WORK

April 2022 - Present | Communications & Engagement Lead - RightsCon, Access Now
March 2020 - Present | Co-Founder, Asian Voices Europe

May 2018 - April 2022 | Owner, Jiyeah Seong Tolk & Vertaler
August 2018 - March 2022 | Manager for Flash Drives for Freedom, Human Rights Foundation & Logistics Coodinator, Oslo Freedom Forum
February 2021 - January 2022 | Operations Assistant, Clingendael Institute

EDUCATION

M.A. European Studies on Society, Science and Technology
Maastricht University

Certificate in French Language and Literature, CEFR C2
Catholic University of Lyon (am not religious, just liked the programme here)

B.A. International Studies
Korea University

Studies I’ve almost gone into (was admitted but chose not to attend):

• PhD in Biomedicine, Self and Society (Project by Dr. Ingrid Young)
  Edinburgh University

• M.A. in Science and Technology Studies
  University of Strasbourg

• M.A. in Conference Interpreting (English, Korean, French) - with partial scholarship
  Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey

• M.A. in Conference Interpreting (Korean, English, French)
  Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

FIELDS OF EXPERTISE

Community organizing, with a focus on creating safer spaces and triaging needs/priorities of participants
Communications + Media Coordination + Outreach/Lobbying
Project management
Translation + Consecutive Interpreting + Localization
Event planning + logistics + on-ground coordination

ETC

Languages spoken: Korean, English, French (DALF, C2), Dutch (NT2, B2), German (B2), Spanish (B2)
Certifications: Microsoft Office Master (MOS) 2007
Tools I love: Notion, Slack, Pocket

Bio

Jiye Seong-Yu is an activist and communications professional based between The Hague, New York and Seoul, currently working at the RightsCon team at Access Now. Previously, she worked as program manager for the Flash Drives for Freedom program, which won the People’s Voice Award at the 2020 Webby’s. She simultaneously worked as the logistics lead for the Oslo Freedom Forum series (Oslo, Taiwan, New York) and SXSW at Human Rights Foundation. Prior to working full-time, she has worked as fixer, researcher, and writer for international media ncluding Aftenposten, ARTE, BBC Asia, Korea Exposé, Marie Claire Korea, NRK, Vrij Nederland and the Washington Post. Her translation portfolio includes AkzoNobel (NL), Farfetch (UK), YG Entertainment (KR) and French photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

As the president of Asian Voices Europe (AVE), she coordinates academic research and legal remedies for anti-Asian hate crimes in the Netherlands and Germany. In this capacity, Jiye has spoken at Arminius Debatpodium, Framer Framed, Lantaren Venster, Leiden University College, Non Native Natives Fair, and been interviewed by Buzzfeed, De Volkskrant (NL), KBS1 Radio (KR) and Marie Claire Korea. In March 2022, she became the first Asian woman to speak at the Women’s March protest in Rotterdam, where AVE co-hosts the Young Asian Leadership pilot program together with Dona Daria Centre for Emancipation.

A graduate of the Master’s Society, Science and Technology at Maastricht University, Jiye enjoys questioning just about anything, including herself. She was raised in Auroville, an ecovillage on the Bay of Bengal, by her Korean mother and Dutch stepfather. Jiye’s working languages are English, Korean and French.