Megan Easton and Eva Carillo Roas from King’s College London

During the academic year 2021-21, Megan Easton and Eva Carillo Roas, two students from King’s College London, put their communication skills to the good use of ATD Fourth World.

Working within a bottom-up organisation which focuses on elevating unheard voices has deeply changed our perspective on social change and how to make it happen.

“In a global age dominated by media, it has been exciting to explore the digital communications side of working in an NGO. We have been given opportunities to apply and strengthen our knowledge of social media engagement in an advocacy context, as well as learning about projects such as Giving Poverty A Voice and The Right to Family Life.

“Working within a bottom-up organisation which focuses on elevating unheard voices has deeply changed our perspective on social change and how to make it happen. This is not to say that we were previously ignorant of social change, but we hadn’t experienced such an approach before. By approach, we are referring to ATD Fourth World’s practices of putting activists with lived experience at the forefront of making decisions about social policy. We also admire their focus on changing the narratives surrounding poverty, some of which may previously have been harmful and blameful.

“Our favourite part of interning in ATD Fourth World has been assisting in the organisation and management of the UN International Day to End Poverty. We were able to host an in-person event, which was an anti-poverty poetry jam in a Hackney community centre. Activists with lived experience read poems which can now be accessed on ATD Fourth World’s YouTube channel and Instagram.

“Another experience that we particularly enjoyed was attending the international communications seminar, in which members from different countries across the world shared projects and communicated with each other. We were curious to see how an organisation so international keeps in contact and unity whilst attending to the different cultural contexts of each country.

We hope to spread ATD Fourth World’s values and frameworks throughout different areas of our lives and will always cherish the lessons learned whilst working here.

“We think this has been a wonderful opportunity to develop not only practical skills, but also a wider understanding of the intersectional issues within poverty. We hope to spread ATD Fourth World’s values and frameworks throughout different areas of our lives and will always cherish the lessons learned whilst working here.”

– By Eva Carillo Roas and Megan Easton