Category: studies

Caroline BachLeave a comment

You, us, world.

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I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I first signed up for my psychology studies. All I knew was that I wanted to really understand people, their minds, emotions and motivation. Then, at some point after learning about human development and cognition, I discovered the contrasts created by culture and society, and got interested in social psychology and intercultural communication – I went abroad for an exchange term and tried learning both Arabic and Spanish while studying various types of psychology, moral philosophy, statistics and conflict resolution – and then I suddenly shifted to diplomacy and wanted to understand the entire world – I went for a couple of trips, and came back eager to jump on a programme of mixed studies in peace and conflict, human rights and international relations. So i did.

And here I am now. Quite clueless still I guess.

I really want to thank you, anyhow, Sweden, for not limiting me or forcing me to make choices. For always offering endless alternatives if I would ever wish to return to University. (Harry Potter studies, anyone?) And for giving me all of this for free.

Every person should have access to a free, functional and flexible education system that supports, inspires, and lets them grow in the direction their minds choose. And hearts. People deserve to end up doing something they truly love.

Today’s limit of cheesiness has officially been reached. But hey, it’s all true.

Caroline BachLeave a comment

Crec que puc

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Organizing papers and books, I found this. My relationship with Catalan was very brief, even though one of the first things I ever learned was t’estimo.. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting language and propably helped me out quite a bit when I a year later started learning Portuguese. Behold as the planets align! Haha

Caroline Bach1 Comment

Put it in a box

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All these beautiful and amazing people that I meet, get to know, spend a lot of time with.. and then have to leave. I am only now realizing that my time in Copenhagen soon is ending, at least for now.

As every time, nostalgia kicks in and I realize how fast things change, how much I’ve learnt and how I will be missing many parts of it.

The importance and value of what I am doing and have experienced before is relative and sometimes questioned. There will always be that one person telling you that you could have done things differently or should have expected more from something. Sometimes that person is you, sometimes somebody external. Whoever it is, it is worth remembering that disappointment isn’t what your choices deserve as they are originally yours and deserve to be loved for what they have taught you. It might seem like a naïve approach, but it allows to in a constructive way appreciate those very significant lessons, details, memories and insights that always will be yours to keep and use. And that also will help to guide future choices.

What I wanted to say is that I’m listening to the wonders of Brian Eno while packing my bags to go abroad for the holidays. I am not leaving Copenhagen yet, I will come back in January so there is still lots of time to appreciate and enjoy. Both this wonderful city and the unique people that I spend my days with here.

What is ending, however, is the year. And once again, it’s been an amazing one and I have both learnt and enjoyed tons. The person who keeps insisting on trying to convince me otherwise will from now on be kindly asked to take their annoyingly negative mindset and put it in a box.

Caroline Bach3 Comments

Experience

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We have this tea here in Denmark called Yogi Tea. It always comes with these cheesy little notes and today I’m kind of liking mine.

Another thing worth mentioning is that this exam that I’m studying for is highly competitive. Despite that, people that have never met before are sharing notes, ideas and advice online. Selflessly helping each other out.

That’s quite exceptional, don’t you think? I have gotten to know some really great and intelligent people through this and I really wish them all the best. They are the kind of people the UN system needs.

Now, let’s do this – one day left!

Caroline BachLeave a comment

inside-out

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You know that feeling of when you are studying for an exam and it feels like the actual questions will be about something you completely missed?

This time I kind of have to know everything so the feeling is more prominent than ever.

Whatever the case, I have learnt things and I have tons of random conversation-starters for those dinners where people insist on being dead-serious.

But, I mean.. IAEA IATI IASC UEAI R2P NPT ODA LDC IDA MPI ..oh, and did you know that malaria was eliminated by Turkmenistan and Morocco in 2010?

Now you do. Good night. :)

Caroline Bach3 Comments

Calling out

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There’s an important and scary exam coming up for me. The world always gives me a beautifully convenient excuse whenever I start thinking about using a gym or having some spare time. This one is incredibly exciting and very much worth it. Calling out for crossed fingers all over the planet!

Caroline BachLeave a comment

Popular protest and media.

Illustration by Marco Marilungo.

The role that media plays in protest settings is huge. I’ve been there, seen it, been part of it. We, the photographers, reporters, people filming with mobile phones, have a huge responsibility. Both in getting the material out there, but also in trying our best to show the right image of what actually happened.

The young Italian photographer Ruben Salvadori has made a study and a presentation about the phenomenon of when people taking part in protest tend to get more violent when in front of a camera in order to give the photographer a good shot.

Ruben Salvadori – “Photojournalism behind the scenes”

Barcelona sin miedo. Photo taken by me during the protests of #Spanishrevolution. Barcelona, May 2011. Current stats in flickr: 8,380 views.

The camera is a very powerful weapon, but it is also important to remember that it often is difficult to get media attention if there is nothing “sexy” in the images that come out from popular protest. And without media attention, the chances of actual change decrease significantly when dealing with a counterpart with more power. A great example of this is the village of Bil’in in Palestine, that I visited in 2010.

My photo of a woman protecting herself against teargas during one of the weekly demonstrations in Bil’in in April 2010.

With weekly demonstrations every friday since 2005, they have had to stay creative in order to keep the attention of the media, while trying their best to continue insisting on protesting non-violently, despite deep frustration.

These are excerpts from the very interesting movie Bil’in Habibti from 2006, by Israeli activist and filmmaker Shai Carmeli-Pollak, who’s brother I met in April 2010. As some of you know, I wrote my Master thesis on constructive non-violent action in Israel.

So, while photographers and media sometimes try to create visuals more dramatic than the actual setting, there are much larger quantities of serious violence and injustice that go completely unnoticed. The protests of #spanishrevolution were very poorly covered in Swedish media, not to even wish for any updates from places like Burma, where all footage must meet with the approval of the censorship board.

If you ask me, I think it’s perfectly okay to ask for attention where outer influence is of significant importance, but the photographer’s responsibility is to be very careful in order not to lose credibility or, in worst case, spark violence.