The third week has been the beginning of our collaboration with our team of volunteers. We met online and in person with 7 lovely women who will be helping us create content for Las Sabinas' social media pages, to encourage participation in their rollerblading sessions that support survivors of gender-based violence.

Las Sabinas has tasked us with creating a puppet to star in the videos we create, which has been a fun challenge to undertake this week: we've begun to source the materials, and work with the organisation to create a design that's reflective of their values and rooted in feminist history. We've also worked with our volunteers to brainstorm ideas for the content we can make, based on the messages the organisation wants to promote, and using our local volunteers' expertise in Mexican social media trends to create content that will engage the target audience.

We also took part in our first rollerblading session with Las Sabinas, which was scary but very fun in the end! It gave us the opportunity to appreciate the benefits of the work they do: rollerblading helps survivors of gender violence to regain a sense of connection and control with their body. It also builds a supportive, self-sustained community of those who have learned previously, teaching others, and makes everyone feel comfortable falling over or making mistakes. I really enjoyed learning this skill with the other Laidlaw Scholars in my team, and some of our volunteers, as it gave us the chance to get to know each other better outside of a working environment. 

The challenges we've faced this week have largely been rooted in having confidence in the direction we're taking the project in, and effectively communicating these decisions to our team. Many of the volunteers who signed up also work or study in the city, making it difficult to arrange meetings with all the volunteers present. It's been a challenge to ensure all members of our team are aware of the project's goals, and the tasks assigned to them. Through reflection on my own leadership styles, I've noticed I tend to fall into the trap of taking control over tasks that I worry might not be completed, which isn't effective in the long-term, and results in communication breakdowns between team members. This week has taught me to have integrity in leadership, by making the decision to trust my team members, rather than caving to my anxieties and taking over control.  Instead, I've begun addressing any potential issues by working harder in my own designated responsibilities, to ensure clarity in the tasks and deadlines that have been assigned to each team member, and to complete my own work to a high standard so I can then be available to help anyone else.

Our goals for this coming week are to begin filming and creating content, and to have at least three videos/infographics completed. We're also hoping to complete creation of the feminist puppet, which will definitely be a steep learning curve to develop the skills to make it, but should be an enjoyable activity to complete as a team!