our global garden of joy Hi 👋 I’m Jasmine, founder of The Bloom. We have a phenomenal selection of social impact resources this week for you to bloom & forward to your friends!
"supported with love by Algbra" "supported with love by Algbra" supported with love by Algbra
Welcome bloomers, Here is your summary of the newsletter this week: 🌱Career interview with intern at Mexico Supreme Court 🌱 Micro grants for African and Caribbean women 🌱+11 remote social impact roles from data to storytelling with love & light, Jasmine Did a friend forward you this email? Sign up to get your own copy of The Bloom to your inbox with top social impact jobs, uplifting stories, and global resources. Partner with us! We're looking forimpactful organizations to partner with The Bloom to bring connections, resources, and opportunities to our global community.
Social impact careers learning platform: Joinour fast-growing community to learn from extraordinary social impact professionals in networking and mentorship events.
Sponsored membership: If you're unable commit to the membership fee of our platform, read our disclaimer and apply for sponsored membership – all benefits for 6 months and you can re-apply if necessary. We've got your back 💚
fresh soil
What is your “official” professional role and field?
I am interning at the Human Rights area of the Supreme Court of Justice in Mexico and serving on the board of Amnesty International Mexico. 💛 Just two months until I graduate from law school! ⚖️
What is your unofficial role and field?
I am a human rights and gender activist with two sides:the lawyer and the activist👩⚖️ In the Supreme Court of Justice, I conduct extensive research on human rights violations, especially those related to enforced disappearance.
At Amnesty, my honorary role is to provide strategic oversight for general strategy and reports, but what I enjoy the most is working on strategies to increase diverse youth participation in the organization. 🌸 Additionally, I frequently participate in actions to raise awareness of serious human rights violations. Year after year, we run a campaign called “Write for Rights”, where we send letters to support certain cases of people who are experiencing human rights violations worldwide.
Last but not least, I work in a local collective of young women and students. We aim to raise awareness of and promote women’s rights with an intersectional approach, under the name Girl Up UNAM. 💞 I love the work here because, as we are not a formal organization but a collective, we are constantly engaged in various activities, from managing social media communications to fundraising and organizing protests. ✨ One activity that stood out was our book collection for women in prison, which collected more than 7 tons of books! 📖 We concluded the activity with workshops. That activity was life-changing for all of us.
How did you get to where you are today in your career?
That's a challenging question that I'm still grappling with. There are many days when, while I'm working, attending a meeting, or even writing this, I find myself in tears. I do it because I'm truly grateful. As a first-generation university student living in the outskirts of Mexico City, I've been fortunate to have opportunities in the past 2-3 years that I couldn't have even dreamed of. ⛅
📕Education – has been a pivotal aspect of my journey. Coming from a lower-middle-class family, I didn't have the means to afford cell phones or expensive clothes. However, my father worked tirelessly during my childhood to afford to send me to a small private school in our neighborhood. After secondary school, public education played another crucial role. UNAM, Mexico's largest university, has a high school that operates within the same system. Since I enrolled, I've been exposed to numerous opportunities: language classes, sports and a supportive circle of friends who have stood by me every step of the way. ☀️
Thanks to these opportunities, I earned a scholarship last year that allowed me to study for a semester at the University of Geneva.🇨🇭
🌸 Community support has also been fundamental. I've leaned on various communities, especially women's groups, to navigate both my educational and professional journeys. Initially, I had no connections in the legal or human rights fields. But I started asking around, 'Hey, do you know anyone who works in human rights?' This led me to discover many informal mentors who encouraged me to apply for scholarships, international internships, and courses. This is why I became involved with Amnesty International and founded the collective.❤️🩹
Although I believe I've experienced social mobility myself, it's been challenging. Sometimes, despite all the experiences I've gained, it still feels insufficient, especially when working on human rights in Mexico. Low salaries, racism, and other factors make it incredibly tough.
However, I'm proud of how far I've come. I know it's been a lot of hard work. I'm deeply committed to spreading opportunities. Sometimes, all you need is awareness. Knowing that a scholarship exists can be the catalyst to seek out further support.
Your relationship to “social impact”: has it evolved since you began your career?
From the outset, I knew I wanted to pursue work with a focus on social impact, but it was a tough decision. I understood that for my economic stability, it might be wiser to choose another area of law. Consequently, I spent some time working at a law firm while simultaneously trying to maintain involvement in volunteer projects aimed at social impact. While this balance might work for some, I found it to be extremely exhausting and frustrating.
After some time, I was fortunate to secure a scholarship that allowed me to cover some expenses. With this opportunity, I made the decision to resign from my position and began searching for part-time work in the social sector. Interestingly, I found a role not in law, but in communication and project management. This turned out to be an incredible experience.
Hopefully from now I’ll be able to work on human rights, but if not I know I can always come back when the situation allows me. I think passion, patience and openness is the key.
Rapid fire! Share your favorite... Podcasts?
🎬Radioambulante:This podcast was initially created with the intention of assisting Spanish learners, but beyond that, it presents compelling stories covering various social topics in Latin America.
🌱 Las guardianas: [Also in Spanish] This podcast gathers the stories of women who resist and defend the land in Latin America, especially those from indigenous communities.
Accounts I follow:
Poetryrise: An account for the poetry - lovers. 🥰
Books?
Reservoir Bitches: Stories - Dahlia de la Cerda: I’ve have followed the work of Dahlia for a while. She has a really critical perspective to feminism and social issues in general. If you speak Spanish I highly recommend another one from the same author that is “Desde los Zulos” [this does not have translation to english yet 🙁 ]
Against White Feminism - Rafia Zakaria: A radically inclusive, intersectional, and transnational approach to the fight for women's rights. Rafia made a brilliant analysis.
