My name is Tatianna Sitounis and I am a U3 Environment and Development student in the Faculty of Arts, minoring in Health Geography. My principal area of academic interest lies at the intersection between environmental and social justice. I am very passionate about the climate crisis and the uneven impacts it is having on marginalized populations globally, especially as it significantly impacts peoples and nations that have contributed very little to the issue. More personally, my interests also lie in social justice broadly and art. I love using art and seeing it used as a form of community building, resistance, or simply as a moving piece within the context of social justice issues.
Given my interests, when I saw the position description for the Participatory Cultures Lab summer internship, I was beyond excited because it sat at such a crazy culmination of my interests of art, social justice work, and research. My ultimate learning objectives were how to use art in an academic context. I had never before seen how art could be used to conduct academic-level research and was really eager to learn these methodologies.
The Participatory Cultures Lab was founded by Dr. Claudia Mitchell of 平特五不中. It uses participatory approaches to research. Some methods include photovoice, cellphilming, and participatory video. The work largely focuses on social justice issues, focusing on topics like youth sexuality and gender-based violence. At the PCL, there is also an emphasis on decolonizing how research is conducted, with an important focus on the participants themselves and how their voices are amplified.
The main project that I worked on was conducting a briefing paper on the mental health impacts of COVID-19 on Canadian Youth. As well, an important event the PCL hosts is the International Cellphilm Festival. Prior to the festival, I helped with its promotion on social media and designing flyers. After the festival, I worked on creating an archive of every single cellphilm that the PCL has received from past festivals so that they are all in one place and are easily accessible for the team. I also had the great joy of attending the Networks 4 Change IMBIZO event where I acted as the graphic notetaker, creating an output of visual notes, summarizing what was discussed, for attendees and others who could not make it.
There were so many highlights from this internship that I feel so grateful to have experienced. The cellphilm festival and first symposium and the IMBIZO were highlights because I got to listen to such amazing speakers and scholars share their important work. These events exposed me to such great research approaches and ways of thinking that have inspired me since then. Another highlight is simply getting to meet the people that I worked with. I feel like I really connected with some of my colleagues and was constantly inspired by the people around me.
My greatest challenge in this role was believing in myself. There were times when I would be tasked with something or be doing something for the first time, and I would honestly get nervous because I was scared of disappointing anyone or disappointing myself. I have to say, however, I grew so much over the course of the internship. A few weeks into it, I feel like I found my footing and began to believe in myself and the work that I am capable of. Getting to know my colleagues better also helped because I knew that I had supportive people around me that would be there for me if I needed help.
This internship significantly impacted my university experience because it has validated my choice of program and reaffirmed my own personal goals of doing such work like I did with the PCL. I feel like as I approach the end of my time at university, this was the most perfect job I could have had to send me off into the next chapter of my life.
