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sponsored by: Intrigue Media​

with light

Welcome friends! Here's a summary of the newsletter:
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​🌱2 minute career chat with former Australian diplomat
​🌱Wellbeing in the face of job rejections
🌱Holistic intro course on skills and jobs in ESG​
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with light,
​Jasmine
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fresh soil

Intersectional feminism in technology: How can feminism help us work towards better tech? Each week, two leading researchers on gender and technology invite leaders to share what feminism brings to the tech industry. → Podcast​
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​5 meditations on money: 1) Half the skill of being educated is learning what you can ignore 2) The best time to prepare for a downturn is in times of prosperity. → Meditation​
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​Intro to careers in ESG: What does the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) umbrella encompass? Why is there an increasing momentum around ESG? What skills are necessary for ESG careers? → Course​

water your soul

🌹 Pleasure map.
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🛝 Impact game.
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🌾 This playlist.
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🐠 Revived reef.
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🦋 Joy report.

community garden

Spotted in our garden this week is a community activity 🌱 Let's create a phenomenal collection of resources positively impacting our mental wellbeing: drop any helpful articles, podcasts, social media accounts, or general tips you'd love to amplify and we'll feature all the resources next newsletter :)

fertilize confidence

Following the love for 'ask a coach' over the past few weeks, we're excited to share that it will now be a permanent part of the newsletter! But...of course..we had to give it a nature-themed title..so welcome to "fertilize confidence." Your coach today: Besan Abu-Joudeh🌻
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​COMMUNITY TO COACH: QUESTION

COACH TO COMMUNITY: ANSWER​
​First of all, congratulations on graduating as a human rights lawyer! These are credentials that will serve you well in the long run. Beginnings are hard. Rejections are hard. Take some time to acknowledge how difficult it has been. And then decide that you will find an engaging and impactful opportunity. It's just a question of when. And it will require resilience.
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You are right, putting yourself out there is necessary to find an opportunity. Who do you need to be to put yourself out there despite the rejection? How long are you willing to do this? How will you find self-compassion when you need it most?
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It just takes one opportunity to change the trajectory of your career. And it all starts with believing that you will get there. Get very specific about where you want to go – create a vision board or journal on what it will feel like once you get there. Don't worry about the how – you will naturally figure that out. Instead, focus on the belief. Beginnings take time. The best thing you can do is to brace yourself for the rejection and continue to believe that you are where you're meant to be. Once you really believe that with all of your body, the journey is less painful and the pieces start to fall into place.

branch out

🧠EXPLORE​
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Introductory breakdown of web3.
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From FOMO to JOMO: the joy of missing out.
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How to pitch your best ideas – insights from Hollywood to Silicon Valley.

💸 FUND
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​STEM grants for groups in Global South with a passion for gender equity in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and/or Mathematics field.
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​UNICEF Venture Fund: USD $100K in equity-free investments to provide early-stage funding to for-profit tech start-ups developing software solutions using frontier technologies for climate action.

​Climate studies program for students from economically marginalized and hard-to-reach communities in Africa with funded opportunities to complete Masters and contribute to climate resilience in Africa.
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Fully-funded global affairs program to USA: 4 month residency in Yale’s School of Global Affairs.

spicy seeds

🌶️ About demisexuality.

🌶 Right to pleasure.
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🌶 From sexologists.

pollination partners

2 minute career chat with Helen Zhang, a social impact leader and partner of The Bloom 💙 Helen is a former Australian diplomat and lawyer, global public policy manager at Google, and co-founder of Intrigue Media, a media-tech company covering global issues at the intersection of geopolitics, tech and business.

Based on your experience working as a double minority in the foreign service: What were some career lessons you wish you had learned sooner? Where do you see hope in the field of foreign service now?
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​Working as an Asian woman in the Middle East was quite the learning curve on my first posting. People usually did not expect me to be the ‘Australian diplomat’ in the room when I was with my colleagues (who were often male and white) - I was once mistaken as the ‘Chinese intern’ by my European counterpart.

