Jobs/Roles in the ECE Community: Internationally

The first International interest that I found was that of our own President Barack Obama. “That is why I declared before heads of state gathered at the United Nations, "no country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere." (Presidential Memorandum, 2011). I chose this memorandum because of the influence that our president has internationally and the contacts that he can engage on the issue. He states that “By this memorandum I am directing all agencies engaged abroad to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons”. There is no higher authority to be involved in any of our communities of practice than the president of the United States. This same memorandum discusses organizations that operate overseas using federal funds and how that will affect the LGBT issue. The White House offers internships for young professionals that increase the knowledge of politics and government issues but there are no actual career opportunities listed in this site. The skills required would be a working knowledge of government as well a professional attitude and communication skills.

The second international community of practice I chose is called Global Respect in Education (GRIN) and can be located at: http://www.grincampaign.com/Home.html. “We are an awareness campaign to promote equality and respect in education, focusing particularly on the LGBTQ community and those who are “just different” primarily in the US and the UK”. This organization was actually founded by a teenager in response to the number of suicides in the UK and the US. I believe this is a great addition to a community of practice geared towards teenagers. It is an awareness campaign and could be of great assistance to other children that are experiencing the same type of bullying, harassment and discrimination that the children involved in the campaign have been through. This organization is geared towards raising awareness through social networking, photographic protests and trying to build allies for the cause. Due to the nature of this organization there are no job posting, only volunteer opportunities.

The third international organization that I have decided to ally with is the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and is located at: http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/home/index.html. “The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) is a leading international organization dedicated to human rights advocacy on behalf of people who experience discrimination or abuse on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or expression”. This organization has been assisting all over the world to include Russia and the Middle East. They have been helping to fight for gay equality, family rights and even fighting against torture and abuse in some countries. This organization advertises ways to support through donations, corporate sponsorship and fundraising. I could not find any information on employment within the organization. There are opportunities for interns and the application process states:

To apply to be a Communications and Research Intern in the New York office, please e-mail a cover letter, resume and writing sample (no more than 5 pages) as separate MS Word or PDF attachments to iglhrc@iglhrc.org, with "Internship Program" as the subject header

References

Global Respect in Education (GRIN). Retrieved from: http://www.grincampaign.com/Home.html

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). Retrieved from: http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/home/index.html

Presidential Memorandum – (2011). International Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons, Retrieved from: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/12/06/presidential-

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