Survival’s looking for a co-ordinator in Berlin…
by Toby, Survival
I had mixed feelings when I learned last week that Laura, the co-ordinator of our Berlin office, is leaving Survival.
Mixed because we’re all excited for Laura, of course – but sad that someone’s leaving who it’s been such a pleasure working with and who has steered our German office through so many changes and brought it so much further forward.
I asked Laura to write a few words about her experiences working for Survival, and here they are. If you’re interested in joining Survival as our new Berlin office co-ordinator, take a look at the job advert in English or in German. But hurry – recruitment closes on 27 August.
Working for Survival Deutschland was both a challenge and a real pleasure. Challenging because I had the daunting task of promoting indigenous peoples’ rights in Germany, but also a great pleasure, as I could be creative about ways of spreading our message: that tribal peoples are out there, that they are neither ‘primitive’ nor in need of ‘progress’, and that where their land rights are recognised, their communities thrive.
The office is situated in the House of Democracy and Human Rights, which offers great networking opportunities and facilities for meetings and events. I also had great support from several volunteers and interns, who contributed a great deal of their time to Survival and helped in many different ways.
During my time at Survival, I set up a press database, liaised with journalists, contacted shops and festivals to display our flyers, participated in events with our stalls and kept our growing supporter base informed about the latest news on tribal peoples, amongst other things.
Once a year, I also met up for a week in London with my colleagues from the other offices in Paris, Milan, Madrid, Amsterdam and London – and whilst during the year we communicated by phone or email, the personal meetings gave me an important source of support.
One of the highlights of my time with Survival was when Davi Kopenawa, a shaman and leader of the Yanomami Indians from the Amazon, came to visit Berlin. I had the pleasure of organising his meetings with press, politicians and foundations. Meeting him will always remain one of my fondest memories.
I will never stop promoting the rights of indigenous peoples in this world. My personal situation calls for a change now, but my devotion to the goals of Survival will last forever.