a registered company by guarantee, is a company which offers placements initially in the USA for participants to experience first hand the party campaigns at the coal face of American politics.
Patrick Brown said: “I have been over in the USA on number of occasions and this is a fantastic platform for anyone especially students of politics to get involved in the very intense campaigning that goes on. The mid-term elections there will soon be firing up and I’m sure they will given the current political climate be very interesting and intense.
“The idea really emerged from my love of politics and travelling and I combined them into a business model. I did the market research and it all seemed to stack up. There was not another business providing this kind of experience of service. I have a business partner involved too and we hope to grow this company.
“My recent trip to the USA was experiencing the political life and just having a bit of fun while I was there. I’m confident this business idea will be beneficial to many students and graduates in particular.
“There will be around fifty participants in the first cohort who will have the opportunity to work in this election taking place across the whole of the USA. It will involve political campaigning fully immersed in grass roots activity. They will be placed in field offices and party headquarters in the Congress, Senate and the judiciary and in local councils.
“The first trip will take place from 17th August to 14 September and the second from 11th October to 9th November which will cover the mid-term’s. The participants will work in groups of five and have a leader for around three weeks.”
Patrick explained that there will be a relatively small cost for those selected. The trip fee is £900 and you will need to ensure you have your medical insurance and vaccinations in place and cash for any personal transactions you may wish to make.
The fee includes accommodation, transfer to your accommodation from the airport, visa costs, and all Politrip training before leaving for the USA.
“Participants will be working with very motivated campaigners and it will be quite an exciting, intense, educational experience. They will be canvassing, phone-banking, staffing events, distributing literature, attending voter drives and even adding to social media and generally helping with the local and national campaigns.”
“This will certainly be a very immersive experience eight hours a day five days a week. However, the party campaigners very often work for months on end without a day off at least twelve hours a day, but the Politrip participants won’t be getting that deeply involved.
“This will be a very rewarding experience for those interested in a political career or even studying politics. It will certainly boost your political skills level and be very useful for your CV.”
For more information, contact Patrick Brown through the website at:
