Scholarship / How to Gain Buy-in for Millennials at the Office: A Chevening Leadership and Influence Essay [4]

Hi everyone. Trying my luck with an upcoming deadline for the Chevening application. I am very grateful to have feedback from anyone. Hopefully, my example can be lessons learned and beneficial for others too. Thank you so much in advance for your time and insightful tips. I appreciate it. :) God bless.

This is my piece for the Leadership and Influence essay.

chevening is looking for individuals who will be future leaders or influencers in their home countries.

Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your leadership and influencing skills to support your answer.

(minimum word count: 100 words, maximum word count: 500 words)

A good leader must take initiatives, able to manage conflict and dynamics situations, maintain teamwork to achieve results, and possess a growth mindset.

I am one of the youngest team members in my current job. As a communication officer, I must be able to provide technical assistance and convey constructive criticism to more than 50 civil society organizations (CSOs) partners across Indonesia. They mostly are more experienced and older than me. Unfortunately, in our organization, my colleagues and I often faced difficulties to be recognized during internal meetings. However, I decided to leave my comfort zone and took the chance.

Our project, XXX, is in its final year of implementation. Youth engagement as an effort to sustain the social inclusion movement has been discussed several times by the CSO partners for the past two years. It needed a strategic and comprehensive plan. Last year, I pitched an idea to the senior management to establish a voluntary-based youth-led movement, which then approved. I appointed to lead the initiative with the support of my colleagues who are of a similar age to me.

We conducted several outreach events to gain volunteers as the changemakers. I distributed specific roles for my colleagues and trusted them through minimum supervision. I facilitated equal opportunities. Each of them had the chance to be the person in charge of a specific event. It has improved our teamwork, and everyone was growing. The youngest colleague who has never been comfortable and avoided to speak in public, finally gain self-confidence to share her knowledge on vulnerable children issues to the university students.

As a result of our teamwork, a youth entity was established. Though we are facing the pandemic, currently the XXX is working as the catalyst for the youth movement on social inclusion and manages almost £ 16,000 from our project for a 6-months program. My colleagues and I trusted to mentor XXX. Though we did not have the experience, we learn as we go. We are striving to be a good role-model. We balance our roles and be critical friends to shape their strategic thinking and understanding of social exclusion faced by marginalized communities including persons with disabilities, indigenous people, and victims of religious intolerance among many others.

It does not mean the road is not bumpy. There were times when my colleagues and I burned out due to the extra workload, or when we demanded understanding from each other. Another time, my colleague was disappointed with me. She expressed her feelings, I took it well, apologized, thanked her for being honest, and learned from the experience to resolve my shortcomings. These experiences are very gratifying for me.

Working in a nonprofit organization is all about the struggle for better changes and I strongly believe youth hold critical roles as changemakers. They need role-model figures who inspire them to grow. Lowering ego and focus on empathy are characteristics of a good leader, which also needed to realize a more inclusive Indonesia.

Scholarship / Unique and Specific Course to Address My Problems: A Chevening Essay on Studying in the UK [3]

Hello! Really appreciate your help with this essay on study plan for Chevening application. Any input is welcomed.

Thank you so much in advance for your time, contribution, and support. I really appreciate it. God bless! :)

salam,

Outline why you have selected your chosen three university courses, and explain how this relates to your previous academic or professional experience and your plans for the future. Please enter new information and examples here and not duplicate the information you have entered on the work experience and education section of this form (minimum word count: 100 words, maximum word count: 500 words)

I choose Media, Campaigning and Social Change

I still remembered the excitement when I streamed the renowned Glastonbury on Youtube and spotted Greenpeace banner on the stage. I just found out about their history at that time. I thought of how creative and innovative it is to raise awareness on important causes through an annual massive crowd event. Since then, it has been my dream to learn in the United Kingdom (UK).

My academic background on broadcasting and mass communication have equipped me with the skillset to produce high-quality communication products and develop creative campaigns. It has helped me to build my career for a decade in communication for development. I have been successful in several campaigns though it has been through trials-and-errors, observation of others Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) approach, and enrollment on relevant courses and training. For example, our project collaborated with musicians and influencers to raise awareness on diversity and highlight profiles of the marginalized communities. The numbers of target audience increased and supports were gained.

However, it is still not enough to foster real societal changes as I am lacking the theoretical ground to fully grasp the critical part of the media and the digital world. As I am currently working on an intermediary organization, I must be able to provide critical guidance for other local NGOs partner that implement the project. I need to improve my skill and knowledge to address the different needs of my current professional tasks. I must be able to think of a more strategic approach at a macro-level; and more creative and innovative approach other than the business-as-usual practices.

Hence, I choose Media, Campaigning and Social Change MA at the University of Westminster to pursue my advanced study. Provided work placements and internships is a huge advantage that will provide me with hands-on experience with the organizations that works towards societal changes in the UK. Renowned international NGOs as the advisory panel; and the course leader who focuses on the relationship between online tools, advocacy group, and social movement also are the reasons why the course is the perfect fit to address my current academic and professional needs. No other institutions provide this very specific and unique academic and vocational approach to address real challenges faced by NGOs.

If I selected as a Chevening awardee, I will be able to achieve measurable and real social changes in Indonesia. I will use and share my gained knowledge and skillset to provide technical expertise to local and grassroots NGOs and facilitate the development of an effective and strategic plan for social change campaigns. Furthermore, I will advocate for the incorporation of communication and media aspects in project planning to the development actors, including donor organisations.

I strongly believe my study will be beneficial to the development sector in Indonesia from upstream to downstream. It will contribute to the real social changes through improved capacity of local NGOs on effective campaigns. I also will influence the development practice to take into account the digital world to achieve impactful societal change.