I have some news to share. This December 31 will be the last day for me as the Lingua Manager for Global Voices (GV). I will be joining IFEX in the capacity of Network Engagement Specialist starting January 10. It was not an easy decision to make, I'm still processing it myself, but it is about time. Stepping down usually means leaving an organization. In my case, though, it is more of a scale back after working full time for ten years. It is time for a fresh pair of eyes to oversee Lingua, with a new stream of ideas. While it feels difficult, almost like a break-up, I consider this a healthy moment.
Global Voices Community, Colombo Summit, Sri Lanka, 2017. Photo by Jer Clarke, GV Tech Lead.
I joined GV as a volunteer in 2009 while I was still a college student, translating from English into Arabic, moving up the ranks to Arabic Lingua Translation Manager managing the Arabic site, then Lingua Coordinator, Lingua Manager, and Board Member. Meeting many of the GV community around the world, was quite a journey. I developed a lot, personally and professionally, learning from each GVer! I learned how to accept and embrace people's differences. I also learned to connect through the similarities; in culture, language, kindness, and vulnerable moments. Being in GV greatly satisfied, and will continue so, my need to belong to a community where I feel comfortable and safe.
Lingua at GV Colombo Summit, Sri Lanka, 2017, by Jer Clarke, GV Tech Lead.
Thanking is due for a lot of people in the community. My fellow core team members, for realizing my potential when they approached me to help manage Lingua. The Lingua Translation Managers will always have a special place in my heart, making Lingua possible along with the larger Lingua community and increasing horizontally in size and vertically in languages over the years, making Lingua one of a kind! I believe there is nothing like Lingua anywhere else, not now, not in the past. In Advox, I got to know many people and learned a lot of experiences building upon being an old blogger with a Human Rights focus. Rising Voices, where I learned that so much is happening globally, realizing the vast disparity in power dynamics we endure every day, where solidarity is key through understanding, all while pursuing to know what we don't know and help telling it to the world.
It has been an honor! Happy holidays!
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