Volunteering

January - November 2024

• I contributed to the planning and facilitation of the English-speaking LGBTIQA+ group. I participated in a training weekend, during which I learnt about the history of the organisation, LGBTIQA+ terminology, safety and rules, and the structure of group activities.

• I volunteered at the Helsinki Pride 2024 event as part of the park event team. I assisted with various tasks at the park event, including supervising the children's area.

February 2016 - July 2023

I promoted international talent attraction and retention in Tampere by raising awareness of the ambassador network and visiting local organisations.

• I wrote articles about my experience living in Tampere and appeared in the Ambassador handbook.

• I presented the network to the Student Ambassadors of South-West Finland at Turku City Hall, the Tribe entrepreneurial community, visiting entrepreneur Kajal Sanghrajka, and British travel blogger Marion Collinson.

• I visited local organisations: Deltabit fingerprint identification, Crazy Town entrepreneurial community, and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.

• I participated in the Tampere Ambassador network events at the Moomin Museum, Mediapolis, Tampere City Hall, and Nokia Arena. 

September 2021 - May 2023

I contributed to the development of immigrant integration services by consulting experts who visit the council's meetings.

February - April 2021

I participated in a working group that established guidelines for the inclusion of linguistic and cultural minorities to be distributed to Tampere parishes.

November 2015 - August 2018

I promoted the university to applicants and prospective students by sharing my experiences at events and on the university's communication channels.

• I advised applicants and prospective students during our 'clinics' on social media.

• I met the university's rector and vice-rectors to discuss internationality.

• I gave a presentation entitled 'How to cope with Finland' for several hundred new students during the 2017 Orientation Week.

• I marketed the university's international degree programmes at a meeting for exchange students and at Twinkle, Finland’s biggest business event focused on internationality.

• I promoted the ambassadorship at the 2016 Opening Day fair and the 2018 Orientation Week.

• I wrote articles and participated in photo and video shoots to be used for marking purposes on the university's communication channels.

• I was interviewed for the university admissions webpage and a local newspaper article.

• I participated in a workshop about the university's website landing page and social media marketing to potential applicants. 

February - June 2018

I promoted international talent attraction and retention in the Nordic countries through networking, social media marketing, and participating in the 2018 Nordic Place Branding Conference and follow-up Nordic Talent Ambassador seminar in Copenhagen.

March 2017 - April 2018

I contributed to the committee that managed the student union's development cooperation projects and organised various events related to international development.

• I participated in the development cooperation project planning group. We wrote a funding application to the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs for a new project in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The aim of the project was to provide awareness about and facilities addressing ecological, sustainable, and safely managed sanitation with an emphasis on the needs of women and girls.

• I participated in the organisation of a control point for the Student Union of Tampere University's Downtown Orienteering 2017, which involved teams being randomly given containers of different sizes in order to transport water from one point to another in the fastest time, demonstrating inequalities.

• I promoted the organisation at a stand at the Aatemarkkinat Idea Fair at Tampere University. 

September 2016 - April 2018

I was Acting Secretary 2016 - 2017. I took the board meeting minutes and distributed them after ensuring that they were scrutinised by two people. I updated and managed the membership and alumni lists. I audited 2017 budget.

March - December 2017

I contributed to the committee that endeavoured to improve the university's environmental sustainability. I edited two videos that provided directions to the university recycling room and allotment.

February - May 2017

I participated in the 'Creating UX with Study Advisory' Demola project. Demola is a student innovation project platform that brings project partners, universities, and multidisciplinary student teams together to solve challenges. Study Advisory, our project partner, was established to address universities' increased need for online marketing and student recruitment.

We conducted usability testing among international students in order to evaluate how the user experience of Study Advisory's website users could be improved. I adopted a leadership role when we created two surveys: one for current international students in Finland, and another for prospective international students in Finland. I also kept notes and wrote blog posts about our progress.

February - April 2017

I participated in a project that familiarised asylum seekers and university students with each other's cultures. This involved meeting asylum seekers, listening to the challenges they face, and supporting them in their integration by advising about local services.

November 2016 - November 2017

I promoted the goals and principles of the United Nations by organising various events and campaigns as part of the United Nations Association of Tampere.

• I took and distributed the board meeting minutes.

• I chaired the 2017 autumn meeting, in which elections for the 2018 board were held.

• I helped at a stall asking people to participate in the Finnish Red Cross' campaign to write pledges against racism during Finland's anti-racism week. Afterwards, we compiled the main points and displayed them on the notice board in the main building of Tampere University.

• I helped at a stall collecting second-hand items such as mobile phones, laptops, and craft items, for the 'Apu-Paku' organisation, which is a development organisation working in the Gambian countryside.

• I collected our internationality award at the University of Tampere Student Union's 92nd anniversary celebrations. 

April 2016 - May 2017

I helped new international students to get accustomed to the study environment at the university.

• I collected students from the local airport and train station, guided them to their accommodation, and introduced them to local services.

• I attended training sessions, at one of which I spoke about my experience as an international student and what I think international tutors should take into consideration for around 40 other international tutors.

