Social and Environmental Issues Research Assistant

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Recruiting Organization: Terramar Museum

Terramar Museum is a small museum, founded in 2016 located in Kralendijk, Bonaire. We support all creative and academic efforts to showcase Bonaire's vibrant culture and diversity. We are also a venue to discussing the island’s current and historical social issues and are looking for a volunteer/intern to help us update our fixed collection.

The volunteer will assist our collection mediator and team in reviewing current materials, then conducting research and preparing materials to update our current permanent collection. The aim is to compile key facts for the development of an updated, permanent exposition that will allow us to understand the most pressing social and environmental issues Bonaire is facing today. The volunteer will help research this content, and later on, if both parties are interested, may assist in the development of the presentation.

Potential areas of study: Undergraduate degree in geography, sociology, anthropology, history, developmental studies, gender studies, environmental studies

Key skills: leadership skills, comfortable with digital tools, good writing, enjoys researching, organized, fluent in English (great if also Papiamentu and Dutch) and self-directed, but also able to work in a team.

What we offer

This position offers the chance to work with and learn from our small team. Your work will have a tangible, direct impact on our fixed collection and therefore the island. Your research will be part of the museum (to what extent is to be determined) and will be read by many visitors, you will be a vital part of our team and your results will be long-lasting and meaningful.

Volunteers will have the opportunity to participate in meetings, events, (if applicable) interviews, and the development of our collection. If the volunteer chooses to conduct her/his research from Bonaire, the volunteer will have full access to our office space, and advice and guidance on getting settled here for a short-term stay.

We are a small non-profit and so unable to offer a paid position at the moment; performance could lead to future opportunities. Volunteers will work closely with Elena Baker who has experience working in museums, the non-profit sector as well as in education.

TASKS TO SUPPORT

Depending on the time dedication, Terramar aims to receive support in the following tasks:

• Provide input and feedback on available materials and current collection
• Conduct/lead research on the following issues, and understand how we got to this point and what our society should do moving forward:
• Climate Change: focus on marine ecosystems and island life.
• Inequality: the growing distinction between the poor and affluent residents of Bonaire.
• Development: the tourism industry. How should we manage it?
• ^^ In short, UN’s 2030 sustainable development goals
• Report final research results in a way that is engaging for a museum, perhaps even develop learning activities for adults and children.
• Participate, if interested, in conducting grant research to finance the development of permanent presentation
• Participate, if interested, in the development of this portion of the collection

DURATION

Ideally, we aim to engage someone until the updated permanent collection is fully developed. The initial commitment of two months as a trial period can be renewed as of interest of the volunteer and the company.

Stipend ProvidedFalse

Training ProvidedFalse

Housing AvailableFalse

Language/Cultral Support AvailableFalse

Wheelchair AccessibleFalse

Fee RequiredFalse

Fee Amount: None

This opportunity is recurring