Raea Lovett

Raea Lovett (NYU Silver) | ACATHI | Barcelona, Spain

My summer experience interning with ACATHI this summer through the Gallatin Global Human Rights Fellowship was unforgettable and extremely informative. It will have a profound impact on the way I continue my studies and one day pursue a career.

Specifically from my time at ACATHI, I will not forget the opportunity to work with the social work team to provide crucial services to the organization’s clients. I had not yet experienced social work as a profession outside of the classroom. This experience has strengthened my commitment to social work and its core professional mission and values. 

I was also able to work on international projects funded through the European Union’s Erasmus+ Program. This helped me gain experience working with multinational teams composed of other nonprofits. I primarily worked on two projects: one focused on multicultural and multigenerational approaches to educating about gender diversity and the other focused on professional training for migrants.

Something that continues to stand out to me is the importance of access to the human rights field, specifically by examining how that access is created. A view my summer work has cemented is that human rights must be created both from the top down and the bottom up. Legal and policy making institutions must create a framework of rights, but the work does not stop there; it is the responsibility of lawyers, social workers, and systems to build a society where the most disenfranchised people can access their rights. My work with ACATHI allowed me to help clients access the rights they are entitled to, which was a critical mission that I was fortunate to be a part of. On my last day at ACATHI I helped facilitate a social gathering event where I got to say goodbye to all of the amazing people I had met, worked with, and served during my time at ACATHI. While that was certainly bittersweet, the impact they have had on me will be unshakable. I know that I will carry with me my time at ACATHI into all of my future endeavors.

Raea Lovett (Silver) | ACATHI | Barcelona, Spain

This month has been very busy. ACATHI is a part of an Erasmus+ program called PRISCILA which works to provide lifelong learning opportunities to migrants. For the last couple of weeks ACATHI has been hosting workshops for migrants with another organization La Xixa. I have been working on the project since arriving at ACATHI and so it has been great to watch it grow and see the impact it had on the migrant learners who participated in the program. 

Two weekends ago I had the opportunity to to visit the Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law in the Basque Country and participate in a workshop titled, “Corporate involvement in Atrocity Crimes, Gross Human Rights Violations, and Ecocide: Patterns of involvement, strategies for prevention and accountability.” Not only was I able to learn more about the Master’s program, but I also was able to engage with scholars from around the world about international human rights law. It was one of the most amazing experiences I have had in large part because it exposed me to an area of the human rights field I had not previously engaged in much. 

Last weekend was Pride in Barcelona. ACATHI had both a float and was also marching as pictured below. It was one of the most incredible days I have ever had. The pride float was for transgender people and I was fortunate to celebrate on the float alongside my coworkers and ACATHI’s client. The weekend reinforced the idea that joy is an act of resistance within me. It was truly an unforgettable experience.

Overall my experience at ACATHI so far has been amazing and expanded my perspective as well as skills. In the coming weeks I hope to apply what I have learned to the other projects I will be working on before returning to NYU to start next semester.

Raea Lovett | NYU Silver | ACATHI | Barcelona, Spain

I have really enjoyed the work I have been doing with ACATHI thus far. During the last month I have worked on a number of initiatives and have really gotten to understand the organization  well. On my second day I went to a local Catalan high school we partnered with to help provide educational lessons on trans inclusive feminism and the lives of LGBTQ refugees. That program was a part of a collaboration with a local agency as well as local government, and I have written reports about the outcomes from collected participant surveys as a part of my role, too.

I also have worked heavily on the welcome program mentioned in my previous blog. For the first few weeks, I sat in on the Spanish language welcome programs to understand what they should look like in English. Then, with another intern I helped redevelop the English program. Now, I have been leading our Welcome Program in English for about three weeks and it has been an amazing experience.

I have been able to work closely with ACATHI’s social workers as well who provide tailored support to asylum seekers connecting them with resources, helping them draft their applications, and providing counseling. For me this has been an incredible experience because I am majoring in social work. I have gotten to see how the theory I have been learning in the classroom applies in practical circumstances.

This week my focus is shifting to two Erasmus+ programs ACATHI is in collaboration with NGOs from across Europe on. One program is focused on expanding understandings of gender in intergenerational and intercultural ways and the other program focuses more on educating professionals about working with asylum seekers. For these international projects I have been working on a number of different task which has been a rewarding experience because I have gotten to meet activist and people in the nonprofit human rights space from across Europe.

Overall, my time so far with ACATHI has been extremely enriching and I cannot wait to see how it continues to grow over the coming months.

Raea Lovett (NYU Silver) | ACATHI | Barcelona, Spain

The first time I conducted substantial research was in my sophomore year of high school. I had no clue what I was doing but I was passionate. I dove head first into researching sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts which are better known as “conversion therapy.” Being trans and from Houston, Texas my advocacy became not only a research project but a necessity. My project back then however focused mainly on the US.

My Yiayia (grandmother) was born in Egypt and forcibly displaced even stateless at one point. She continues to have a profound impact on my life and so when considering what human rights dimension to focus on this summer, I knew I wanted to combine my advocacy for Queer rights with refugee and migrant rights. 

That is why this summer I will be working with ACATHI, an organization dedicated to social inclusion and immigration support for Queer migrants. ACATHI provides comprehensive support to their clients by building a safe community space through which Queer refugees can access healthcare, legal aid, and psychosocial counseling. ACATHI combines education and activism to build a rights based approach to their practice which is something I am extremely interested in learning more about as a social work major. 

I am excited for my internship with ACATHI where I will be helping to lead their welcome program, which is the first point of contact for non Spanish speaking migrants, who face additional linguistic barriers in Spain. In this role I will help the refugees and migrants access the services provided by ACATHI and through our partners as well as help them feel included in our environment. I will also be helping coordinate a conference of many European LGBTQ+ organizations hosted in Barcelona, among a number of other tasks while interning with ACATHI.

I arrived in Barcelona a few days ago and have been adjusting to living here. I cannot wait for what the coming weeks bring!