PROGRAMME SUPPORT OFFICER | CHILDREN IN CRISIS

What do you do as Programme Support Officer at Children in Crisis(CiC)?

I work across all of our country programmes in Afghanistan, DRC, Sierra Leone and Liberia. This includes everything from evaluation of projects, research, report writing and financial management to travel arrangements, supporting in-country field staff and working with our communications team. I also work on a small project in Kabul, Afghanistan, supporting the needs of children and young adults with disabilities who are living in orphanages.

GLOBAL DIGITAL EDITOR | THE CLIMATE GROUP

What do you do? 

I manage editorial, social media and digital content for The Climate Group, an international, not-for-profit organisation which connects the world’s most powerful governments, brands and public figures to drive what we call a 'clean revolution': the rapid scale-up of low carbon energy and technology to reduce emissions and secure a safer future for all. We work with our partners on high-profile events, visual reports and technology pilots, to help develop the finance mechanisms, business models and policy frameworks we need to achieve this.

FOUNDER | THE MIDDLE EAST COLLECTIVE

What are you up to in Berlin?

I finished my master’s studies at the American University in Cairo in 2015 and I just moved back to Berlin a few months ago. I am focusing on launching Middle East Collective (MEC), and also doing some freelance research and editorial work for some German organisations.

GLOBAL HEALTH FELLOW | PROGRAMME OFFICER | BILL & MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION

What do you do as a Programme Officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation?

I work on the malaria team, which has the ambitious goal of eradicating malaria. We do this by making investments in new programme strategies and new technologies to accelerate the progress towards eradication of the disease. This involves not only grant making, but also strategy development. On the grant making side, my role as a programme officer involves managing the relationship between our grantees and the Gates Foundation: making investments, managing those investments, and ensuring the outcomes are aligned with strategies that will help countries eliminate malaria. 

HEAD OF EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA | ARTICLE 19

What do you do for Article 19?

I head the Europe and Central Asia programme. We're a relatively small team ofteam of five and a part-timer. We work on protecting freedom of expression across Europe and Central Asia, which includes the EU states, Eastern European states and Central Asia. We mainly focus on the former Soviet Union.

PHOTOGRAPHER | INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE

How did the Vision not Victim (VNV) project begin? 

I had been working with adolescent girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as part of an internship in grad school – working on some participatory media projects. One afternoon, as we were having a discussion, I asked the group of girls I was with who their role models were – who were the heroes that inspired them. After thinking for a few minutes, they went around the circle and each named a western man – Benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King, etc. These men, these individuals they saw as role models – were extraordinary leaders who we can all look to, but there was a disconnect between their life journey and the obstacles these girls were facing in present day Congo.

SENIOR OFFICER FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH | MAMA CASH FUND FOR WOMEN

You are the Senior Officer for outreach and communication at Mama Cash. What does that entail?

Mama Cash is a fund for feminist activism. We support women, girls and trans people around the world who courageously organise themselves to fight for their human rights. As head of the comms team I try to bring their voices and stories to a wider audience. Since joining the organisation in 2013, my projects have included a sold-out 'artivism' festival, an online solidarity campaign that became trending topic on Twitter and a content partnership with The Guardian.

COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER | INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC)

You’ve been working as a Communications officer for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in London for over two years now. What does it entail? 

As an important player in the international community and one of only five states with a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, it is important for the ICRC to have a presence in the UK in order to be able to deal directly with the government and make its voice heard on humanitarian issues. My role is to support the work of the organisation by communicating about humanitarian crises in countries experiencing conflict and other situations of violence and gather support among policy makers, legislators, diaspora organisations, academia, and the public for the work of the ICRC in responding to those crises. The ICRC first opened its office in London in 2003, at the time of the Iraq war, and now also has an office in Belfast, where our team works to address the legacy of the Troubles. 

CO-ORDINATOR | ICAN UK

You’re currently working for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) as a UK co-ordinator. What does it entail?

As the only member of staff in a coalition of NGOs, I tend to do a bit of everything. I organise research, publications, meetings, parliamentary engagement, a social media presence, events and outreach – all with the aim of promoting ICAN’s international strategy to outlaw and ban nuclear weapons in the UK.

