LEIPZIG 2015 From tearing down walls to setting new stones
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS Journalists & Editorial Assistants Leipzig - 80th International Session of the European Youth Parliament
The International Session in Leipzig The 80th International Session of the EYP will be held in Leipzig, Germany between 6th and 15th November 2015, under the session motto ‘From tearing down walls to setting new stones’. The event will be presided by Ms Luca Olumets (EE). The Media Team will be lead by Mr Jonathan Piepers (BE) and Mr Theodor Hall (CH). You are invited to read about their vision below. More information on the session can be found on the event’s official website and Facebook page.
We are now looking for 15 journalists and 1 to 2 editorial assistants. All members of the media team are required to arrive in Leipzig by Wednesday, 4th November in order to attend the training. Departures are on Sunday, 15th November. Additionally, please note that in preparation for the session, members of the Media Team are required to attend the Media Team Academic Training (MAT) which will take place along with the CAT between 10th and 13th September in Berlin. Members of the Media Team are asked to arrive on Thursday evening. Attendance of the MAT is an integral part of the session. Expenses for the training will be covered by the EYP-SF and the National Organising Committee.
Vision of the Media Team Dear potential applicants, In our team the focus will lie on the development of individual skills and achieving an optimally efficient and productive working process that mirrors an actual newsroom more closely. The end result of our efforts will be a collection of magazine-style issues, divided into appropriate official subsections, complemented by various videos and further creative projects. In our vision focus lies on the quality of the written product with the goal of producing actually meaningful, engaging and original content. In order to achieve this, there will be a very high level of direct participation and involvement with session participants, making good use of the resource of 280 young people from all across Europe. As a journalist, you will have the opportunity to work in one or more specific topical areas over a longer stretch of time with more of an overarching concept and direct support from fellow team members and the editorial team. Instead of individually working on a single article at a time, you will work together on long term plans and stories that will be dealt with in a mixed-media approach whilst keeping the main focus directed towards the written output. This way you will be dealing with current topics in a manner geared towards your own specific skillset. The team will be divided into groups for each subsection of the paper and each media team product, enhancing efficient brainstorming and teamwork, as each group will be smaller and provide an avenue for one on one editorial support. European Youth Parliament, Sophienstraße 28-29, 10178 Berlin, Germany. www.eyp.org. info@eyp.org
LEIPZIG 2015 From tearing down walls to setting new stones
Decentralisation is the name of the game and we want the journalists to maintain full ownership over the full creative process of the story they work on and develop. Furthermore, in MAT you will as a journalist have the opportunity to actively contribute your own ideas to the media team concept and critique plans of ours. In MAT we have a first time opportunity to shape the media team significantly prior to the session and this is an opportunity we intend to make great use of. This way we provide you with an opportunity to take ownership over not only the output of this media team, but also help us shape the process that will lead to this output. Who are we? We have worked together on a variety of occasions and both maintain a down-to-earth, serious approach to EYP and EYP Journalism. We are both big believers in an honest and constructive approach to group facilitation and will look to bring the very best we can out of every team member including ourselves. Jonathan has extensive experience as a chair and President and Theodor as an Editor, which give us a nicely balanced skillset. This allows for a strong individual approach where potential issues can be spotted earlier on in the process and where feedbacking can happen on a regular basis. Together we do not intend to reinvent the EYP Journalism, but will try our very best to help it achieve its best possible form in Leipzig. What can you expect? A concept based around professionalism and efficiency with the goal of personal development and engaging output. Each journalist will have the chance to gear their work to their own strengths and will get ample individual support. While our focus remains on writing, journalists that prefer photography and film will also have room to creatively expand upon their own skillset. Who are we looking for? Journalists: Ambitious and creative alumni that have strong opinions on EYP and the role of Media Teams therein and enjoy challenging themselves as well as preconceived notions of the nature of our organisation. Motivated EYPers wanting to work in a team that caters to their skill-set and offers them the opportunity to work towards an enriching newsroom experience. Editorial Assistant positions: 1) The Video Editor The Video Editor will mostly have a lot of freedom to implement one’s own concept and ideas to complement the overall approach of this Media Team. For this, you will receive the help of a group of journalists assigned to video work in order to balance the workload and improve the potential output. We do not want the Video-Editor to be the lone wolf he/she often ends up being within a Media Team but aim at providing ample support. This way we intend on integrating the work and output of the Video Editor into the overall Media Team concept as best as possible. The Video Editor should be technically capable, however a creative concept and attitude we consider to be more important than sheer technical skill. 2) The Editorial Assistant for design and written output For this editorial assistant position a certain degree of technical design skill or a willingness to learn it sufficiently pre-session is necessary. In this role you will be primarily responsible for the visual design of the written issues and for support of the editorial team. Further skills you can bring to the table such as photographic know-how, team leadership, proofreading or running social media accounts well are all bonuses that are desirable but not required. Ideally you would have previous editorial experience and technical skills. For any queries about our concept, team or plans do not hesitate to contact us at the following email address: isleipzigmedia@gmail.com.
