| Testimony
by Marina M., who participated in a journalism training in Prague:
The TOL training in internet journalism was really a great
opportunity for me. I am not saying that just as a compliment to the organizers,
it's absolutely true. First, the subject is very interesting; I
don't know any other organization that teaches journalists to create web-sites,
to make them profitable, to develop them so they will be interesting to
readers, etc. That's why it was so interesting. But there was
much more during the training. We had an opportunity to meet with different
specialists, took a tour at Radio Free Europe, met journalists whose names
we only saw on TV before. I think this kind of practical training,
where participants are not just taught the theory, but go straight to
practice, is really important for journalists. I am very glad
that I was able to take part in this program."
Testimony
by Adam I., who participated in the Hansen Summer Institute in California:
Participation in the Hansen Summer Institute was a great
experience for me and made me very happy. I heard so much that was new
to me, heard from new people from the whole world, and got to see America
and ordinary American people. To take part in this program it
is necessary to show initiative, be open for new contacts and ready to
meet new people.
All in all, everything
went well. We had been well-prepared for the program, because we had earlier
been sent brochures with information about the program and everything
took place as described. About the program: it was very intensive
- lectures, excursions, visiting different charter schools (private
schools for poor children) and a center for the rehabilitation of young
criminals. We also visited the city administration of San Diego and met
personally with the mayor. The rest of our time was organized in the same
way. We visited an "Independence Day" parade, had picnics, went
to the zoo and so on. I particularly liked our visit to the border with
Mexico, which was an indescribable impression for me, because at the fence
were simple, poor Mexican migrants. Concerning the lectures, they were
really interesting, the teachers interacted with us all the time and gave
us opportunities to find out the truth on our own. Different kinds of
games gave us a chance to immerse ourselves in conflict situations. When
the program was completed, all the participants had to write a final report,
like a feedback. I had some problems with the language; in everyday conversations
I was comfortable, but following the lectures was hard for me. Future
participants should know that it is really important to know English well!
Concerning participants
from other countries, I had warm relationships with all of them, found
a common language with them despite our different mother tongues and especially
befriended participants from Cameroon and Sri Lanka. In the course of
the whole program we were together, getting to know each other better
and better, although we had this kind of contact with all participants.
I am still in contact by them through the internet.
I learned
how we need to communicate with people from all over the world, that it
is necessary to seek dialogue in all situations and I learned some useful
things about leadership qualities. We played out conflict situations and
tried to find ways out these situations and many other things. I consider
this a very valuable program, even more so for young people from our region.
The program teaches tolerance, which is lacking so much from today's world.
Testimony
by Asya U., who participated in a fellowship for ethnic minorities at
the UN/OHCHR in Geneva:
"I
was one of five candidates chosen to participate in a fellowship for ethnic
minority activists at the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights (OHCHR) in Geneva, Switzerland, from March until June
2007. The other four fellows were from Canada, Laos, Africa and India.
During the fellowship we were taught systems and mechanisms of human rights
protection at the UN. We had meetings with representatives of the Committees
on forced disappearances, trafficking, torture, refugees, racial discrimination
and the protection of children. Also, we took part in the fourth and fifth
sessions on the human rights of minorities. At the meetings and training
with the International Labor Organization we had lectures on global economic
issues and the experiences of different countries. For me, the most useful
and interesting part was a special training for journalists. Our instructor
taught us to write press-releases for human rights organizations, how
to prepare briefings and long presentations on human rights violations
for international organizations, and how to start a blog. One of the main
objectives of the fellowship was documenting and analyzing violations
in UN memberstates. We also had to design a specific project for our own
community; mine was to organize training for young journalists. During
the fellowship I was able to visit the Council of Europe in Strassbourg,
France, and to learn there about its mechanisms and meet with advisors,
chairmen of the Committees, lawyers from of the European Court of Human
Rights, Press Officers and others. Thanks to the help by the Chechnya
Advocacy Network I have received two certifications from the UN
and finished an online training by the BBC for young journalists. I hope
that it will help me become an experienced and well-trained journalist
who can help my people and my country."
Testimony
by Murad P., who spent a year in New York on a legal fellowship:
"I
participated in a program organized by the New York-based organization
Public Interest Law Initiative. This program is for Human Rights lawyers
interested in improving their knowledge in their respected areas. The
program lasts for two years. During the first year participants take classes
at Columbia University Law School and intern in Human Rights organization.
In the second year participants return home and implement their projects
they worked on during the first year. I personally was able to improve
my practical skills in strategic litigation before the European Court
of Human Rights through taking classes related to European Law and interning
at the well-known organization Human Rights Watch. Now I am going to implement
my project on taking cases before the European Court of Human Rights.
This program is excellent for several reasons. First, it is good to study
outside of your country and you can focus on your studies. Second, it
helps to understand a problem from different angles, since you are actually
not in the real situation. Third, you can make many useful personal contacts
with people who can help in implementing your project in a future. I
am back home now and I feel more confident due to the knowledge I gained
in New York and the assistance of people, who are interested in improving
situation in the whole world. Because all of that I think that young people
from North Caucasus should apply for such programs and with joint efforts
we can make life better in our small part of world."
Testimony
by Ibragim A., who participated in the 2008 John Smith Fellowship in Britain:
My participation in the 2008 John Smith fellowship
programme made a strong contribution to my personal and professional development.
When I compare myself before and after the JSF programme, I find that
owing to the programme I became incomparably more effective in my professional
work: more reasonable, accurate and punctual. I am better now
at designing and understanding priorities as well as at performing and
combining the work needed for community mobilization. The knowledge and
expertise I acquired made me more persuasive when it comes to business
co-operation, as my partners now see that I really have something good
and useful to propose. This was not the case before my participation in
the JSF.
During the fellowship
I designed a project on community development and infrastructure improvements
in my native town of Shalazhi, Chechnya. The International Rescue Committee,
at my initiative, will perform a Quick Implementation Project on water
supply and sanitation improvements in the town this October. Hopefully,
the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will become
a strategic partner of the IRC/North Caucasus, which will enable the NGO
to implement more projects in the area. This new cooperation came as a
direct and immediate result of the work I did within the fellowship programme.
Moreover, the Fellowship programme in itself is not designed as
a transient event with a quick termination; on the contrary, it starts
a far-reaching development initiative and continuing co-operation for
years to come.
I definitely
encourage young professionals from the North Caucasus to apply to the
John Smith Fellowship. The only thing I regret is that I can't be a first-time
fellow again……
Testimony
by Laila S., who participated in a training on women's rights in Sweden:
"I
have to say I'm extremely happy that I took part in the seminar in Lund.
And I'm grateful that CAN helped me to get there. It was a very interesting
and useful course. During the training we had lectures on human rights
and humanitarian law, equal rights and non-discrimination, trafficking
in human beings, violence against women, refugee law and internally displaced
persons, minority rights, women in armed conflict; we studied civil and
political rights; economic, social and cultural rights; the convention
on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, etc.
Also, we conducted study visits in Sweden and Denmark as well. We visited
a court in Malmo, the Danish Refugee Council in Copenhagen, a women's
shelter, a prison, the NGO Save the Children and some other institutions.
It was a very good experience for me and it gave me an opportunity to
compare the level of democracy and implementation of human rights in Europe
and in my home country. And I have to admit we have to work hard
to achieve at least a more or less similar situation in these areas in
Russia. Nevertheless, now I feel I've got more power to struggle for human
rights and rights of women in particular. The knowledge I gained from
the seminar will help me with that. I received 10 kgs (!) of
books on human rights and different instruments on this topic to continue
my studies."
|
