This past year, several Political Science undergraduates and recent alumni spent their time at an internship with the GLOCAL Foundation of Canada, applying their knowledge to real-life, relevant and local issues. We sat down with one of those interns–Bianca Navarro, a fourth-year UBC Political Science student–to ask about her time with GLOCAL and what she’ll be taking away from her experiences working and studying.
Why did you choose to join GLOCAL, and how did you become an intern there? What did you want to achieve, both in terms of personal development & on a larger scale?
I learned about GLOCAL through UBC’s Arts Co-op Program while looking for my first work placement. After researching the organization, I was drawn to GLOCAL’s mission “to improve the infrastructure and accessibility of public information in an effort to combat misinformation, information overload, and low-information rationality in the digital age.” I was also excited by the opportunity to conduct research in a non-academic setting and meet new people in my field who I could learn from by observing their work.
Knowing is half the battle, and yet there are a lot of barriers to understanding Canadian politics that most people do not have the time or resources to bypass. While I love the internet and think it is a valuable tool for learning, it is crowded with bias, misconceptions and disinformation. I joined GLOCAL because I wanted to contribute what I’ve learned from my professors and do the time-consuming work of making sense of the noise and synthesizing it into easy, bite-sized pieces of Canadian politics.
At the very least, my goal is to provide Canadians with context for what is happening in the political sphere and answer their questions, such as: What is this bill, who or what does it affect, and how? I need assistance; who is responsible for addressing and helping me with my issues?
As GLOCAL’s team and YouCount.ca grows, so does the number of opportunities to serve and empower Canadians!
What have you learned since joining GLOCAL?
A lot! My position at GLOCAL has taught me a great deal about accountability and responsibility in the workplace, how to manage overlapping projects and direct team efforts toward a shared goal. And because I have to read through a lot of research to produce content, I now have a more comprehensive understanding of the forces at work within Canadian politics and an encyclopedia’s worth of random fun facts. My favourite bit of trivia comes from Marc Bosc and André Gagnon’s third edition of the House of Commons Procedure and Practice, in a section where they detail the powers of the Speaker to enforce order and decorum on the floor — they mention that Members of Parliament used to be so rowdy, they’d throw books, papers, and on one occasion, firecrackers, at each other. Sharing fun facts of this nature can lead to discussions about what the Speaker of the House or a Member of Parliament does, which ultimately counts as learning more about our government!
Bianca Marie Navarro, GLOCAL Foundation Social Media Manager
What’s something you’ve done at GLOCAL that you’re especially proud of?
As a social media manager at GLOCAL, the proudest moments for me are when I see the immediate and tangible impact our work has on Canadian youth and families. Following GLOCAL’s creative engagement philosophy and model, my role involves mentoring youth in social media engagement, empowering them to be more than just recipients and audiences of our work. Instead, they can be trained and join in on the production and construction work.
It brings me great satisfaction to witness our youth participants grow in their civic knowledge, sense of belonging, and responsibility. Seeing them become knowledge hubs for their families and communities is truly rewarding. When I see the transformation of Canadian youth from passive recipients to active contributors, it gives me a strong sense of achievement and fulfillment.
How does your work at GLOCAL align with your personal ambitions and future goals?
When I applied for the Arts Co-op Program, I knew I wanted to find a position that felt rewarding in its impact, enriched my studies in political science, and challenged me by putting me in an unfamiliar environment. My work at GLOCAL has not only fulfilled these wishes but has helped me better understand what exactly my future goals are. I want my future work to continue focusing on serving Canadians, whether directly through government or through non-profit work that keeps citizens connected to their communities and updated on matters that directly affect them.
Have you used the knowledge gained from being a UBC Political Science student in your work with GLOCAL?
Yes, all the time! My studies have given me a solid understanding of Canada’s political systems and conventions, but it’s also not uncommon for me to refer to my course notes whenever I’m unsure of the main points I should cover in an infographic. My favourite set of posts to conduct research and design infographics for is YouCount.ca’s Educational series, which follows a syllabus of topics about Canadian politics. It’s essentially POLI 101 neatly packaged into 52 weekly infographics to help Canadians learn more about government! Working on these posts is always a fun balance of contributing what I’ve learned and discovering new nuances and fun facts about why our system of government functions the way it does.
