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Check out the new blogs, our current vacancies, the profiles of the current Academy interns and our latest resources!

 You can find the Oxfam Novib Academy at: https://oxfamnovibacademy.wordpress.com/  

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Aboard, (spring) academy of 2017!

Ten, slightly nervous students trickled into the hall little by little. A green visitor card pinned on their chests. Soon, they would no longer just be visitors. They were introduced to each other as the ten new interns of Oxfam Novib! I am very glad I am one of them.

Luckily, we were not thrown into the deep end completely. Before starting our internships, we got to meet each other and the organization during the two-day introduction program of the Oxfam Novib Academy. The Oxfam Novib Academy, set up to bring together theory and practice, offers students the opportunity to develop themselves professionally while working towards a more just world.

Besides working on different tasks in different departments, the Academy offers us bi-weekly sessions in which we will discuss topics related to development and receive additional support where needed. Next to these sessions, several events will be organized by us to share our internship experiences with other Oxfam Novib employees. And last but not least: this blog will be the platform on we will share our stories with anyone interested in Oxfam Novib or development in general.

Getting to know each other

Meet the new interns: Eline, Emil, Joris, Louise, Melissa, Marion, Nina, Saskia, Marjorie and Yvette. After a quick introduction round we played a name game, which was harder than it might seem. After we finally learned each other’s names and got to know about some of our craziest stories, we were ready to learn more about what we were here for: Oxfam Novib!

….and Oxfam Novib 

It was none other than director Farah Karimi who told ours more in-depth about Oxfam Novib as an organization and where the organization stands for. After a brief but inspiring talk about the increasingly interconnected world in which we all have to play our part, we got the opportunity to ask her questions. After learning more about the organization and the beliefs and motives that drive Oxfam Novib, we explored the building and talked to our soon-to-be colleagues.

Empowerment, Inclusiveness and Accountability

Empowerment, inclusiveness and accountability: the three values of Oxfam Novib. This was one of the things we learned during our corporate communication workshop on Wednesday. On Thursday we had another workshop on gender equality in which we played the so-called ‘power line game’ in which not only gender inequality was addressed but also our own prejudices were challenged.

Later that day we got the opportunity to put Oxfam’s three values into practice; we were given the option to join the #HollandagainstHate protest at the Malieveld. It was inspiring to see that even on a rainy day in The Hague, so many people showed up to express their discontent with the policies of Donald Trump. I believe this shows there is hope for a more inclusive and tolerant future.

“We can change the system not only by helping people. It is also about us. Our way of life. How the economic order and global relationships are organized” -Farah Karimi

Work hard, play hard

Next to all the fun activities, we quickly found out that something else was expected from us during the introduction days. While having lunch in the canteen on Wednesday, some of us spotted a poster, promoting the pitches that we were supposed to deliver on Thursday. While nervous at first, we all delivered powerful pitches, informing our new colleagues about ourselves, our motivations and our internship expectations.

We ended the two introduction days with a quest around The Hague during which we had to complete several (slightly embarrassing task) tasks. I shall not dwell on over the exact tasks, but feel free to stop by one of us and ask for a video or photo from the quest!

I can say that, and I think speak for all us of, that we had two great introduction days. Thanks to Gwendolyn and Esther form the Oxfam Novib Academy for making this all possible. We are very excited to start our time at Oxfam Novib!

Welcome aboard spring academy of 2017!

This blog is written by Yvette Hogenelst, intern Campaigning and Communications Governance and Financial Flows unit

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The lost village of Gansé

Blog by Gwendolyn Parami

What do you see in this picture? It looks like a peaceful lake surrounded by lush greenery, doesn’t it?

I took this picture last year when I was visiting the place my grandparents used to live. It is actually the Brokopondo water reservoir in the jungle of Suriname. About 60 years ago, around 5000 people used to live in this area. One of those villages was called Gansé, and according to the stories of my grandmother, it was beautiful. However, the villages including Gansé, disappeared under water with the construction of a dam and the creation of the water reservoir. The communities did not have secured land rights and with promises of a better life somewhere else, they were forced to abandon their homes.

Unfortunately the promises were not realized. The only visible proof of the communities living there, many years ago, are thousands of dead tree tops rising above the water’s surface. In an effort to save money, the trees were not cut down before flooding the area.  The reservoir is now one of the largest reservoirs in the world and the dam provides electricity to industries involved in the processing of bauxite into alumina.

Not only in Suriname, but also in the rest of the world, indigenous and local communities are vulnerable to pressures from more powerful actors as they don’t have formally recognized land rights. Land is an essential part of their cultural identity and a way to survive and develop. That is why I am supporting the Land Rights Now Campaign at Oxfam Novib. This is a Global Call to Action and we aim to engage and mobilize communities, organizations, governments, and individuals worldwide to promote and secure Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ land rights.

How the rotten smell of the earth can save your life

Working on the campaign with an amazing team of passionate people has made me realize how fundamental land rights are for indigenous peoples and local communities, but also for all of us. Last week, I conducted an interview with an indigenous woman living in the mountains of Taiwan. She explained that many indigenous peoples in the country have suffered from the typhoons that are frequently occurring because of climate change.

Her community started a project that includes the creation of early disaster warning systems based on the documentation of traditional knowledge from the indigenous peoples living in the high risk areas.  She explained: “Just before a landslide, you can feel the ground changing, you can smell a distinct rotten smell and you can see the color of the river changing. You can hear the rocks running from the mountains and the different sizes of the rocks tell you what stage the landslide is”. This knowledge is now used to build an early disaster warning system in many areas of the country. Read more here.

Indigenous peoples are “living encyclopedias” with in-depth knowledge of every aspect of the environment. They are finding innovative and practical solutions for fighting climate change by drawing on their traditional knowledge. They protect the forests and biodiversity, manage lands, sequester carbon, and preserve our ecosystem. Recognizing the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities is therefore not only key to fighting climate change, but also to ensure that communities, such as the one in Gansé, are not forced to move from their ancestral lands.

Gwendolyn is interning at our land rights now campaign, writing down the stories of displaced people and fighting to make land rights a right!