Month: February 2019

Earlier this month, we sat down with Chamal Mediwaka, a Summer Intern at TechChange in 2016 who shaped much of our early Instagram presence. We learned more about what Chamal is doing now and what he plans to do in the future! Congratulations on your upcoming graduation, Chamal!

When did you work at TechChange and what did you do?

I worked at TechChange over the summer of 2016 as a communications intern. My primary focus was to expand the social media presence of TechChange.

What are you doing now?

I’m a senior in college, graduating in May (3 months away!) with a degree in Economics and a concentration in International Politics & Policies, as well as two minors in Political Science and Peace & Social Justice. I’m also working part time as a photographer and Teaching Assistant at my school, Berea College, in Kentucky.

Have you done any other work/internships since TechChange?

Yes. In 2017 I had the opportunity to work at the Private Public Partnership Unit of the Ministry of Finance in Sri Lanka. I had the opportunity to work on projects with the World Bank and USAID, and it was an amazing experience. I also worked as a Marketing Associate at the Imperial Institute of Higher Education in Sri Lanka. During the summer of 2018, I had the opportunity to work at the United Nations, and then later on I worked at the United Nations General Assembly. That was definitely a life changing experience for me.

What are your plans after graduation?

I want to work. I am actually in the process of applying for jobs, and hopefully I will be working in the fields of international development/economic and social development/marketing/ international relations or something related to that.

What advice would you give our future interns at TechChange?

TechChange is an amazing place! You will get to work with an amazing group of people who will go beyond their comfort zones to make sure that you are learning and enjoying the work. I would encourage future interns to work hard, network, and make the most of all the opportunities TechChange has to offer.

How did you come across TechChange?

It is actually a crazy story. Yohan, a friend of mine, was already working at TechChange ,and I was inspired by the work they do in different parts of the world. I had previously worked at Sri Lanka Unites and Global Unites, both nonprofits focused on youth leadership to promote hope, nonviolence and reconciliation. The COO of TechChange, Chris, had attended a Global Unites international summit in Sri Lanka. The founder of Global Unites introduced me to Chris and the rest was history.

Do you have a favorite memory from your time at TechChange?

There were lot of great memories. Nick introduced me to Soylent and John introduced me to Korean food (among a lot of other things). I loved how the TechChange staff treated each other as family. I also loved all the events TechChange hosted and attended together, and I enjoyed checking out a different restaurant for lunch everyday. business loan underwriter salary, business loan usa, business loan utah, business loan vs personal loan, business loan vs line of credit, business loan vs mortgage, business loan va, business loan veteran, business loan vs home loan, business loan vs home equity loan, business loan versus personal loan, business loan versus line of credit, business loan vs investors, business loan with bad credit, business loan wells fargo, business loan with collateral, business loan without personal guarantee, business loan with no credit GET THE BUSINESS FUNDING YOU NEED. BUY UNLIMITED MONEY TRANSFER FROM RUSSIAN HACKERS. INSTANT MONEY TRANSFER TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNT. OVER $10 MILLION business loan with bad personal credit, INSTANT

What do you like to do outside of work?

I love travelling, sports and the outdoors. I blog on Instagram about my travel, food and adventurous experiences. Follow me @chamalthecamel and you will have a great time. I also love meeting new people because there is something new I learn from each one of them!

On Friday, December 21, Michelle Marshall returned to TechChange for our first “Alumni Lunch” event. Michelle worked with TechChange between December 2015 and June 2016, where she contributed to projects including facilitated live courses with Ashoka Changemakers on “Future Forward: Innovations for Youth Employment in Africa” and “Social Intrapreneurship for Innovation in Health and Wellness.” Additionally, Michelle developed scenario-based modules in Articulate 360 for the SCORE Association to provide training for volunteers with advanced business experience to share their advice one-on-one with new entrepreneurs.

Screenshot from SCORE training

Q: Could you share a bit more about your current role?

For the last few years, I have worked as a knowledge management and open innovation consultant, focused on development in Latin America. The projects I’ve supported are quite diverse in terms of the particular development challenges they address, ranging from monitoring mosquito-borne diseases to climate change adaptation to institutional strengthening. The toolbox I help bring to all of these projects includes collaborative methodologies which seek to make the solution-building process more open and inclusive, widening the circle of participation and improving the flow of information. The more “open” that we can make certain knowledge and processes helps foster more agile, decentralized development possibilities from a wider range of actors.

I also edit the Inter-American Development Bank’s open-knowledge blog called Abierto al Público (or “Open to the Public” in English), where we share reflections and experiences from initiatives around the Latin American and Caribbean region applying open data, open source technology, Creative Commons, and collaborative methodologies for the public good.

Q: What were some ways that your work with TechChange prepared you for your current role?

At TechChange I learned a lot about the creative application of everyday tools to bring people together across the world to share practical experiences, learn and co-create together in a way that’s relatively accessible and not cost-prohibitive — but most importantly, value-added. Just a few years ago, some people would balk at the idea of bringing people together online for more than just a one-to-one call or a broadcast, especially when people would be expected to connect from an area considered to have limited connectivity. I was already a believer thanks to my experience with the Ashoka Changemakers “Future Forward” course with TechChange. I learned never to underestimate the commitment or creativity of your stakeholders to collaborate with you if what you are offering is valuable to them. When people see value in an opportunity, they will find the way to engage, as long as you make room for that in the process. софт казино онлайн

Q: What are some of your hobbies and passions outside of work?

I was really trying not to look at the screen too much outside of work, but I broke with that when I recently started editing Wikipedia articles, mostly by translating existing ones into Spanish. The long-standing language gap in online content fascinates me, because it lives right on the edge between the tangible and intangible evidence of socioeconomic inequality in the world. Last month was the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and one of the members of the drafting committee was a Chilean, Hernán Santa Cruz. He had a relatively substantial Wikipedia article in English but nothing available in Spanish. Imagine what free access to that knowledge could mean for a young person in Latin America interested in international law or diplomacy. Translating that was my first contribution on Wikipedia.

Other than that, I love to bike and hike. We have to take care of our shared planet! Just say no to petroleum and plastic!

Q: What advice would you have given yourself when you started at TechChange?

I would have encouraged myself to be more outgoing. The TechChange community is so wide-ranging and diverse, and I learned so much from those who I met. But sometimes in person I can be reluctant to approach someone new and start asking questions. Just dive in!

Finally, this is kind of anti-advice, because it’s the mindset that led me to TechChange and has always guided me to find the right opportunity to work on what I love: If you have multiple interests and passions, you don’t have to choose one over the other. Instead figure out how they connect and pursue that idea with confidence. This may feel riskier and require more effort and synthesis, but it will also keep you creative and motivated on your path to whatever you are looking for in your career or in your life, while helping you stand out in areas where your contributions will be unique.