What Went Well?

I actually started this week (on June 8th) in Washington, DC, instead of Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, where I will carry out the majority of my project. This week, I completed the Institute for International Criminal Investigations' foundational open-source investigations course and received my certification as an open-source intelligence (OSINT) investigator. During this training, I made great strides toward my goal of becoming well-versed in atrocity documentation processes and procedures. While I had been researching this topic previously, this course really gave the knowledge necessary to document properly and in a manner that could be useable in a court of law. Having completed the course, I now feel qualified (and am qualified) to carry out the documentation processes required by my LiA project. 

What Could Have Been Done Differently?

Honestly, this was a great week. I met some incredible people, learned A TON about documentation, and feel very prepared to start work next week after having completed this process. During the training itself though, we were given a short documentation project to practice our skills. During that project, I got pulled down a rabbit hole that ended up not providing fruitful information. While I do think this avenue was incredibly important to explore, I probably could have done a better job thinking through the time commitment it took and comparing it to the time window my group had. While I will definitely have more time during my actual work, this experience taught me the importance of thinking through what sources of information could be most helpful at the beginning of my investigations, something that we also discussed in the course after I made this mistake. 

Leadership Reflection (3Cs Model)

Values

This week I most exhibited the values of curiosity, bravery, and determination. Before this course, I certainly would not have described myself as a computer person. After its completion though, I feel much more confident in my ability to navigate the open-source information environment. Moreover, I got to meet many amazing new people (though I wish I would have been braver and reached out to more). Still, I found bravery in the interactions I did have and determination both toward having those experiences and to meet new people. I did not experience any tensions in these values this week, though I suspect that may change in the coming weeks. 

Character

I think this week really tested collaboration: as mentioned, we had the opportunity to do a group project to practice our investigative skills. My group was awesome, and I learned a ton from them. Within it, we had a wide range of age-ranges, technological know-how, and experience with this topic. I found that the group functioned quite smoothly once we talked through our project and the roles that each of us felt most comfortable with, but getting started definitely pushed us toward this collaboration. 

Judgement mattered a lot: we had to be very careful about fact-checking the information we included and how we chose to use our limited time. I think I responded fairly well to this in terms of staying calm, though as I mentioned early, I could definitely have done a better job thinking through my time usage. 

Capacities

I most relied on people and process. Working in a team really emphasized the importance of establishing a good dynamic between everyone up front, and the highly-relevant nature of our process made it incredibly important to dedicate significant attention to this part of our work. I felt a bit stretched by the process component at the beginning of the week as I had not previously realized how in-depth it was. However, learning more about it, and its incredible importance, made me feel much more confident in the whole thing.

Ethical Engagement

This week, I thought a lot about the notion of Reciprocity and Mutual Exchange. Since this was a training week, it was definitely the week of my project in which this will be least present: I was not so much serving a community as I was gaining the tools necessary to do so in the future. My role was primarily executed in a learning capacity. While my contribution certainly helped my group execute its project, I recognize that this week was likely the least impactful for others (or the most if I take the question out further in terms of what I can later do with this training). This reflection definitely made me excited to start using my new skills next week, operating more so as a supporter than a learner. 

Adjustment & Development for Next Week

Next week, I hope to be a bit more forward with meeting new people. There were some truly awesome individuals at my training course, and I wish I had done a better job getting to know more of them. As the youngest person in the room, I think I was afraid of being the one to approach someone older and more experienced. However, after having so many great conversations, I think I need to reframe my understanding of this: if I am the one to start the conversation, then it makes it easier for others to engage. Next week, I will also likely be meeting tons of new people as the youngest person in the room – I want to do a better job introducing myself and meeting them right away so I can get to know everyone well during my time in Germany. Doing so will help me practice connectivity.