Going Global

My mom thought I should write about this... she appreciates the interesting parts of my job, that I sometimes forget are interesting!

Last week I held trainings for 11 of our communications staff in Latin and Central America. It was via a tool called webex where everyone calls and logs in, then everyone can either instant message or talk to one another. My colleague led the web side of the training from Australia, I did the audio teaching from the States, with another colleague translating into Spanish, and the comms staff participating were from Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, El Salvador, and Honduras. I was teaching them about the Photo Library and how to submit resources to us. How's that for an international call!

I email and skype people all over the world everyday... it's probably one of the favorite parts of my job. I get to find what's happening in places like Rwanda, DRC, Colombia etc right when it happens.... though it's not always pleasant. We received daily reports about what was happening in Gaza earlier this year. I would need a lot of time to type out everything I'm learning- but what it comes down to is people are suffering. A lot of people.

I'm trying to talk my boss into letting me actually take leave for a month or so to take part in a more 'hands on' photojournalism project- working with staff in one of our international offices. It was actually his idea, though I don't he think he thought I would actually be interested! I'm still trying to figure out where I'd go... Ethiopia, Cambodia, Guatemala, Gaza, Mongolia! We have staff in almost 100 countries, so I'm having trouble narrowing it down. This might not happen until next year as our team at work is down a person right now and there's a hiring freeze... but hopefully I'll figure it out.

I love working with all the photos our communications staff send in, but I think there's also something to seeing people face to face... visiting the field we call it around here. I'll keep you posted.