Hi! My name is Laurie and I am one of two interns who worked with GRACE International this summer as part of the University of Birmingham’s CRI Programme. Throughout my time working with GRACE, I focused predominantly on creating a communications plan for their Ukraine project. This project focused on creating a legal framework for children born of CRSV (conflict-related sexual violence).
Throughout my internship I have learnt so much about communications strategies and social media content creation. I learned how to write a detailed communications plan and what to consider when planning out comms strategies, such as audience, information and platform. This has been really valuable experience because it gave me an insight into not only the mechanics of comms work but also into the work of GRACE International and how best to convey this work to the public.
This internship has also greatly increased my confidence in reaching out and talking to new people. Lucy and I reached out to and arranged meetings with multiple people as part of our internship, from trustees at GRACE, to the comms teams of other charities too. I also sat in (remotely via Zoom) on two sessions from GRACE’s July workshop that happened in Ukraine, and introduced myself via video call to everyone that was there. This was very interesting because I could join the workshop happening in real time, which really contextualised everything and brought to life the work being done by GRACE.
The skills I have learned from my internship will also be incredibly valuable to me moving forward with my studies at university. I now feel much more confident about reaching out to people that I have not spoken to before both via email and via video call. This will help me feel able to reach out to both the academic staff at university should I ever need further advice about my studies, and future employers and internship opportunities when I look for work both during and after university.
I also want to reflect on what I have learned specifically about GRACE as a charity and my experience of working with them. GRACE International is the first charity that I have worked with so closely, and I have found it to be a very inspiring and eye-opening experience. I feel much more aware now than I did at the start of this internship about the devastating effects of CRSV, and most importantly, how to help those who have suffered because of it.
I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with GRACE as a CRI intern this summer. It has been an incredibly valuable experience that I have really enjoyed, and has taught me skills that I will carry forward with me throughout both the rest of my time at university and my future caree