Hi Fabrice! Thanks for your reply, and thanks also for posting a topic in the forum. I can understand that you are very keen to find a master’s study program and am full of sympathy and understanding. I will try to guide you.
In our community, we get to know each other and help each other by talking on the forum. I think you will have more success if you spend time reading what others have written so you can get to know other members, their challenges and what they are working on. You can add a reply to topics where you can help, say by providing insight from your experience or linking to a useful website or publication. I suggest you reserve time each week (Fridays are a good day when many members are logged in) to read and reply to discussions.
As regards your search for a master’s program, my advice to you would be to create impressive profiles online, including here in the Global Legal Empowerment Network of course but also on LinkedIn which is used by universities to help evaluate potential applicants. You may also know other online networks relevant to your line of work. If you have published articles, you can upload them to the resource library and tell fellow network members about them in the forum. By being a model citizen here, you will make many friends – and impress any recruiter. Any time you spend helping others here will not be wasted as you seek to advance your career.
The other advice I would have is for you to gain as much experience as you can working in human rights organizations while you wait for the academic opportunity to arise. I know it is not easy, but if paid jobs are not available you can get another job while making time to volunteer for a local organization. You can also use your job as a channel for providing legal empowerment. Many paralegals also have other jobs as teacher, nurse or some other community role.
Whatever you do, try your best to document your human rights work experience as best you can. One easy way to do that would be to report here regularly to the community - we’d love to hear about your successes and challenges, and fellow members may have suggestions. You can also share photos. But be careful to respect the privacy and security of the people you are working with.
And finally, when it comes time to apply for master’s programs, you will want to research the websites of academic programs directly. You can always contact them by email to ask questions to help you figure out which ones you are eligible for now, or to find out what more you might be able to do to become eligible. There are scholarship opportunities you can look for as well.
Members share links and ideas here in the forum on a regular basis - so keep an eye on the Opportunities category. Here’s a good topic with a list of potential scholarship opportunities you can take a look at:
Good luck and keep us posted! We all are standing with you and hope you find success. 