When I arrived in Utrecht last Monday after an 8 hour flight, I was greeted by rain and a chill that I hadn't experienced since the New York City summer had set in. It has taken me a couple of days to get my bearings and get used to living alone in an entirely new place, but my community engagement project has kept me excited through the adjustment. This summer, I am working with two law professors at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and helping them prepare human rights policy recommendations as a part of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Originally, my project was geared more towards researching gender equality law, but when I arrived this past week and was presented this opportunity by my professors, I decided this would give me a good chance to contribute in a more hands-on way to improving community standards, rather than engaging in something adjacent to the research work I was used to. This project conveniently provides even more continuity from my work last summer in researching the archival history of racial profiling in 19th and 20th century American film and early Hollywood. Learning more about the legal implications of policy recommendations against racial discrimination this past week has allowed me to apply my general findings from last summer to contribute to treaty bodies that are actively shaping international standards of equality and non-discrimination. As I dive more deeply into my research, and continue to settle in to my new home for the next five weeks, I am excited to see what else I find. 

P.S. I also had the chance to see a fellow Laidlaw scholar finishing up her own LiA project in Germany! The train was a hassle, but glad to have seen a familiar face!