Hello all! My name is Ashley Young and I am a third-year Communication Science student at the University of Amsterdam. From February, I began my four-and-a-half-month internship at INHOPE, a non-government organisation that fights child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online. It is an organisation founded in the Netherlands that works in bringing together global report hotlines (i.e., where users can report CSAM they encounter), supporting them in supporting and funding their work. They also partner with regulatory bodies like the European Commission and the European Union, as well as global law enforcement such as the Europol and INTERPOL. INHOPE leads projects that help create technological tools to better streamline CSAM report processing, as well as facilitate platforms for knowledge exchange between these entities. Furthermore, INHOPE partners with industry giants such as Meta, Microsoft and TikTok that are aligned with the mission to combat CSAM.
As a Digital Communications Intern, my job was to support the Communications Manager in the promotion and content creation two specific projects. I mainly supported in visual content creation and copywriting to promote an expert webinar series and a project that creates an artificial intelligence/open-source intelligence tool for law enforcement to optimise the report processing workflow. I worked on promotional and recap articles about each webinar or event that was held within the two projects, working on platforms like Canva and website CMSs. I also created promotional and recap newsletters for each project using Mailchimp, an automation and email marketing platform. This was a great way to gain experience on practical platforms that many Communications departments function on. A larger responsibility of mine was to support in the creation of an annual report for the law enforcement project, in which I was responsible for the organisation and revision of the report, as well as contacting authors for additional material.
One of the highlights of my internship was supporting my manager and the project manager in the organisation of events for the law enforcement tool project. I participated in the organisation of two events for this project, in which I was able to attend and network with law enforcement, hotline and industry representatives. This was incredibly fascinating to me as it was the first time being a room full of people who play remarkable roles in this space. Being able to contribute to the organisation of the events and help facilitate a platform for the good of the cause was incredibly meaningful. In those moments I felt a strong resolve and will to continue within or return to this space in the future.
By working in this space, I learnt much about myself personally and professionally. I really valued the opportunity to complete an internship within my bachelor’s degree, as it gave me a mental break from the academic stress I experienced from the 2 years prior. Completing an internship allowed me the chance to gain practical experience that is invaluable to my professional career.