Now nearing the end of my years studying Communication Science at the UvA, I’ve spent a lot of time figuring out what I want to do next. Friends of mine who already finished seemed to go into the commercial sector, working for advertising agencies. When I’d hear them speak about projects they work on with brands such as Red Bull and Coca-Cola, I couldn’t picture myself in a similar situation. Personally, using my knowledge of communication science for commercial gain is something I’m not interested in. What has always spoken to me was TV production, and perhaps even journalism. As long as the content I was producing served to make positive contributions to society.
Therefore, I’m glad to have had the opportunity to be an intern for Stadsreporters. This Amsterdam-based social initiative trains senior citizens of local communities to become “journalists”, thus allowing them to cover a wide range of topics, predominantly covering other social initiatives that serve to strengthen the togetherness in local neighbourhoods.
As an intern, I spent most of my time collaborating with my supervisors to discover ways in which we could spread our business activities to various neighbourhoods in Amsterdam. From a perspective of content production, I’ve learned a lot about graphic design and video editting. Furthermore, due to Stadsreporters not merely being a content organisation, but a social initiative as well, I got to experiment with different ways to spread to message of what we try to achieve through various online and offline channels. Stadsreporters organizes weekly meetings that are just as fun as they are productive. Seniors that attend these meetings have expressed how joining Stadsreporters has allowed them to achieve more satisfaction, due to them meeting new people and learning new skills. Some of the reporters I’ve spoken to said they felt a new sense of belonging. I found it extremely important to spread this message and not just focus on the content. Here I could really let my knowledge of communication science shine.
I can state with certainty that my internship has helped me develop various professional, practical, and theoretical skills. But most importantly, it has helped me to find a motivation for what I want to pursue after my bachelor has ended. I was fortunate to visit various community centers throughout my internship, which has opened my eyes to the many pure souls that actively try to improve the lives of those that may need it. Though it may not solve current world affairs, such as wars, institutional discrimination, and the fight against climate change, it warms my heart to see people actively contributing to society. I now strive to use to use my knowledge of communication science to highlight the importance of this, and hopefully persuade people to make this world a better place, even if it’s simply on a micro level. Next time you meet someone on the street who you don’t know yet, it won’t hurt to simply smile at them. What takes little effort for you can make a big impact on the well-being of others.