Humans of IHS is a mini-portrait series that features the people who make IHS a unique place. Many of the urban professionals with common roots at IHS, often describe it as a very welcoming, familiar space, where they not only acquired valuable knowledge for their career, but also formed solid ties and friendships with their peers. This is what drove us to create this mini-series: the wish to give others a glimpse of the amazing people that make IHS special.
Violet is currently doing the Land Management: Law, Finance, Real Estate & Natural Resources Master track offered by IHS, Erasmus University. She is a social scientist, manager and community policymaker from Uganda who wishes to continue advocating and defending women and children rights. She sees herself as a future representative at the United Nations for human rights promotion and peacebuilding.
“I would love to see women and children's dignity upheld and respected through policy and legal framework amendments. I do not tolerate the world of injustice; all people have equal rights before the law.”
When asked about what urban issue she would solve, she expressed her preference in creating safe urban spaces in Uganda, especially for women. “A woman needs to feel that she is safe, protected and appreciated. “
Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, Violet could not physically interact with other students and missed out on excursions and fieldwork opportunities abroad. Nevertheless, this only made her bond with the content of the course and professors stronger. “I loved my tutors immensely; they are such great men and women. They were very interactive with us.”
Violet’s most memorable courses were Gender Land Rights and Land Value Capture Tools.
”It was a new concept to me that I had never practised since land in my country belongs to the people and not to the government. Learning how to design resilient and sustainable responses to disasters and risk reduction was amazing”.
One thing Violet cannot live without in the Netherlands is fruit. ”I will surely miss fruit of the Netherlands.” Lastly, Christmas was a happy time for her, as she got to experience a variety of dishes with a lot of creativity. “A Dutch family invited me on Christmas, and it was an amazing experience of different flavours.”