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lucha y siesta

Human rights - community service - social engagement - peer interaction - women rights

about the position

Please note: the availability of each position will be confirmed at the beginning of every semester.

If you are interested in beginning a conversation about our Internship Program before your arrival in Rome, feel free to contact us:

Elena Fossà - elena.fossa@trincoll.edu

Flavia Alfano - flavia.alfano@trincoll.edu

WEBSITE: Lucha y Siesta Facebook page

The house of women Lucha y Siesta was born in 2008 from reusing and enhancing a suburb apartment building dating back to the twenties, owned by the Rome transportation company. Through the years this abandoned place turned into a material and symbolic space of women's self-determination. It is a women's project providing information, orientation, attention and hospitality to the women in need; here different cultural and productive activities take place making Lucha y Siesta a space for social relations as well as for sharing experiences and competences. Through these years many women with their different life experiences have come to the house and shaped it, making it a place that contributes to reactivating oppressed female intelligence, re-giving them strength and value, as well as giving back to citizens an important part of the public patrimony.

It is also a political project promoting new ways for welfare and claiming of rights starting from women, who are the main characters. Here new ways of bottom up intervention are experienced thus enhancing personal competences and skills, using partnerships between institutions, associations and the local area as well as neglected public patrimony, with the objective of fostering local development and providing updated services with a wider coverage.

Besides supporting women to become independent, there are several actions aimed at preventing cultural and social violence as well as violence in the fields of inclusion, education and participation.

Some examples are:

The tailor's lab LyS
Workshops and courses
The library and study room accessible to the people in the neighbourhood
The center for clinical psychology
Activities dedicated to childhood training
(Female) operators of antiviolence centers
The projects in schools to promote initiatives in order to oppose gender violence and make people more aware about differences
The Festival, the Film club, book presentations, theatre, handicraft market participation in networks, committees and local associationism

Interns at Lucha y Siesta should take care of the following tasks:

Help the staff and volunteers during events or book presentations
Help organize workshops and courses offered and/or create and lead new courses and activities
Collaborate with volunteers and staff who run the social media pages for Lucha y Siesta
Offering English tutoring sessions for adults and children
Help the staff who take care of the garden, the library and the kitchen
Help the activists with their outreach activities

Requirements:

Intermediate level of Italian;
Punctuality;
Reliability;
Good teamwork skills;
Deep interest in promotion of social justice and defense of human rights;
Pro-active attitude.

what former interns say about the position

"For my Trinity College Rome Campus internship, I chose to work with Lucha y Siesta, a feminist collective and human rights, and women’s rights organization. Located in front of the Lucia Sestio metro stop, Lucha y Siesta houses battered women and children, often sheltering them from gender-based violence.

As an intern for Lucha y Siesta, I play multiple roles: I help them organize and plan events, organize their extensive library of feminist literature, tend to their community garden, meet with their art therapist and psychologist, and help teach English to children. In addition, I attend meetings within the local community to learn more about the sociopolitical climate. I believe the variety of tasks that I do with Lucha y Siesta has provided me with a very well-rounded, expansive, and immersive experience in the city of Rome. [ ...]My tutor had originally expressed her concerns about not having enough for me to do, but I expressed my interest in art, art therapy, and psychology and extended myself to set up weekly meetings with various people connected to Lucha y Siesta. [...]

Next, I communicated well with my tutor, which made it easy to schedule meetings and set up appointments with other people. As for my advice for future interns, I would say to pick an internship in a field you are interested in! Being excited about what you are doing makes it easier to maintain a positive attitude and thus maximize your internship experience. I would also try to connect with your tutors on a personal level, not just a professional one. In my experience, Italians are open to talking about life and their experiences with you, and doing so makes work a lot more enjoyable and gives you a better understanding of Italian culture and people. My last piece of advice I would give is to remind yourself that this is a rare opportunity, so take advantage of it!"

(C. H., Spring 2023)

interns videos

where in rome

Lucha y Siesta-> Via Lucio Sestio, 10, 00174 Roma RM

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