As I begin my third year at Mcgill University, my academic interests have shifted significantly thanks to experiences such as this internship. Recently, I have decided to double major in political science and anthropology to expand my approach and understanding of the human rights field. For as long as I can remember, my interests have revolved around human rights, specifically the mechanisms and systems that impede human agency. Ultimately, I intend to work as a human rights lawyer to create sustainable change in communities facing political, social, and environmental injustices.
Going into this internship, my main objective was to participate in projects that would create sustainable change through citizenship education. Most importantly, I wanted to learn about the organization’s approach toward global citizenship education and citizen participation as it pertained to furthering human rights education and global awareness.
Éduconnexion is an independent, non-political, and non-religious charitable organization specializing in education and civic participation. Through its training activities and innovative projects, they support individuals and organizations wishing to amplify their socio-environmental impact.
As an Eco-citizenship Education intern, I was fortunate enough to work on multiple projects in conjunction with the communication department of the organization. My primary responsibility was creating communication media, from creative content to reach target audiences to establishing social media presence to make the organization’s educational tools more accessible to target communities. Through this responsibility, I was able to conduct interviews with members of the organization and go through archives to establish a historical timeline of the organization. This project aimed to allow citizens to understand better the organization’s past, successes, and events, as well as highlight the values and culture of the organization.
An essential part of the organization’s identity and success is tied to its workshops about world debt, overconsumption, and many others. I was also a part of establishing a new workshop about the colonial past of international aid. This workshop aims to decolonize international aid practices through education as it will be a pre-departure workshop for employees working internationally within an organization. My role involved researching methods of decolonizing international aid organizations to create guides to facilitate international aid employees’ journeys.
The highlight of my internship experience was making educational tools accessible through social media to increase participation and engagement amongst the younger citizens. This has proved valuable as sharing effective methods/guides on mobilizing helps citizens create sustainable change and obtain the agency and resources to advocate for that change. Additionally, I have had the opportunity to learn the impact of individuals when creating change on the institutional level.
As for internship challenges, I have been fortunate not to have experienced any significant challenges at Éduconnexion. Apart from the adjustment period required when working in a new environment, I have always been to address my concerns if any arose. Also, I will not receive academic credit for the internship.
The education and experience I have received at the internship have taught me the importance of critical thinking in my university studies. This has encouraged me to take courses that provide diverse reading material and allow for diversity in thought when discussing topics such as colonialism and international aid. It has also encouraged me to study global affairs more in-depth as I realize how much they impact an individual citizen’s life.
This internship experience was only possible with the generous donors who could fund it. Thus, I would like to express my gratitude to my donors. This fund has allowed me to work in an organization that shares values similar to mine, from implementing sustainable change to providing resources to citizens who want to exercise their agency in their communities and at the institutional level.
