Radboud Centrum Sociale Wetenschappen

Postacademisch Onderwijs voor een Veerkrachtige Samenleving
AMID Young Professional

AMID alumni: where are they now | Laila Bouallouch

AMID alumni - where are they now: Laila Bouallouch

Laila Bouallouch particpated in the AMID Young Professional program in 2018. We asked Laila about her AMID-year: what did she do before, what is she doing now and does she have advice for those aspiring to be AMID Young Professional trainees?

 

“AMID has provided me with the opportunity to get a foot in the field of development cooperation whilst gaining practical experience in combination with learning the latest development theories.”

 

"Hi! I’m Laila Bouallouch, born in the Netherlands and also currently living in the Netherlands. I participated in the AMID program in 2018. Before I joined the programme I worked at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a junior policy officer youth employment. Now, after I graduated the AMID program, I still work at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs but as a policy officer Future of Work & Youth employment.

One thing I will never forget, is that during my AMID graduation ceremony I was labelled an activist. A title I take great pride in. At the NL MFA I work on topics related to young people in Africa and the Middle East. For me it was important to make sure that in my work the voices of youth were heard as back then (2018) programmes were designed without the meaningful participation of youth. I pushed for the partnership between my department and One Young World to be signed as a first step into providing a platform for young people in Africa and the Middle East. Fast forward to today, I am proud to say with the help and support of a lot of people we now have a Youth At Heart strategy, hold the first virtual conference of the NL MFA, a toolkit, a youth advisory committee, and more specifically at my department we are also drafting more ways into incorporating meaningful youth participation in programmes and decision-making (where our current AMID-trainee is leading one of the processes).

AMID has provided me with the opportunity to get a foot in the field of development cooperation whilst gaining practical experience in combination with learning the latest development theories. On my Twitter-bio you will see that I refer to myself as a pracademic as I still try to incorporate academia into my work. Moreover, it has provided me with a network of people working in the field of international development but foremost at AMID I met one of my dearest friends.

If you want to make your dreams reality and you have been given the opportunity, than you should also live inside your dream a little. Don’t be afraid to push boundaries at AMID or your host organization if you believe that that would result in greater positive impact. Stay true to yourself, be patient and follow the Google rule: Google doesn’t really know anything but points you to where you can find the information you need and credits people for providing that information."
 

Thank you Laila, for this interview, but moreover for including voices of youth through your work! We cannot wait to see what else you will be up to in the coming years.