My work with Together We Build It (TWBI) was primarily focused on conducting research and documenting the human rights situation in the country – specifically as it affects women and children.

One of my main tasks this summer was collating research on Libyan human rights abuses and drafting a report for the United Nations Human Rights Council. The report, known as the Universal Periodic Review, is conducted every five years to document the progress or status of human rights in the country, and makes recommendations to the government to change specific laws and policies. My work revolved around conducting interviews of Libyan youth and women, as well as substantial desk research, and then drafting the lengthy 24-page report.

By better understanding the legal and de facto discrimination against Libya’s most vulnerable population – youth and women -- my contribution helped TWBI strive toward its mission of supporting a peaceful democratic transition in Libya through empowering women and youth. It also helps to hold the government accountable, by calling out specific human rights violations occurring in Libya and requiring the government to go on record acknowledging these abuses.

The summer placement also complemented my classwork at SIPA nicely. Without the skills and context I gleaned from several SIPA classes – including my Applied Peace-building and other conflict resolution courses – I would have struggled to complete my tasks in a timely manner. Much of the work I contributed drew on knowledge and specific skills I practiced at SIPA, including survey design, building log-frames, and conducting a conflict analyses. My broadly, my experience outside of the classroom allowed me the space and the perspective to apply what I’ve learned, and to determine how I responded and adjusted to life in the “field” – although Tunis can hardly be considered a difficult place to located. It is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful, charming, and culturally-rich cities I’ve had the good fortune to live.

Unfortunately, the situation in Libya was significantly less stable. The civil war reignited in April, 2019, and conditions deteriorated through the summer -- which impacted the nature of my work and precluded me from visiting our organization or being able to interview Libyans in their own country. It also made communication with our supervisor and team difficult at times – Libyans are accustomed to 12-to-16-hour electricity blackouts, in which cellular networks crash and communication becomes nearly impossible. While these challenges made work more difficult, unfortunately it is an aspect of working in conflict and post-conflict zones that you quickly become desensitized to. While these conditions were routine for my friends and colleagues in Tripoli, they also didn’t significantly affect the nature of my work, since I was fortunate enough to be based in Tunisia.

Overall, this was an invaluable experience that complemented my classroom studies at Columbia. I relished the opportunity to work with such incredible, driven human rights activists and social entrepreneurs, who continue to inspire me with their fortitude and ambition. I also greatly enjoyed the perspective and experience of working with an all-female team, whom I so admire and learned so much from. Moving forward, I will take much from this experience to my future endeavors and work. I feel firmly committed to working in the humanitarian space as a social entrepreneur, and know that this was an important step in that process.