糖心Vlog

Alumna de 2016
M谩ster en Relaciones Internacionales y Diplomacia

Mientras completaba su m谩ster en Relaciones Internacionales y Diplomacia, form贸 parte del Consejo de Estudiantes y fue asistente del presidente de AAU. Tras graduarse en 2016, empez贸 a trabajar en el departamento de marketing de AAU durante un a帽o hasta hace poco. Entre su regreso de una conferencia acad茅mica en Barcelona y su viaje a Montreal, destino de su pr贸ximo cap铆tulo (donde ser谩 embajadora de los antiguos alumnos de Canad谩-Este), pude hacerle algunas preguntas sobre su experiencia en AAU y sus primeros pasos en el escenario acad茅mico mundial.

驴Tu primer recuerdo o impresi贸n de AAU?
It was just after my first day I think that I posted on Facebook: 鈥淚 love my new school.鈥� I鈥檓 pretty sure it was a reaction to having, in the span of just one day, discussed the development of education in Peru with someone who鈥檇 actually worked in this area and also to have participated in another nerdy conversation about food security in Africa.

Tambi茅n recuerdo v铆vidamente mi primera clase de M茅todos Avanzados de 滨苍惫别蝉迟颈驳补肠颈贸苍 con Pelin Ayan. Entr茅 con aversi贸n a todo lo te贸rico de mi anterior universidad (s贸lo ten铆amos que memorizar informaci贸n sin saber realmente de qu茅 iba) y despu茅s de s贸lo quince minutos de clase de Pelin fue como si alguien hubiera encendido una bombilla en mi cerebro sobre la relevancia y el "por qu茅" de la teor铆a y quisiera ir y retomar una de las clases de teor铆a m谩s despreciadas (por todos) de mi licenciatura. Ahora me deleito con la teor铆a.

Si tuvieras que dar una clase en AAU, 驴cu谩l ser铆a?
No estoy segura de poder ser muy espec铆fica, ya que siempre quiero abarcar mucho en todo lo que hago, pero ser铆a alguna combinaci贸n de estudios sobre desarrollo internacional, humanitarismo, pol铆tica visual y comunicaci贸n.

驴Estereotipo canadiense que te gustar铆a experimentar?
Umm, la verdad es que no s茅 si tengo alg煤n estereotipo sobre los canadienses, aparte de que se disculpan mucho. En realidad, se supone que la poutine es un plato t铆pico de Quebec que me da mucho miedo porque me parece un desastre culinario, 驴pero quiz谩 est茅 bueno?

El mes pasado presentaste tu tesis "Los dilemas morales de la ayuda humanitaria: La representaci贸n visual en la imaginer铆a humanitaria y sus implicaciones" en la . What has the conference been like?
Ever since my paper was first accepted, I didn鈥檛 believe it and really thought there must have been some mistake. The whole week prior to the conference I had an upset stomach every morning, and I had severe imposter syndrome the night before. 鈥淗ow could I have been accepted on the basis of just an MA thesis?! Everyone else has so much more research experience! Then when I started speaking and watched the expressions across the audience, I realized that the people who select your paper and who go to the panel are genuinely interested in your work, and that鈥檚 really encouraging. It鈥檚 not like in class when you write papers just to get a grade and half the class isn鈥檛 paying attention to your presentation. At a conference, you pick which panels you want to attend because you are interested in the topics and it鈥檚 all about a friendly and supportive exchange of ideas and constructive criticism to help the ideas stand in the broader academic world. Yes, I鈥檓 definitely still really intimidated by all those snippets of super-specialized academic conversation you hear at a conference, but if you get over the anxiety and check out some panels then you鈥檒l find yourself frantically taking notes about all the interesting ideas people have, and also making friends with people interested in your research. 

