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SUMMARY:CGHR Expert Practitioner Series: Working in Human Rights\, Peacebu
 ilding\, Humanitarian Aid and Development - Tom Porteous\, Human Rights Wa
 tch - Deputy Program Director
DTSTART:20120201T170000Z
DTEND:20120201T183000Z
UID:TALK35820@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Yvonne Frankfurth
DESCRIPTION:_Talk will be followed by drinks reception in the Alison Richa
 rd Building. Room to be confirmed (see screen at Reception)._\n\n%{color:r
 ed}To help us with organisation\, please register your interest by emailin
 g: yiif2@cam.ac.uk%\n \nThe Centre of Governance and Human Rights (CGHR) h
 as launched a practitioner seminar series\, partnering with expert speaker
 s from key organisations to delve into the gritty realities of what workin
 g in field like human rights and international development really involves
 .  \n\n*Tom Porteous* is the deputy program director at *Human Rights Watc
 h* and is based in Washington DC. He joined Human Rights Watch in 2006 as 
 the London director responsible for communications and advocacy in the Uni
 ted Kingdom. Porteous has a background in journalism\, diplomacy\, and UN 
 peacekeeping. In the 1980s and early 1990s he was a freelance corresponden
 t for the Guardian newspaper\, the BBC\, and other media\, first in Cairo 
 and later in Berlin\, Algeria\, and Morocco. He worked in UN peacekeeping 
 operations in Somalia and Liberia. He also served as conflict management a
 dviser for Africa in the UK's Foreign Office from 2001 to 2003. Porteous s
 tudied classics at Oxford University.\n\nThe sphere of work known variousl
 y as the 'Third Sector'\, 'Development and Humanitarian Aid' or simply - d
 oing good in tough places - is notoriously impenetrable\, and frustratingl
 y difficult to navigate for the uninitiated. For somebody hoping to pursue
  a career within this field\, the range of agencies and institutions\, ini
 tiatives and centres is at the very least bewildering. Most areas intersec
 t\, and organisations work with an array of crosscutting issues and contex
 ts. Yet what at first glance can appear to be a morass of very similar org
 anisations doing generally related things\, is in fact often sharply delin
 eated\, with different sectors requiring surprisingly different competenci
 es and operating under quite specific mandates. Working as an internationa
 l human rights advocate would demand a different skill set and working env
 ironment from a project officer of a first phase emergency response - and 
 both would have relatively different routes to entry. And a Master's degre
 e isn't always the best option.  \nCambridge University educates and train
 s many of the best young minds in the country and provides a critical insi
 ght into the issues surrounding international politics\, security\, develo
 pment and humanitarianism. But with little clarity around what is involved
  in working in this sector\, attempting to translate this theoretical know
 ledge into a meaningful start to a career can be a minefield. With this in
  mind\, the CGHR series will allow students to listen and speak to a selec
 tion of high-level experts working in these fields\, and address key issue
 s and questions. What impact can you have on people's lives working with A
 mnesty International or Human Rights Watch? What are the challenges facing
  emergency relief workers at the British Red Cross? How does the UK Govern
 ment's Department for International Development influence peace-building a
 nd security during civil conflicts overseas? What role does policy researc
 h at the Overseas Development Institute play in provoking change?  \nThere
  will be four one-and-a-half hour seminars throughout Lent 2012\, designed
  to equip students with an in-depth and critical look at what each area in
 volves\; the type of work carried out\, contingent challenges and essentia
 l competencies. The first hour will introduce the speaker\, chaired by a d
 iscussant from CGHR\, and will open up to the audience in the second hour 
 to provide the opportunity for students to engage with the topics discusse
 d. \n\n\n
LOCATION:Alison Richard Building\, Sidgwick Site
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