My name is Nkwanzi Banage, I am entering my third year at 91社区, and I am pursuing an Honours degree in Political Science with a minor in Economics. My research interests lie in political corruption, abuses of power, developments of nationalism, and Sub-Saharan African politics, and I have always had a passion for advocacy. This summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to work with The Upstream Journal as a Journalism Intern for four months. The Upstream Journal is a digital social justice and human rights magazine based in Montr茅al. It is dedicated to telling the stories of oppressed and marginalized peoples with the goal of giving them a voice, and is powered by honest and truthful journalism. The Upstream Journal also has a podcast called Human Rights Magazine, which launched in 2021 and is available on all major streaming platforms. As an intern, I was responsible for writing an article and recording a podcast episode on a social justice topic of my choice, and I decided to research Uganda electoral violence over the summer. I was tasked with conducting background research on my topic, leading interviews, and recording and compiling audio clips to produce a podcast episode.
Growing up, my family always kept up with the news. There was rarely a day where the radio could not be heard throughout the house. This habit stuck with me throughout university as well, and though I have always had an interest in current affairs and global politics, I had never considered reporting for myself. So once summer job application season rolled around, an internship in journalism slid under my radar. The Arts Internship Office actually approached me with this internship opportunity, as I had applied to a position at a similar organization. I am extremely grateful to the Arts Internship Office for exposing me to the world of social justice advocacy through writing because it allowed me to discover a passion that I did not know I had. Through this experience, I hoped to learn about the ins and outs of journalism: what does it mean to be the one behind the screen or the one behind the microphone? I was also eager to develop my writing skills in another field. While my semesters had been full of argumentative writing, I looked forward to building another writing style that was not common in my academics.
One of the highlights of my internship experience was getting to discuss my article topic while in Uganda. I spent August in Uganda and had the wonderful opportunity to meet Ugandas with ample and valuable lived experience surrounding their experiences in the country. On the other hand, the biggest challenge that I faced was finding interviewees. Electoral violence is a personal subject, and much of my time was spent sending emails to no avail. The interviews that I did secure had to be conducted virtually, and with that came technical difficulties. More than anything, this internship has taught me the importance of conversation, and has reminded me of my desire and sincere appreciation for such a profound form of connection. The discussions I had with my interviewees taught me more than my research online, and will be one of the most valuable takeaways from my internship experience.
From this internship, I am entering my third year with much more confidence in my writing skills. Although I will not be recieving academic credit for my internship, this experience has exposed me to opportunities that I may have not had in the classroom, and has also encouraged me to put my classroom skills into practical use.
I would like to thank the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Lisa Shapiro, for funding the Dean of Arts Development Fund, which allowed me to work this summer. Since The Upstream Journal is based in Montr茅al, the award allowed me to stay in the city for the summer while also reducing rent costs. Thank you for making this an unforgettable summer!