驴Qu茅 inspir贸 tu tema de tesis?
Ya sabes, nunca hagas a un acad茅mico una pregunta tan compleja si buscas una respuesta breve. Obtendr谩s una revisi贸n bibliogr谩fica, algo de teor铆a, un an谩lisis y una conclusi贸n que te llevar谩 a seguir investigando :-)  

En pocas palabras, tengo formaci贸n en desarrollo internacional y me interesan los derechos humanos. Desde el principio quise hacer una evaluaci贸n cr铆tica de lo que considero un enfoque occidentoc茅ntrico del humanitarismo y el desarrollo, cuyos resultados no pueden ser sostenibles a largo plazo en beneficio de las comunidades y las personas receptoras. Daniela (mi supervisora) y yo quer铆amos abordarlo todo, pero finalmente nos limitamos a analizar las im谩genes utilizadas en la comunicaci贸n humanitaria y c贸mo se representa a los receptores de la ayuda humanitaria, es decir, a las "v铆ctimas", y lo que ello implica. Lo visual es realmente omnipresente en nuestra vida cotidiana y a veces es un medio informativo primario que conduce a la formaci贸n de percepciones y "verdades" subjetivas, afectando as铆 potencialmente a las relaciones sociales globales. En resumen, algo tan simple como una fotograf铆a puede ser realmente poderoso.

驴Has aprendido algo sorprendente?
I became more critically aware of the power of visual mediation in my own life. A lot of people probably don鈥檛 realize how influential imagery really is. Public reactions to images also say a lot about where we place value. I came across a photograph of a refugee baby in a camp where one of the adults around it was holding a smartphone. The comments on the photo were ones of disgust because of the phone, stating that the phone should be sold to feed the baby. But if you take a moment to think about the situation the people are in, something like that might not be so simple. Who are you going to sell a smartphone to in a refugee camp? Can you even use cash in the camp? What if that phone is your only connection to the family you left behind? A smartphone is seen to signify wealth, but just because someone has one, that doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean they have the means to achieve their primary needs in that given moment in time. There is such a lack of critical reflection on what people see.

H谩blanos de tu proyecto de investigaci贸n/pr谩cticas acad茅micas en Zambia.
Having the chance to experience practically what you鈥檙e learning about in theory is always rewarding. The internship was funded through Mendel University in Brno, where I did my bachelor鈥檚, and it consisted of a group of students and professors going to Zambia for one month to get more hands-on knowledge about international development. I had never been to Africa before and I wasn鈥檛 sure what to expect, but I ended up learning one of my most valuable life lessons there. Up until almost the last week, I was hopeless about development even being possible because all the issues seemed so complex and there is so much to be looked at and considered. It鈥檚 really overwhelming. But then we traveled to meet a small remote community and the village leaders told us their story. They had simply wanted to achieve one thing 鈥� for their kids to be able to go to school 鈥� and as they had encountered obstacles, they had dealt with them. Over time, they had built an elementary school, achieved food security for one year in advance, established an HIV/AIDS awareness center, and much more whilst aspiring to build a high school. This story is something that still really inspires me. If you have a vision and a will to achieve it, but the process seems too complex, just take baby steps, and you will get there. 

驴Tu segundo nombre?
So my parents were total hippies when I was born. Yep, we owned an orange Volkswagen van with a pop-up roof. We also lived in Montana next to Salish and Kootenai Native American reservations. My middle name, Qeytqam, means wild strawberry in either Kootenai or Salish (I really have to do some research to figure out which). Apparently, it鈥檚 because my face was red like a strawberry when I was born.

驴Una an茅cdota memorable de tu trabajo en AAU?
No podr铆a elegir s贸lo uno. Cada d铆a en AAU es una experiencia memorable con una historia 煤nica. Y lo es gracias a las incre铆bles personas que te rodean. Todo el mundo tiene historias y puntos de vista de todo el mundo que aportar, que se comparten con franqueza y se aceptan con curiosidad. Cuando las cosas se ponen ajetreadas, estresantes y deprimentes, a veces hace falta un empujoncito para encontrarlo, pero el esp铆ritu de AAU est谩 ah铆 y es inolvidable.