Zoeka K Villemin

My name is Zoeka Villemin and I am a currently in my third year of Bachelor of Arts and Sciences. In my studies, I major in politics, focusing on Africa and the Middle East, and I minor in environmental sciences. I would like to join the committee of Amnesty International, because I would like to have a positive and meaningful impact at UCL and to participate to the promotion and raising of awareness of human rights around me. I have been a longtime supporter of amnesty's work, notably the Write for Rights campaign and would love to participate in the organization of this project at UCL, in some way.

I have been passionate about the humanitarian sector for a long time, and I have developed that interest through volunteering and working for different NGOs in my home country (Belgium). I mainly volunteered and worked with the NGO Défi Belgique Afrique, with which I organized a cultural exchange trip of three weeks in Rwanda with 30 participants. There, we were in partnership with a local NGO, and designed workshops for between the Belgian participants and Rwandans teenager, fostering debate about climate change, the place of women in society, post-colonialism. This experience was crucial in shaping my desire to work in the humanitarian field. This NGO was particularly keen on developing an equal partnership with local actors and deconstructing unequal power dynamics between the Global North and Global South, which still inspires me to have this mindset throughout my future career. I think that this experience as well as my