Article by Judith Laanen

With friends from Senegal and the Ivory Coast, as well as already having travelled to Uganda, the decision to choose Africa as her regional specialty was not hard. However, there is another reason that draws Alba to the continent. “How much do we really know from the continent? In historical annals there is very little focus on Africa. I wanted to know what happened there independently from the rest of the world.” The opportunity to study Swahili was the final push: “When in my life am I going to be able to study Swahili again?! Let’s do this now!”

PRINS, the big challenge
One course every student has to take in their final year is PRINS, Practicing International Studies, a crash course on putting everything studied into practice. “You work directly with actual organizations and institutions such as the ministry of Foreign Affairs or in my case, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)”, Alba explains. “When it’s over, you realize how many skills you have developed: from realizing a project to working in a team, showing the project to the organization, getting feedback.” Alba confesses it was a big challenge, because it was a lot of work. However, it was exactly what she needed. “It showed what you need to enter the job market.”
 

Moving to Egypt
After graduating in 2018, Alba now works at the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Normally, based in Cairo, Egypt, but because of the coronavirus, she is currently back home in the Canary Islands. Her department at the country office: Policy, Governance and Liaison, handles communications and tries to raise awareness by organising events. “It tries to combine all of the work from the other departments: everything from counter-smuggling to labour mobility to community cohesion in expat groups. IOM works closely with the Egyptian government; therefore we are in constant contact with ministries. At the moment, we are trying to attract funds for the COVID-19 response for Egyptians and migrants, because they are in vulnerable positions. They don’t have housing or need to apply for asylum.” 

When she was looking for jobs, this one sounded particularly interesting. “My initial idea was: maybe I should apply, because not many Spanish people speak Swahili. The fact that I know a bit more about East Africa, might be a good option to expand my view, especially with the migration crisis. Egypt is between Libya, Turkey and Greece, and most of the migratory routes pass through Egypt. This is a good place to understand all these people crossing through.” 

Her proudest moment so far? “I was sent as a representative to Alexandria to follow-up with a few activities and carry out some events, all of which were a success. I was able to see first-hand the result of months of work, to meet the people the events were organized for and to see how much they enjoyed them. That was when I felt proudest of our work and myself.”

Field work and/or academia?
In the future, Alba would like to move more towards human rights and perhaps back into the academic world or even in a thinktank. “Migration and other areas I have worked with are related to human rights, but in themselves they are not. I am also interested in conflict resolution and peace negotiation in post-conflict countries.” To be able to do field work excites her the most. “To really understand in one region what is going on. That is my long-term idea, but it can always change.”