RightUp is Amnesty International’s first youth-led research project. An exhilarating initiative, inviting young minds to actively participate in our research processes. Gone are the days when only adults with specific qualifications held the reins of research.
RightUp challenges the status quo and empowers this generation to contribute, learn, and shape the world. Get ready to revolutionize research with us!
RightUp aims to recognise and resource youth expertise to proactively lead, contribute to, and shape Amnesty research. By providing training and skills-building programs, the project will support young Filipinos to conduct their own research on young people’s digital rights in the Philippines.
Importance of Youth-Led Research
Young people are experts in the realities, issues and challenges they experience. This means they are well placed to identify the key human rights issues that are affecting them and their peers. From a rights-based perspective, young people should be able to actively participate in research that will inform policies that will shape their lives, both now and in the future.
What RightUp Will Be All About
Amnesty International is looking for 8-10 talented young researchers to create the first youth-led research in the Philippines.
As part of the RightUp Youth Research Team, you will embark on a research journey focusing on the role that technology plays in the lives of young Filipinos and the impact it has on your rights and well-being. While the general topic will revolve around online harassment of young activists, the approach, specific focus, and shape of the research will be decided entirely by you (and the rest of your team)!
You will be supported by a team of experts from Amnesty who will provide you with training and guidance as you go through the entire participatory action research process towards *fingers-crossed* publication–which may be a formal report but could also even be a zine, a documentary, or other creative youth-friendly output. Please note however that we do recognize the value in intergenerational collaboration so you can expect sessions that will help you produce outputs that speak to decision-makers and power-holders.
What Amnesty Will Provide for You
The selected candidates will participate in several training sessions both online and offline, facilitated by experts from Amnesty International and its partners. The training program is designed to provide you with additional insight into human rights, digital rights, and the participatory action research methodology. It will also equip you with the technical skills needed to execute youth-led research and the soft skills that will help you work successfully together as a unit.
The Youth Team will also have the support and focused mentorship of Amnesty staff and members–from the Philippines and our international office–throughout every phase of the project. Furthermore, sufficient funding will be given to the team to manage and use in making the campaign they designed a reality. This is a volunteer post; no monetary compensation will be provided, but volunteers will receive regular stipends to meet what you need to work on the research.
What Amnesty Will Require of You
You need to be prepared to commit around 25 hours per month on a voluntary basis from September 2023 to March 2025. We also require that you be able to physically attend the in-person workshop in November 2023 and February 2024. We will further require that you be fully vaccinated in time for the training for the health and safety of your teammates and the trainers.
Projected Timeline
⚡October 2023: Application Period. ⚡ This is your chance to tell us about your previous experience as well as your interests and motivations for applying for the project – make sure to complete the application form to give you the best chance of being asked to interview! To apply: Hit the Apply Now button at the end of the page. At the end of the screening process, 8-10 applicants will be invited to join the RightUp Youth Team.
👋 November2023: Kickoff Workshop. 👋 We’ll be having a 4-day in-person workshop some introductions and bonding exercises to help you mesh as a team. There will also be sessions on Human Rights Education, Research Methodologies, and Wellbeing. You’ll also spend time with your teammates exploring the possible research topics.
✍️ December 2023 – February 2024: Scoping. ✍️This will be your group work period. By conducting desk research, surveys and the like, you will work together as a team to deep dive into the issues you explored during the kick off workshop in a quest to find your research topic.
🚀 February 2024: Research Workshop 🚀1-week workshop. During this workshop, you will be working together to design your strategy and research methodology, and create a research plan. You will also undergo workshops on the participatory action research methodology, tools for data collection, and stakeholder mapping and engagement among many others. The goal is to arm you with what you need to get your research started.
💅 January – June 2024: Data Collection, Categorization, and Analysis. 💅 Let the research begin! Like the title says, you’ll spend this time working together to gather your data, find evidence from multiple literature and sources.. We’ll regroup in a face-to-face workshop in June to verify and analyze data, and also brainstorm the output creation process.
July – October 2024: Output Creation, Publication, and Advocacy. This is all about sharing your knowledge! You will learn about Amnesty’s House style publication, but also explore other ways to create youth and child-friendly outputs that come in engaging formats, such as comics, zines, videos, podcasts, or social media content. By the end of this phase, you will have a published research output ready for circulation.
December 2024: Evaluation and Celebration. We’ll be looking back on your research journey and celebrate the accomplishments you’ve made along the way. We’ll also be reflecting on the learnings and look towards how this project can further contribute to your personal growth.
Applications Procedure
Basic Requirements
To qualify, you need to be:
⚡ Filipino
⚡ Residing in the Philippines
⚡ 18 to 25 years old
⚡ Experienced in research and writing
Selection Criteria
We are looking for creative and critical thinkers who have innovative ideas on technology and digital rights and how they affect young people in the Philippines. We want young people who have the energy, drive and passion to explore and deepen their understanding on topics they believe in and share this knowledge with others with the goal of making collective substantial change in our society.
We would appreciate seeing and reading about your past research and advocacy work, and other youth-led projects that you have been involved in. Resumes and copies/links of your research work are most welcome to help us get a better sense of who you are as an activist and researcher. If you have any ideas on what you might want to research in connection to online harassment if you are selected for RightUp, we would also be interested to hear about it.
How To Apply
Complete the application form through this link: bit.ly/RightUpPH
Applications emailed to us or sent through another portal will not be entertained.
There is no fee for applying to RightUp.
Other Reminders
Application deadline is 26 October 2023. We will be processing applications on a rolling basis and begin with interviews on 12 October 2023.
Late applications will not be entertained.
If you have any questions about RightUp, you may email us at [email protected].
After you apply, whether or not you are selected, you may choose to get involved in some of Amnesty Philippines’ other work. You can find out more about that and how to become a member here.