Beautiful Minds

In this conversation with Ezequiel we talk about building a career as a practitioner and how we both started our careers at Amnesty International. We discuss our understanding of human rights practice, how social change happens and how to combine human rights law and practice as PhD students. This episode was recorded exactly a year ago, on 7 May 2020, a few months into the pandemic, but it sounds as relevant now than it did back then. 

In this episode we speak about the role of science in pushing for change, about women in scientific fields and doing research as a woman, choosing your field of studies, embarking on a PhD journey, and so much more.

Marta has never stopped learning, and with a background in psychology, social work and human rights, she's now doing a PhD in atmospheric science! This is a story of how she never shook off her love for natural sciences, and still found a way to combine it with her values and her background in social sciences.

Join us to discuss climate change, communicating scientific research to a broad audience, and how to be a human rights advocate as a scientist.

In this episode we talk about the reality of being a human rights lawyer in Nepal. We discuss how the legal and political aspects of human rights complement each other. We deconstruct strategies aiming at progressing the human rights agenda, drawing from very concrete cases in the field of migrant workers' rights. How did the wide media coverage of Nepali migrant workers building stadiums in Qatar induce a shift in domestic attention on these issues? How are migrants workers fighting to preserve their right to vote? Join us for this technical yet practical conversation, full of concrete examples and lessons learned. 

In this episode we come as a trio, recording remotely from the US, Norway and Brazil. We talk about the promise of studying human rights in our 20s, and the reality of becoming professionals in the field. How to transform a 3 weeks gig into a 2 year job? What is success? How to keep your hopes up in countries led by authoritarian leaders? We attempt to compare human rights work in Brazil and Norway, and conclude that… it's all about perspectives, celebrating every win, and, of course, building communities.

In this episode we talk both about the development field and how things work in big NGOs, and how we personally feel about working for the non-profit sector. We get a bit technical and a bit idealist, discussing how we transitioned from our studies to the job market, how to define success, the struggle to find a work-life balance, and the power of communities. Join us for this virtual yet very real catch up!

In season 1, we start with a series of portraits of individuals who got together in 2011 to study human rights in Europe. They came from different places, different background and had very different stories. All they had in common, was their appetite for social justice, and a motivation to make a difference. 8 years later, let's see where they are, what they've done, and what they've learned. At Beautiful Minds, we start small and we dream big. Thank you for tuning in. Let's get started.