Emmanuel.K.Bensah

PERSONAL PROFILE

EDUCATION

1996-2000 Vesalius College, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
B(achelor of) A(rts) in International Affairs and History Among courses taken with my major were those in Communication studies: Public Speaking; News Writing & Reporting; Writing For the Media; Political Communication; International Role of News Media.

1988-1995 British School of Brussels, Tervuren, Belgium
11 GCSEs & A-Levels in English Literature; French; History and Computing A/S Level

1982-88 Brussels English Primary School, Belgium
Won E.C.I.S. Award for International Understanding

1981 Datus International Preparatory School, Accra, Ghana

WORK EXPERIENCE

Jan 2001 -- International Coalition for Development Action (ICDA), Brussels, Belgium Intern working on producing daily WTO Impact List (WTOIL); working on ICDA Update; following EU-NGO Civil Society discussions, and monitoring the African Caribbean Pacific (ACP) -- EU's Cotonou Agreement; as well as following Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

August 1998-2000 Vesalius College, VUB, Belgium Student Tutor for English, History and Politics. Provided one-to-one tuition for students who wanted assistance with their papers.

Jan -- May 2000 Vesalius College, VUB, Belgium Administrative assistant for Professor of Sociology (worked on filing and photocopying)

Summer 1998 Gardening work ( trimming hedges; mowing the lawn) in local area and neighbourhood

June--July 1995 Babysitting children for French and English-speaking families

Language Skills: English (fluent); French (very good); Dutch (intermediate); Spanish (basic).

Computer skills: WordPerfect; Microsoft Word 97; Microsoft Windows 3.0/3.11/95; Microsoft DOS 5.0/6.0/6.2; Netscape; general knowledge of Microsoft Excel; Opera 3.0;HTML editor; Internet: General knowledge of Macintosh; Microsoft Powerpoint; general knowledge of Macromedia Dreamweaver.

Extracurricular Activities & Honours

14-20 May 2001: NGO Delegate working in Trade Caucus (for NGO Forum) at UN Conference on LDC III in Brussels (14-20 May). I prepared a speech on behalf of Trade Caucus, which I read at the Conference's General Statements session. The speech made reference to what our caucus group would like to see changed -- in particular EU Commissioner for Trade Pascal Lamy's EBA initiative, as well as market access for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) -- in the Conference's Programme of Action. (POA). The statement can be found posted on LDC III Conference Website: http://www.un.org/events/ldc3/conference/address/tradecaucus18_e.htm

September 2000: Offered own column in college paper, The Vernacular

April 2000: Co-volunteered help at 5-star Plaza Hotel in Brussels. Helped with ushering for Professional Women’s International Networking Evening.

March 2000: Co-represented Vesalius College at Universities Fair at International School of The Hague, The Netherlands. Co-promoted Vesalius College by encouraging school-leavers and their parents to visit the place.

1998-2000: Student Tutor at Vesalius College’s Writing Center. This involves one-to-one consultation with students who need or want help improving their writing. I was part of an eight-strong team who provide help not only with grammar and essay structure, but also understanding context and thesis of paper.

1996-97: Obtained Yellow Belt in Judo, Budo Ryu, Overijse, Belgium.

Oct. 1994: Organized and Co-presented talk on United Nations and its 49 years, British School of Brussels. (B.S.B)

1994-95: Co-creator of Senior Section Debating Society at B.S.B. Organized three debates.

Jan.1994: Attended THIMUN 1994 (The Hague International Model United Nations). Environment Committee representing Argentina; Model NATO, Brussels.

Oct. 1993: MINIMUN (Mini Model United Nations) Deutsche Schule, The Hague, Netherlands.

Sept.1993-94: Worked as part of editorial team on school’s magazine and newspaper.

1991-93: Percussionist in "Second Orchestra" (B.S.B's music band)

1990: Elected Class Representative. Co-organized social evening.

1988: Won E.C.I.S. Award for International Understanding.

Website Skills

March 2001 --: Created http://un_org.tripod.com -- site dedicated to United Nations and League of Nations' involvement in selective international conflicts

Aug. 1999 - 2000: Created (and maintain) POL-211 Website (Vesalius College course on Diplomatic History (Evolution of the International System : 1815-1945) ) -- http://writing_center.tripod.com/pol211. Now: http://go.to/politics211

Jan 1999 -- 2000: Webmaster for Vesalius College's Writing Center Website -- http://come.to/writingcenter

March 1997 -- : Created first Webpage -- http://max_sunrise.tripod.com -- This site features some of the work that has been published in Vesalius College's Vernacular magazine (http://max_sunrise.tripod.com/writer.htm), but is more of an eclectic mix of personal interests, all of which, though unfinished, were stored on this site under my on-line pseudonym of Max Sunrise.

Hobbies & Interests

I enjoy reading; creative writing and journaling. I have been writing a diary since 1989, and have been a keen contributor to Vesalius College's student publication, The Vernacular. I am passionately interested in United Nations issues; British Politics, and Third World Politics. I have been reading the Guardian newspaper since 1994. I enjoy crime fiction drama like Inspector Morse, Columbo, Prime Suspect, and The X-Files. I have been a keen badminton player, having played for six-and-a-half years, and also enjoy squash.