• I gave two 45-minute campus tours for new international students during the 2016 Orientation Week. 

June 2012 - March 2017

I contributed to the planning and implementation of campaigns about extreme poverty and preventable diseases, about which I wrote press releases.

• I was a UK Youth Ambassador 2015 - 2016 and Student Leader 2012 - 2013.

• I represented the University of Chester at a conference and an activist weekend in London.

• I received training on engaging with parliamentary affairs and writing press releases.

• I participated in an international development hustings event at the University of Chester. I asked prospective parliamentary candidates to sign the 'Just Say Yes' pledge, which asks the British government to continue meeting the 0.7% aid target and give half of aid to the world’s 48 Least Developed Countries by 2020.

• I participated in an international development event in London hosted by the Labour Party. We asked the Labour Party's then leader Ed Miliband and Shadow Secretary of State for International Development Mary Creagh to sign the 'Just Say Yes' pledge.

• I discussed the Just Say Yes' pledge with then Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening.

• I participated in the annual summit alongside the G7 summit in Munich, which involved demonstrations and a United Against Poverty concert to raise awareness of the issues surrounding extreme poverty and to challenge the G7 leaders to end poverty by 2030.

• I wrote three successful press releases about the annual summit: two for the Reading Chronicle and one for the Chester Chronicle. I also wrote an article for the University of Chester Student News and an article for the Cestrian (the University of Chester Alumni Magazine).

• I participated in a Q&A with Bill Gates about extreme poverty at Facebook's headquarters in London.

• I later met with two Finnish Members of Parliament in 2017 to talk about ONE's 'Poverty is Sexist' campaign. As a result, one of them spoke about the campaign during a plenary session. 

December 2015 - May 2016

I learnt more about the Finnish education system whilst visiting Finnish primary, secondary, and sixth form schools to encourage English language students' engagement in learning activities.

January - February 2014

I organised asylum seekers' files at the reception of the medical centre.

October 2011 - April 2013

I raised awareness of ethical and climate issues by organising events and creating social media content.

• I was elected President of the society 2012 - 2013.

• I organised 'Go Green Week', which was a week of events to raise awareness about climate issues. This involved meetings with the cafeterias to organise the promotion of sustainable vegetarian meals, a vegetarian meal photo competition, a pledge tree made from recycled materials, local conservation work, a film screening, and opening the society's allotment to all students.

• I organised a campaign in which we called on sportswear company Adidas to stop abusing workers' rights in Indonesia and pay former employees redundancy money that they owed. As a result, Adidas paid the redundancy money.

• I participated in relevant external meetings to expand our network and increase contacts.

• I co-organised a Write for Rights event with the local Amnesty International group, which involved signing greetings cards for prisoners of conscience.

• I met with the university's Vice Chancellor to discuss sustainability.

• I liaised with the student union and other societies.

• I spoke in classes to raise awareness of the society and encourage potential new members to join.

• I presented the society to 40 students at our first meeting.

• I organised committee meetings to discuss the agenda for each meeting and assigned specific tasks to each member of the committee according to their abilities and interests.

• I wrote articles about our campaigns that were published in the university's news channels.

• I was the Communications Officer 2011 - 2012. I maintained communication between committee members. I created and updated the society's Facebook and Twitter accounts.

• I participated in the national 2013 'Summer Gathering' event in Oxford and the national 2012 and 'Shared Planet' event in Sheffield.

• I participated in a 2-day national training event in Oxford in 2012.

September 2012 - March 2013

I participated in monthly meetings and co-organised a Write for Rights event with the University of Chester People & Planet society, which involved signing greetings cards for prisoners of conscience.

June - September 2012

We patrolled the streets of Chester city centre on Friday and Saturday nights to help the homeless and intoxicated.

November 2011 - March 2012

I contributed to the granting of ethical approval for research projects that proposed to examine aspects of undergraduate or postgraduate learning.

September 2010 - June 2011

I visited the Amnesty International UK headquarters in London and advised the organisation on involving young people in campaigns.

September 2009 - June 2011

I organised campaigns to raise awareness of human rights issues.

• I represented the Henley College at Amnesty International UK's 2010 Annual General Meeting.

• I organised and participated in public actions about Shell, which extracted oil from the Niger Delta and didn’t sufficiently compensate residents for the environmental damage caused. As a result, Shell offered the residents compensation.

• I made 23 roses (one for each Russian journalist that had been murdered then) out of tissue paper. We placed them under the rose bush that was planted in the garden at the Henley College in memory of murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. We then made a video for the third anniversary of her death.

• I made and signed group letters and (birthday) cards for the Write for Rights campaign, in which greetings cards were sent to prisoners of conscience. I helped at a stand asking others to participate in the campaign.

• I wrote to Members of Parliament and Members of European Parliament on human rights issues.

February - July 2010

I answered prospective students' questions and provided directions during open days.

September 2008 - June 2009

I presented Amnesty International in a school assembly and took petitions around the school. I also helped in the organisation of a concert to raise money for Amnesty International.

September 2007 - September 2008

I assisted in the organisation of activities at weekly meetings, weekend trips, and camps.