GENOCIDE PREVENTION STRATEGIST AND OUTREACH OFFICER | GRASSROOTS RECONCILIATION GROUP

You’re the co-founder of Congo-Sourced, Conflict-Free (CSCF). Why did you decide to launch your own organisation rather than join one?

It happened completely organically; there wasn't really a deliberate moment of decision. I was already doing work that I really loved, working with shelter dogs and programmes for low-income dog owners in Los Angeles, when I first read about the civil conflict that was happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I had always tried to be aware of the relationships between commerce and conflict, but as I read on about the scale of the war that happening there – the biggest since since World War II, with more than 6 million casualties – and how Western demands for the minerals native to DRC were fuelling the conflict, and that rape was being used as a weapon of war, I had a sort of reckoning.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR | THE GREAT INITIATIVE

What do you do as Executive Director for The GREAT Initiative? 

I manage the team, the projects, the budget and our overall strategy. We are a small organisation so we don't have the luxury of IT support, a HR manager, a finance team and so on... I do a bit of everything. In job speak it's known as 'a challenge.' But a fun one.

PROGRAM OFFICER FOR THE 2ND COMPACT OF MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION | MOROCCO

What do you do?

I currently work for the Government of Morocco on the development of the Second Compact of Millennium Challenge Corporation (USA)

VP, PACIFIC NORTHWEST & GLOBAL NON-PROFIT | INNOCENTIVE

What do you do as VP, Pacific Northwest & Global Non-profit for InnoCentive?

I’m responsible for developing our business in Canada, the US West Coast, and to non-profits around the world. I speak about crowdsourcing, present our services, and close deals with new clients.

CO-FOUNDER & DIRECTOR | CONNECTJUSTICE

What do you do as the Director of ConnectJustice?

ConnectJustice is a social enterprise working with communities, civil society and state agencies to build trust and collaboration around issues of social justice, with a focus on extremism and exploitation. We achieve this through research, evaluation, training and facilitation. This means I get to work with people from many different backgrounds and sectors, on a range of projects at any one time. This might include: research with academic partners, such as our study with former violent extremists and their families; our regular forums to facilitate learning and trust-building between different community organisations, activists and state agencies; and our training projects for young people around political and social engagement

CONSULTANT / FOUNDER & CHIEF EMPOWERMENT OFFICER | THE GLOBAL GIRLS PROJECT

You describe yourself as a bridge builder, collaborator and idea architect. How does that translate, career-wise?

Whether working on a long-term economic development plan, leveraging policy to create local economic opportunity or developing a large scale advocacy campaign, it’s about seeing points of connection between ideas/people/data, solving problems, cultivating strategic relationships with others, and leveraging them for collective impact. It’s figuring out where there’s a gap, a need or a problem, then harnessing resources to create new opportunities for growth and development.

GENDER, PEACE AND SECURITY ADVISER | SAFERWORLD

You advise Saferworld on gender, peace and security. What does that entail?

I’m a member of Saferworld’s policy team, based in our headquarters in London. I do research and analysis looking at the relationships between gender and conflict in the various countries where Saferworld works. I then use those findings to influence policymakers in governments and multilateral organisations like the United Nations in order to shape their approaches to building peace and security. I also advise my colleagues at Saferworld on how to include a gender perspective in their work – that is, I help them to think through how to take into account the different needs, interests and experiences of women, men, boys and girls and promote gender equality.

SENIOR CRISIS ADVISOR | AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

This interview was conducted whilst Lama Fakih was a Syria and Lebanon Researcher at Human Rights Watch. Lama has now left this position to become a Senior Crisis Advisor at Amnesty International.

SENIOR ADVOCACY ADVISER | CENTER FOR REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

What do you do as Senior Advocacy Advisor for the Center for Reproductive Rights?

My position mainly involves lobbying States and UN staff on resolutions and decisions adopted by the UN bodies in Geneva, in particular the Human Rights Council. The Center for Reproductive Rights’ mandate is to use the law to advance reproductive freedom of women as fundamental human rights. This includes advocacy towards the UN as a critical space for recognising and advancing progressive norms and policies. I also develop advocacy strategies to influence international human rights mechanisms to include the most progressive language towards the realisation of women’s human rights and reproductive rights and respond to growing conservative opposition to women’s human rights at the UN.