Wearing Multiple Hats
Wearing Multiple Hats
Over the past couple of weeks, I have worked with Rwanda’s International Bridges to Justice chapter (RBJ) and the main office of International Bridges to Justice in Switzerland. Thus, being remote has become somewhat of a blessing because I am able to bounce back and forth between the two offices quite smoothly. In sum, I have worn many different hats and have been kept on my toes.
Throughout the first week of my internship, I worked on RBJ’s grant funding application. In order to apply for the funding, RBJ had to put together a document outlining its achievements over the past few years. I helped prepare this achievement document by analyzing progress reports, surveys, and old press releases and social media posts. Afterward, I helped put together a comprehensive document describing the events RBJ has held over the past couple of years and the impact the events have had on Rwanda’s criminal justice system.
Moreover, I worked on a small research project sifting through different bilateral and multilateral donors to see if any of them currently fund projects in Sudan related to governance, human rights, or criminal justice. If the donors did not fund Sudan I then looked into whether there were possible funding opportunities for Sudan in the future and how IBJ could apply for such opportunities.
AA2J
https://www.ibj.org/aa2j-women's-network/aa2jwomensnetwork-3/
Furthermore, over the past couple of weeks, I have also been working with IBJ’s main office in Switzerland to plan their African Access to Justice Women’s Network (AA2J) Launch. The launch will be held this week and I cannot wait to update you all on how successful it is going to be. AA2J will be a two-day event celebrating ten outstanding African women legal defenders who have accepted fellowships with the African Access to Justice Women’s Network. The fellows have been asked to bring ten other women defenders from their home countries to participate in the event. The event will have multiple educational training sessions for these women. At the end of the two days there will also be a public session where women defense lawyers from all over the world will have the opportunity to discuss the challenges and obstacles of their careers as defense lawyers. The goal of this final public session is to forge connections for these women, compare experiences as defense lawyers across different countries, and create a global movement of women defense lawyers.
Since joining the AA2J team, I have worked on a few different tasks to wrap up the launch preparation. First, I helped with creating schedules for interpreters and country liaisons. Additionally, I have researched international treaties and African countries' laws to compare laws regarding the rights of a defense lawyer and the rights of the accused. Finally, I have been and will continue to be the liaison for Zambia for the event. Thus, I have answered any questions the fellow from Zambia has had about the event and will be in the breakout sessions with the women from Zambia to facilitate and take notes on their discussions.
As the event draws near, I look forward to listening to the training sessions and hearing about these amazing women’s stories. I am very thankful to be a part of such a globally impactful event.