Poster Caption: Attending a visit by US Diplomat to the UN, Calvin Hayes.
In the Office
To start off the week, I continued my work editing the ILF’s Lookback videos, by taking older videos from our archives, identifying potential content from them, and then using Canva Pro to edit them into clips for publication on our Instagram. As mentioned before, this work has been especially rewarding because of how it has granted me a look into the work and impact of the ILF in the past. Moreover, another key benefit to the work is how being in NYC, I’m not exposed to the ways the ILF conducts its real work on the ground. While the ILF is Headquartered here, its portfolio truly takes shape in the places it operates public defense offices. Many archived videos essentially capture the work of the lawyers in their respective countries, revealing their specific challenges and daily habits - things I wouldn’t have otherwise come across.
Later on during the week, I shifted focus back to the composite stories I had been working on in my second week. Using past stories as data, my supervisor developed a new guide for developing composite stories that truly fulfilled the purpose we had for them.
The guide - and specifically the intake form which we could use to organize the framework of a piece - was extremely useful, and I quickly employed it to craft my first story, which combined the stories of various Rohingya women in Myanmar who were detained and defended by the ILF. Taking this more calculated approach served to be very effective, as my second go with stories involving boys and young adults detained in Myanmar went even smoother.
In the Office But Still on the Clock (Sort of)
To celebrate the interns and also get us all together before fellow Laidlaw Scholar, Taylor, departed, the ILF NYC team went out to eat at Marseilles, a French-restaurant near on 44th street. Besides the fantastic French-Mediterranean menu, we had the chance to hear more about the ILF’s journey directly from our Executive Director, Jennifer. Taylor and I were also fortunate to have our supervisor, Leah, visit us from upstate New York.
Out of the Office (Again, sort of)
One of the reasons living in International House has been such a blast is because it operates just like a student residence, as in, it also has student leaders who facilitate programming. What makes it more than a typical undergrad residence is that given that the house caters to graduate students and working professionals, we can get access to some super cool programming. In my case, a Columbia International Studies student and IHouse Fellow invited Calvin Hayes, a US Diplomat to the United Nations, to come speak at IHouse.
Given that I had just come from the UN’s Disarmament Session the day before, I was thrilled to have the chance to meet someone who often went to the HQ, and in this case, represented the U.S.
Mr. Hayes was specifically here to talk about the importance of Juneteenth and its relevance in his work as a diplomat. I was personally very moved by his message, as he emphasized the need to ensure the door is open behind us when we break into new spaces. He also shared details about his rich community leadership background and the work he does as a diplomat. Coincidentally, in a conversation between us during the session, he shared how he believed he remembered seeing me at the UN days prior, which was very cool to hear! :)
Outside the Office (Like Really Outside)
To tie up the week, I traveled again to Yonkers to join with my church family for one last time before heading back to Canada. This weekend was a big one, as the church was celebrating the ending of its Sunday School year through various songs and presentations, followed by a meal. The chance to engage with this community has been a meaningful part of my time in New York and has left me with both connections and experiences I’ll take with me back to Toronto.
Looking Forward to Next Week
With one more week of my LIA to go, I anticipate finishing up my final projects, doing some more sightseeing, and preparing for departure from I-House!