Siena Anstis

Committed to making communications a tool for development

Siena Anstis is convinced that the media helps change the face of the world and that information and communications technologies (ICT) offer new and infinite opportunities for all those who wish to become socially committed. The Concordia student didn’t wait to have her diploma in hand before embarking of the path of humanitarian journalism. And what she has accomplished so far at the age of only 21 is more than impressive.

Described by those around her as a talented, motivated, determined and inspiring young woman, Siena has already worked as a freelance journalist in Kosovo, Africa, Canada, Belgium and Denmark, while participating in school programs and humanitarian aid projects or independently.

In summer 2009, she obtained an $8,000 grant from the Canadian International Development Agency to work as a freelance journalist in East Africa. She is also working in Nairobi as an Aga Khan Foundation International Development Management fellow.

The daughter of a Canadian diplomat, Siena was alerted to the issues of poverty, international conflict and the fight for human rights at a very early age. In her first year at Concordia University, she joined the Concordia Volunteer Abroad Program, setting up an HIV-AIDS screening program in Uganda. She then went on to found In Their Shoes, an organization aimed at raising awareness among young Canadians of world poverty and the defence of human rights.

October 2007, when she attended a two-day conference on Uganda, was a turning point for Siena. “It was the first event I covered as a journalist and it strengthened my interest in world issues. From that moment on, I decided I wanted to be a media professional and support international development.”

Ever since, for Siena, journalism and international development have gone hand in hand. “I want to raise awareness of conflict situations so that people choose to get involved in the search for solutions. I want to be a source of inspiration for people living with the aftermath of war and in poverty so that they too decide to make a difference in their community.”

In this respect, she believes that ICT, and in particular the Internet, could play a pivotal role. In 2008, she experienced her first decisive moment while helping women in the Women of Uganda Network to create a blog allowing them to talk about the realities of their lives.

According to Concordia sociology and anthropology professor Sima Aprahamian, “Siena has a sound understanding of how the media can raise public awareness of poverty but also of how it can help citizens all over the world improve their own living conditions.”

In the next few months, in addition to undertaking a Master’s degree in international development at the University of Amsterdam, Siena hopes to continue in the same vein by helping humanitarian organizations take full advantage of the media and the possibilities offered by the Web.

“I am convinced that ICT could enable developing countries to step out of the shadows and develop economically. Everyone should be given the opportunity to express themselves openly on their vision of their community’s development. Internet is definitely the best way of being heard.”

Siena Anstis