Looking back, I think I overcompensated for my feelings of ‘not belonging’ in the diplomatic profession through dressing more boldly (e.g. a bright red suit!) or by speaking up more than my peers. This actually yielded strong connections with a more diverse and broader set of stakeholders, which I’m now quite proud of.

What skills did you take from gov/rigid culture to startups and tech? How have your skills evolved since the transition, and what top skills based on these experiences do you feel might be universally relevant?
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I certainly took to some elements of the transition from government to a start-up life quicker than others (e.g. ditching the suits and opting for the ‘lounge-wear chic’). But other parts have been harder, like being comfortable with uncertainty, unpredictability, and the frequent ups and downs that come with start-up life. I’m still navigating that transition!

Communication and analysis skills have been crucial for this transition. No matter which industry you work in, solid written and oral communication skills as well as critical analysis skills will provide you with a strong foundation. Having a growth mindset and a reasonably healthy risk appetite are also universally relevant for the transition into start-up life!

This could be you! Email team@readtobloom.com if you'd like to sponsor the newsletter and be featured here.

grow new roots

ASIA + OCEANIA​
🇦🇺
Youth settlement officer – Migrant Information Centre​
Data engagement manager – International Women's Development Agency
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🇮🇩
Staff agronomist – Kitani​
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🇵🇭
National protection officer – Nonviolent Peaceforce
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🇭🇰
ESG manager – ELEVATE
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🇮🇳
Multiple roles – Better Cotton​
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🇹🇱
Youth peacebuilding coordinator – ChildFund​
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​AFRICA + MIDDLE EAST ​
🇿🇦
Regional human resources officer – Action Aid
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🇸🇳
Migration & forced displacement consultant – Altai
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🇰🇪
Consultant – Comic Relief​
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🇷🇼
Country representative – Green Growth Fund
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🇳🇬
Data scientist – Vendease​
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​LATIN AMERICA + CARIBBEAN
​Program officer – Open Society Foundation​
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🇧🇷
Brazil comms intern – Aspen Institute
Junior impact investing analyst – Fundo JBS Pela Amazônia​
Senior climate change analyst – Iguá​
Program manager – FunBEA​
Multiple roles – Sistema Fiep​
Designer – O Instituto de Tecnologia e Sociedade​
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​NORTH AMERICA​
Facilitator – Indigenous Women’s Flow Fund​
🇺🇸
Education tech program manager – Asia Society Foundation
​Feminist crisis response officer – Global Fund for Women
Social media manager – Illuminative ​
Senior policy analyst – Just Solutions Collective
Assistant director for institutional partnerships – WOLA​

​EUROPE
​EU tech policy fellowship – Training for Good​

🇨🇭
​Multiple interns – UPR​
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​🇩🇪
​Multiples roles – Ecosia​
​Junior circular development officer – ICLEI​
Sustainability analyst – Planet A Ventures​
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🇫🇷
Intern – Women in Africa​
Comms intern – EU Network for Women in Leadership​
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🇦🇹
Multiple interns – Inoqo​
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🇪🇸
Digital community builder – EU Climate Foundation​
Operations manager – Norrsken​
Multiple roles – Sunhero​
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🇬🇧
Multiple roles – Trilateral Research​
Climate change advocacy manager – Anti-Slavery International​
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🇧🇪
Marketing trainee – Dr2 Consultants​
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​GLOBAL REMOTE​
🌍
Communications coordinator – The Iris Project​
Resources lead + Coordinator – Whose Knowledge​
Consultant – Global Compact Academy​
​Legal & policy research on online child sexual exploitation & abuse – ECPAT International ​
Marketing intern – FixFirst​
Research consultancy – Harm Reduction International​
Comms & press officer – Nala Feminist Collective​
Membership manager – Dreamers & Doers​
Storytelling intern – WeRobotics​
Internal comms coordinator – Impact Hub​

bloom hour

For career mentorship from phenomenal social impact leaders: schedule a bloom hour!

If you enjoyed this edition, please share Bloom via email or WhatsApp with friends in social impact! See you next Sunday 💚