Ranjan K Baruah
We have published about some basic concepts about human rights. One can be rights defender and choose this field as career. It may not be possible to get a quick job after having degree or qualification, so one need to take up challenges for few days. A Masters degree alone often does not set you apart to grab the attention of recruiters. One must make the CV and add additional qualifications and skills to gain attention from the recruiters. There are many NGOs which offer volunteer option and also paid internship.
If anyone is interested to build a global career related to human rights then they may look into certain expertise and skills. One of them is knowing foreign languages. Many human rights jobs in the United Nations require applicants to be fluent in at least two of the six official UN languages Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Knowing more of these language means more advantage to be globally placed and work with UN. Similarly global organisation and international organisation look for people with more proficiency in different languages.
Apart from communication and language skills one may try to be a good storey teller. Those who know how to tell stories are often great influencers on social media, inspiring web content writers or terrific public speakers. There are free online courses in Transmedia Storytelling, teaching you how to tell stories across multiple traditional and digital delivery platforms in an effective way. One must be aware of how to negotiate and also learn how to manage a project. To learn the basics and principles of project management is a very worthwhile investment of your time. One should be expert in networking as networking with other professionals from the same field helps in career enhancement. Knowledge of all the core life skills is helpful for the aspirants.
We might be wondering what are the job profiles or job title related to human rights. Well, some of terms used are human rights activist, human rights defender, human rights advocate, human rights consultant, human rights campaigner, etc. There are special agencies under UN which deals with human rights. OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) has been focused with the human rights issue. All other organisation related to UN is also focusing on human rights. Similarly there are many other organisations like Amnesty International, Oxfam, etc. Part from these there are many other agencies like for the rights of child UNICEF works with government and other agencies.
With qualification and skills one may start working independently or start his or her own organisation. There is different funding available for the interested individuals or organisation. One must be expert in networking for becoming successful as rights defender.
Updates:
Scholarships for Teachers: Japan Government is providing scholarships to Indian teachers who are teaching in schools. This scholarship is for 18 months and interested teachers may apply to Ministry of Human Resources Development, Government of India before 25th January.
O N G C Scholarships: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation offers scholarships to meritorious SC/ST students pursuing professional courses in engineering , medical stream and master degree courses in business administration, geology and geo physics. Last date for submission of duly completed application form is 24th January.
Source: The Sangai Express
