The authors, Dora Bannouri, Johanna Bouchard, Agathe Riallan and Alejandro Rodriguez Aguirre, deliver here with enthusiasm, passion and emotion their testimony concerning their career at the IBCR. After completing a very successful internship with the IBCR, these young profesionnals had the opportunity to extend their professional collaboration with the office through a permanent position within the team. Their experience of “trainee to professionals” although different from each other, is however coming together at the level of a single point which constitutes one of the crucial values within the IBCR team: the passion for the defense of the rights of the children around the world.
“We often say that we do not choose our family. However, I chose the IBCR that has been a family for me in the course of my experiences and my mandates. I was fortunate to be a trainee, a volunteer co-worker and now an employee of this wonderful team. Working for a noble cause has always been part of my career aspirations. Working for the IBCR, I know deeply that every gesture, every learning is about changing the life of someone, a child. In a great team solidarity, each member of this organisation puts its stone in the building. Today, I add my stone, little by little. From project management, to mastering child protection policies, to logistics and human resources, the IBCR has allowed me to touch all the spheres of organisational management. My goal is to grow from my experience every day and to participate in an exceptional teamwork! “
Dorra Bannouri (Administration and Human Ressources Assistant)
“The International Bureau for Children’s Rights has been a great adventure for me to immerse myself in the world of international non-governmental organisations and to develop valuable communication skills. My four-month internship experience then turned into a great career opportunity as a communications consultant, which allowed me to get more involved in the organisation and to get it off the ground. even makes a lot of confidence. Having the trust of the team around me has been very beneficial for my development and for the accomplishment of projects within the Bureau, especially in communication and organisation of events. The internship was a great stepping stone towards a professional mandate and I am very happy to have had the chance to work within the IBCR and get involved in interesting and meaningful projects for the cause of the rights of the child. I encourage anyone to invest in their internship since the efforts are often rewarded with nice surprises. “
Johanna Bouchard (Communication Consultant)
“Being part of the IBCR family is a wonderful experience for me. Indeed, through my role as trainee at the IBCR, I had the opportunity to better know their great mission, but also the functioning of this organisation that fights for the guarantee of children’s rights around the world. I have been fortunate to be involved in the implementation of important processes such as the development of a training kit for the prevention of human trafficking in Costa Rica provided to the local police. After four months as an intern that allowed me to develop but also to demonstrate my skills, the door opened wide for me and I got my first Canadian job! I am now a Support Officer in the AMENA Programmes Directorate. My job is to provide cross-management support in the implementation of management projects from headquarters but also through constant contact with our colleagues in the field. The internship at the IBCR was a very beneficial step in my learning but also a showcase through which I could better understand the international issues of children around the world. It strengthened me in my interest and passion to work for the rights of girls, boys and adolescents around the world. “
Alejandro Rodriguez Aguirre (AMENA Programmes Support Officer)
“I joined the IBCR as an intern, without really knowing what world I was stepping into. Indeed, this internship was an opportunity to discover the world of international organisations, a world renowned for exciting and stimulating, in which I had no experience yet.
My internship with the IBCR proved to be very enriching and informative, thanks to the trust given to me by the team and the challenging tasks entrusted to me. At the end of the four months, my heart was tightening at the idea that I would have to leave this beautiful place, filled with passionate people and any horizon!
Finally, a legal consultant position was offered to me giving me the chance to finish the work started during my internship, especially with the field teams that I was impatient to meet. Then, once this term ended, I was offered a new position, in charge of support within the Africa department, to which I devoted myself so much. Proposal that I accepted to continue this path in the beautiful family of the IBCR and, thus, to confirm that this world is indeed incredibly exciting and challenging!”
Agathe Riallan (Sub Saharan Programmes Support Officer)