InteRDom Summer Interns Come Face to Face with the Dominican Republic’s Colonial Past

The InteRDom Summer 2017 interns, along with Global Foundation for Democracy and Development/Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (GFDD/Funglode) staff, visited the Santo Domingo’s Colonial Zone, the oldest part of Santo Domingo and one of the first cities founded by Europeans in the Americas. The group took part in a variety of cultural and historical activities, with a focus on learning about the Dominican Republic’s colonial past.

The students arrived to the Colonial Zone in the morning hours of June 10 and began their tour at the Fortaleza Ozama. Mr. Reydi Moreto provided historical context as the interns walked throughout the historical site. GFDD/Funglode staff then handed bicycles to the participants, who set off toward the Panteón de los Padres de la Patria, a mausoleum where the remains of outstanding Dominicans are preserved. Among those memorialized at the site are Antonio Duvergé, Angel Perdomo,
Américo Lugo, Eugenio María de Hostos, Emilio Prud’Homme, and Francisco Alberto Caamaño Deñó.

The students also traveled to the Museo de las Casas Reales where, guided by an audio tour,
the interns could see and hear the history of the preserved home’s nine rooms. This museum is unique for its collection of cultural artifacts and because it tells a complete story of Dominican history.

After a brief stroll through Plaza España, the interns arrived at Christopher Columbus Park where they were able to appreciate the beautiful Catedral Primada de América. The group then began a short bike tour of the historic streets of the Colonial Zone.

In addition to this activity, interns will have the opportunity to visit other interesting historical and cultural sites during their time in the Dominican Republic, among them the Dunes of Bani and the Museum of the Mirabal Sisters.

InteRDom, an initiative of the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and the Foundation for Democracy and Development (Funglode), is the leading program of internships, research and academic studies in the Dominican
Republic. It offers foreign students the opportunity to investigate important and top issues on the United Nations agenda, gain professional experience through internships in organizations and in Dominican companies related to their fields of study, and obtain academic credits for courses and seminars taken at a local university.