The National Trust for Canada is seeking one student with interests in art, history, architecture and heritage conservation to join the National Trust team for the spring 2025. The intern will assist in planning the National Trust Conference 2024 (October 23-25, 2025, Halifax, NS), helping develop the conference program including field sessions and plenaries, reaching potential conference participants (especially emerging voices) through various communications platforms, and helping build relationships with Halifax and regional stakeholders and constituencies.
About the organization:
The National Trust for Canada (headquartered in Ottawa) was created in 1973 to promote the preservation and revitalization of Canada’s heritage places. Today, we continue to advance the conservation, appreciation and ongoing use of Canada’s historic places, intangible heritage, and cultural landscapes, and spotlight their essential contribution to diverse, equitable and sustainable communities.
Each year, the National Trust (with the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals & Indigenous Heritage Circle) mounts Canada’s largest heritage places conference bringing together 500+ inter-disciplinary participants from across the heritage sector: professionals (emerging and established), public officials and policymakers, tradespeople, grassroots volunteers, land guardians, academics, and students. The National Trust Conference is a crucial learning, knowledge exchange, and networking event that helps sustain the heritage conservation movement, build heritage industry and public policy practice, and support the heritage places and landscapes important to all Canadians.
Description of placement:
The intern will assist in planning the National Trust Conference 2025 (October 23-25, 2025, Halifax, Halifax Convention Centre) helping develop the conference program with a particular focus on Halifax and Nova Scotia based opportunities, assist with conference communications, and work to build relationships with Halifax-area stakeholders and constituencies.
This year’s ambitious conference theme – Heritage Now – seeks to address head-on the challenges facing Canada’s heritage conservation sector. Heritage conservation in Canada has never felt more critically important, whether it’s recognizing marginalized histories and places, responding to climate disasters, advancing reconciliation, or helping sustain the sense of place, pride, and wellbeing of communities. And yet Canada’s heritage conservation sector is under unprecedented pressure: from social upheaval and cultural conflict, to economic disruption, the climate emergency, and the surging housing crisis. How do we navigate this societal sea change? Where is heritage currently on the public agenda, and where does it need to be? Now is the time for the full spectrum of the heritage sector – from industry and professionals to non-profits, government and educational institutions –to come together and reassert the value of sustaining and reinventing our heritage places. Now is the time for action.
We are constantly seeking to reach more students, diverse communities, and emerging professionals with the goal of helping them advance careers in heritage and creating interest and awareness of the importance of heritage conservation. The intern will help us reach new conference participants through social media, programming, and will have latitude to create and lead their own projects based on their interests. The intern will assist NT staff with distilling and crafting these insights, and help organize and participate in post-conference “next steps” planning and action-mobilization activities and sessions.
This is an opportunity to work at a leading national Canadian non-profit, get to know key players in the Canadian heritage conservation sector and develop personal networks, spend time researching, writing, and leading initiatives of personal interest. The intern will work directly with the National Trust Conference Manager and meet regularly to discuss work.
The intern should have strong writing and verbal communication skills and an interest in heritage, history, or architecture. They should be able to work independently and take initiative. We are flexible in working with the interests of the intern.
Programming:
- Assist with the planning and logistics for National Trust Conference 2025 (October 23-25, 2025).
Outreach:
- Assist with online conference outreach and promotion via conference newsletters and social media.
- Outreach to possible stakeholders and participants.
Research
- Research topics related to residential intensification in heritage neighbourhoods, building reuse, decarbonization, heritage conservation policy, etc. in consultation with National Trust staff
- Research key issues and opportunities for the heritage (e.g. housing advocacy groups, land trusts, Indigenous organizations), and potential academic and professional participants at the conference.
Misc.
- Other duties as assigned
The successful applicant will have the opportunity to collaborate with professionals from a variety of heritage fields. Additionally, the intern will receive free conference registration for National Trust Conference 2025; unfortunately, we are not able to guarantee travel and accommodation funding.
Special requirements for a student placed in this organization: Currently, the internship is expected to take place remotely.
Timing or hours of placement: The placement is up to a maximum of 12-15 hours per week for 8 weeks during the first summer 2025 semester (May-June). Placement begins the week of May 5. Timing of the placement throughout the week to be discussed with the placement supervisor.
Credit: Half credit (0.5). This internship is for pass/fail course credit at the University of Toronto through the Department of Art History. This is not a paid position.
Interested students should send an application by March 28, 2025 to Professor Jessica Mace (jessica.mace@utoronto.ca). Applications should include 1) a letter of interest (including any relevant coursework or experience) and 2) a resume. Please indicate to which posting(s) you are applying. If you are interested in multiple postings, you only need to submit one application.