The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafón: Is my all-time favorite novel. If you are a reader, you’ll definitely enjoy it. Reach out to Nadieja directly in our global social impact community. And make sure to check out the upcoming incredible mentorship and networking events 💜
water your soul
Inspiring newsletters, documentaries, social media, and much more; we find media to brighten and enlighten your spirit.
🌀 Queerness: coming home to your body. 🤎 This climate speech. 🇳🇿 Inspiration from Jacinda Ardern.
branch out
Curated collection of Global South/Global North fellowships, grants, awards, competitions – because there are many opportunities to branch out, beyond a traditional 9 – 5 jobs.
💸 Grants & Awards
Mental Health Young People Fund: For the bold promotion of ideas that address the early drivers of mental health and wellbeing for the underserved young people aged 10- to 24 in: Colombia, Ecuador, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan, Romania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Vietnam. Micro Grants – African and Caribbean Women: For the rest of 2024, women of African and Caribbean descent, based anywhere in the world, who are entrepreneurs, nonprofit founders can apply for USD 500 micro grants. Pollination Project Daily Changemaker Grant: Through an innovative daily grant program, Pollination Project strive to catalyze positive change by offering USD 1000 micro grants every single day of the year. Grant Funds for Researchers Based in Africa: The fund targets African researchers in Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, and Kenya to facilitate the development of researchers starting their careers as independent investigators in Africa. Funding of USD 10,000 will be awarded to each project.
📚 Education
Summer School – Cultural Diplomacy: Are you fascinated by the power of culture to shape international relations? Do you want to delve deeper into the world of diplomacy and negotiation? Look no further than the Summer School of 2024 on Cultural Diplomacy, hosted in The Hague, Netherlands.
🏆Awards & Competitions
Europe 4 Ocean Challenge of the Year: Calls upon individuals and organizations to contribute to the integration of ocean literacy with citizens’ roles in democracy and policymaking. The annual Challenge of the Year aims to promote Ocean Literacy within the European Union by fostering collective action. Selected proposals meeting specific criteria will receive financial support to bring their impactful contributions to life.
Youth Video Festival on Migration & Inclusion: If you’re passionate about migration, diversity, and social inclusion, this is your chance to showcase your creativity and make a difference. PLURAL+ Youth Video Festival is a special initiative by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the International Organization for Migration. It’s a platform that invites young people from all over the world to share their unique perspectives on pressing global issues through original and imaginative videos. Safe Photography Project Contest by Restless Development: What does it mean to you to feel ‘safe’? Restless Development is looking for 12 young photographers from all over the world (aged 18 - 24) to join the movement to end violence against children – positively disrupting the point of view on an issue affecting half the world’s girls and boys.
community garden
Finding a network of extraordinary social & environmental impact leaders to nourish your career growth and build relationships of reciprocity has never been easier ☀️ Here are some ASKS & OFFERS in The Bloom this week:
OFFER SPOTLIGHT
OFFERS 🕊️
Flavia: I am looking to hire a freelance graphic designer to work with me on a Social Impact Report for my programs in 2023. I will provide content and some images, it would be great if you had access to stock images to complete the design. Cathlene: A tool I've learned from the neurodivergence space is body doubling - sitting down to work for the same duration of time, which helps foster accountability while feeling less alone! If there is enough interest, I'd be happy to offer my Zoom account for a 60-90 minute group session (during CET work hours) on a weekly basis. We could show up, have a brief check-in on what we'd like to work on, then have our body-doubling session and a brief check-out. My inner Facilitator would love the chance to stretch!
ASKS 🌹 Thomas: Hi all, I am in the midst of a job search and an overall career rethink. I've spent the majority of my time within financial services in some capacity (mostly in client facing roles), and I am looking to make more of a positive impact. One avenue/career path that has peaked my interest is corporate social responsibility. If there are any Bloomers out there working in a simliar role, ideally in the US, I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to have a brief Zoom call to learn more about their day to day, their journey, and any insight they might have for someone like myself. Raiesa: I’m in a very *unique* situation and I would love to get a perspective from a HR/Recruiter on what this all means. I’m in the final stages of an interview at another company and I was asked to provide 3 references, with at least 1 reference being a supervisor. The supervisor I listed declined my request because the company “would be deemed as a competitor”. As someone who has had an awful experience in the corporate world due to managers, im left wondering: Am I being sabotaged?
Connect directly in the "Asks & Offers" section of our social impact community platform, and read through all the wonderful offers for reciprocity from job application support, to book club partners ☀️
grow new roots
Hand-picked job opportunities and employers we love around the world, selected from a diverse team of social impact leaders behind the scenes at The Bloom who are excited for you to grow new roots in your career.
afikra An organization dedicated to cultivating curiosity around the history and culture of the Arab world. They helped create a global community of people interested in engaging in the intellectual process of asking questions about Arab history and culture and investigating to find answers.
For more hand-curate job openings, check out the job board of our careers platform!
Social Impact Career Rewards 🥳
If you know others who will love The Bloom's newsletter... Share your unique referral link & win rewards when your friends subscribe! Our team prepared unique career-focused gifts to support your personal and professional growth.
We could hardly contain ourselves with this shipping container story… This Bob is building a BIG shipping container business Hey Contrarians, 5 years ago, Robert "Bob" Balderas made a U-turn
Our meme of the week: 📰 News & updates Google March 2024 core update is done: It actually finished on April 19th but Google didn't tell anyone until one week later. Google Publisher Center to
