Minnesota to Morocco: Taking Advocacy Skills Abroad

In taking human rights courses, Daniel Lynx Bernard found a passion to guide his future work
Two people standing together with arms around each other. One with short brown hair, glasses and a black jacket. The other with brown hair, a red shirt and brown jacket.

Human Rights Program (HRP): Where are you currently working and how long have you been working there? What type of projects and tasks do you work on?

Daniel Lynx Bernard (DLB): I started my career as a journalist in the Midwest including Minnesota. I’ve been alternating between living in the U.S. and the Middle East and North Africa since 2001, when I moved to Cairo in 2001 and began consulting for aid projects. I returned to Minnesota in 2005 to pursue a Master of Public Affairs (MPA) at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. I took coursework in the Human Rights Program while I was completing the MPA, and I was a research assistant in the Human Rights Program in 2008. Presently I’m working as a consultant for projects promoting democracy and governance, based in Morocco. At the moment I’m completing a research assignment for a project funded by the UK government aimed at encouraging provincial governments in Morocco to activate the rights of citizen participation made possible by Morocco’s 2015 elections. For that assignment, I interviewed civil society activists in five cities, government officials and aid workers to identify obstacles that are hindering the realization of those rights. I submitted a report to UK and Moroccan officials that included recommendations for actions that provincial and national-level officials can take to address the obstacles.

HRP: How do you see your academic experiences playing out in your life today? Were there particular courses/experiences that motivated you and/or prepared you for the work you are currently doing?

DLB: It was while I was taking a course in international human rights advocacy taught by (Human Rights Program Director) Barbara Frey in 2007 that I gained a new sense of my ability to make change in the world. Just as the class was learning about human rights advocacy in the abstract, a member of the class, shared with us that his two nieces back home in South Sudan, had just been abducted by members of a neighboring tribe. Helping his family crisis became an informal class project. We staged international lobbying and publicity aimed at achieving action that would free the girls. I served as campaign coordinator on a voluntary basis and then in a research assistantship that Barbara arranged to support the effort.

Everyone came together. It was a bit miraculous. It was as if several of the people in the class had already been searching for something to throw their passion into, and then one day our classmate came into class and literally asked for our help. It turned out that various people in the class had certain talents and acquaintances that were just right for what needed to be done. And this momentum came from behind us and carried us along.

In addition to press conferences and fundraisers, the group organized a research trip to South Sudan. Some of the students gained a face-to-face meeting with the leader of South Sudan, who took actions to pressure the tribe. U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum arranged for the campaign to present a congressional briefing on the issue of child abduction in the region. One of the girls was ultimately released.

I think we were ultimately overwhelmed by how complicated are the problems facing the Horn of Africa, and that was humbling, but that’s good – it showed that we had learned enough to realize how much more we had to learn. In any case, I think all of us were inspired by seeing that it was possible to have some effect in the world.

After finishing the master’s, I returned to Egypt, where I worked for projects promoting the development of civil society and the media sector including as the International Center for Journalists’ country director for Egypt. After I worked in North Carolina for the international abortion rights NGO Ipas, my family and I moved to Morocco in 2017. Since relocating here I have consulted for several projects strengthening journalism and civil society. I helped a local university obtain U.S. government funding to promote Moroccan citizens’ right to petition the government, assisted an association of investigative journalists in strengthening their training, and delivered lectures on reporting.

HRP: What have been some of the biggest learning moments and takeaways for you both in your academics and your work?

DLB: What I learned in the Human Rights Program has been a tool and an inspiration in what I’ve done since. Barbara Frey says that statements of principles are not just words; they’re levers, stepping stones, to move to the next level, moving toward action. Principles are promises that activists can grab onto as a basis for demanding action from those in power. I see that in my work with civil society here in North Africa.

**Responses have been edited for clarity and length.

Share on: