UNHCR Training Workshop Highlights
“From 20th to 23rd March 2018, thirty emergency practitioners from 11 country operations in Asia Pacific gathered for an Essentials of Humanitarian Negotiation workshop. Here’s a look at what they did.”
I had been handed the company camera and tasked to take photos for our Facebook page. I soon realised that the workshop was very much simulation-based, and sneakily caught a few moments in video instead – y’know, just in case the footage came in useful later on :”) I think it was important for me to really be present and engage with the participants, first, so that I could make their story and experiences come to life on camera, and second, to have them at ease in front of me.
UNHCR Tajikistan Simulation Exercise
“From the 10th to 12th of April, the eCentre was in Dushanbe, Tajikistan to facilitate the Inter-Agency Refugee Emergency Preparedness Exercise. Watch this video to understand some of the processes involved during an emergency response to a refugee influx. This simulation exercise is the first of its kind in Tajikistan. The large-scale event was co-organised by the Government of Tajikistan, the State Committee on Emergency Situations and Civil Defence (CoES), various agencies from the United Nations in Tajikistan, the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat and other partners.”
After the success of my first video, my supervisor brought me on board with another simulation exercise he was working on. He would be in Tajikistan this time, while I was in Bangkok, and at the end of each day he would send over some photos and video snippets with a short summary of the day. When he returned, we sat down together to storyboard the piece – he would translate the Russian speakers and explain the context of the footage for me too. One key thing I took away was the importance of acknowledging all stakeholders; we had to go through scene by scene to make sure we had at least one photo depicting each participating organiser! Of course, the coolest part was working with drone footage, which gave some pretty awesome angles!!
SMUX Kayaking Exco Farewell
Closing one chapter for the next! A little video we put together for our out-vestiture; through hell or high waters, thank you for sticking by my side through this year-long kayaking adventure.
Playlist: Family Travels! c. 2011-2019
My mum’s one of those who have to document every minute – demanding for her kids and husband to “smile nicer” or to refrain from going at the food before she’s had her chance to snap a pic for a collage. Back in the day though, it was my dad who was hooked on the videocam (this was before DSLR!) and who’d be calling for us kids to “wave at the camera”! And I, in my camera-shy teenhood – could often be caught scowling in off-camera moments hehe. I had never really appreciated their efforts to memoralise those moments!
Fast forward to 2020, when I was stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. I chanced upon our family hard drive and began stringing up some travel footage from way back in the early 2000s. It was wonderful to watch my younger siblings grow up on camera, my grandparents full of energy and chasing us around – all those snow fights! – and of course, the gorgeous scenery and yummy meals :”) These were videos and pictures that I had dreaded being in back then, but now were truly precious memories that I could set to a carefully chosen “song of that time”. And the best part? That was watching my parents and grandparents come alive as they watched my videos to reminisce about the places we had visited, or giggle at how silly and small we used to be!
Playlist: Eight Weeks in Bangkok c.2018
And finally, the first of many adventures! Armed with a little faux-GoPro gift from my aunt and cousins, I set off for a two-month stint in Bangkok. Shaky videography, excessive selfies (the trouble with solo travelling!) and extraordinarily unexpected bonds forged – here is where I learnt to say YES to everything (with quite a bit of nudging though!) and spoil myself at countless night markets!