European Youth Parliament, SophienstraĂ&#x;e 28-29, 10178 Berlin, Germany. www.eyp.org. info@eyp.org
LEIPZIG 2015 From tearing down walls to setting new stones
Media Team Academic Training Recently, many International Session media teams have been working towards a more diverse media experience and a higher quality output of their work. The standards for EYP media teams have risen and today include different kinds of media, different styles of coverage, and projects contributing to the learning experience of the delegates. Despite this, the time for preparations and interactive contributions by the media team in the preparation of the session is often very short. The Media Academic Training (MAT) for Leipzig is designed to tackle these challenges and enable all media team members to prepare for the session together. At the MAT, the selected members of the media team will have the possibility to get to know each other, get a training on their tasks during the session, as well as plan their work ahead. A specific focus during the MAT will be on the academic preparations ahead of the session, to ensure that also the media team members can contribute to the session topics and support the learning experience of the delegates during the session. Mr Jonathan Piepers (BE) and Mr Theodor Hall (CH) will be involved in the planning and running of the MAT, taking place simultaneously with the CAT between 10th and 13th September in Berlin.
Selection criteria According to EYP policies, the Selection panel is looking for individuals with the following qualities:
i. Excellent English language skills (French desirable); ii. A sense of responsibility, expressed motivation and commitment to further the media team’s objectives (EYP experience desirable); iii. Ability to work as a member of a team and with individuals from various cultural and socio-economic backgrounds; iv. Photography and video skills (technical media production skills desirable); v. Good writing and researching skills (interest in European issues desirable); vi. Creativity in all aspects of the pressroom.
The overall team will also present a cohesive and suitable balance of nationality, gender and levels of experience. Applicants should be aware that failure to be selected is no reflection on their talent or ability to be part of an International Session media team. The Selection panel will consider first the individuals who have applied for the position and thereby thoroughly go over all the applications, following the guidelines given by the Governing Body. The Selection panel will consist of the Session Editors Mr Jonathan Piepers and Mr Theodor Hall, past session Editors Mr Sebastian Hojas and Mr Oliver Stenbom, a member of the Governing Body Mr Jari Marjelund and the Headorganiser of the Session Mr Alexandre Narayanin. Upon request by the Session President and the National Organising Commitee, the Governing Body has decided to conduct a trial in relation to the Policy on the Selection of International Session Officials. A representative of the NOC will sit on the Selection panels for the chairpersons’ team and the media team of Leipzig 2015, with powers and responsibilities equal to the panel members currently listed on articles 11 and 15 of the Policy. A full rationale of the trial has been sent to the BNC. The NOC on the Media Team panel will be represented by Mr Alexandre Narayanin. A recommendation to cover the role of a Journalist or an Editorial Assistant is a prerequisite to be considered for the selection of the respective roles. European Youth Parliament, SophienstraĂ&#x;e 28-29, 10178 Berlin, Germany. www.eyp.org. info@eyp.org
LEIPZIG 2015 From tearing down walls to setting new stones
In case you are unsure if you are eligible to apply, you can check your recommendations and individual evaluation forms with your previous Chair(s)/ President(s) or by contacting the Human Resources Officer of the EYP at hr@eyp. org. The selection will only begin once the application deadline is over.
How to apply? If you are available and interested in attending, you should follow these steps to apply: 1. Log on to the EYP Alumni Platform (if you do not have access or encounter any other problems, please get in touch with support@eyp.org); 2. Update your profile on the Platform. Please, make sure your full name, country, nationality and contact information are available and updated. All officials are also asked to make sure they are aware of the relevant policies of the EYP as listed in the official EYP Info Section on the Platform at http://alumni.eypej.org/governance. 3. Sign up for the 80th International Session in Leipzig as either a journalist or an editorial assistant and fill in the “additional fields” in the application form (questions are listed below). If you wish to apply for both positions, please, send one of your applications in pdf format to hr@eyp.org. Please include all your information (full name and contact details) on the offline application, as well as your answers to the questions. 4. Once you have submitted your application via the Platform, please, send your updated session history using the template provided on the event’s page on the Alumni Platform to hr@eyp.org. Please note that this is a prerequisite for your application to be considered. 5. The deadline for submitting your application via the platform and sending in your complete session history is Monday, 27th July at 12:00 (noon) CET.
Application Questions Please note that the panel will be looking for quality rather than quantity, which is why we kindly ask all applicants to ensure that none of their answers to any of the questions below exceeds the word limit. All applicants: 1. Please describe what you expect from and aim to achieve at this International Session. Also explain how you see your participation within and contribution to the media team, considering your strengths and weaknesses. 2. Describe your previous experience with media (newspaper, blogs, photography, video, radio etc.) and relevant technical skills you may have. Please provide us with a link for some examples of the former, if available. Additionally for Journalists: 3. What characteristics does EYP Journalism share with professional journalism, if any at all? Do you think EYP Journalism should move towards or away from professional journalism and in what ways? (max 400 words) European Youth Parliament, Sophienstraße 28-29, 10178 Berlin, Germany. www.eyp.org. info@eyp.org
LEIPZIG 2015 From tearing down walls to setting new stones
4. Propose a concept of how to address- in an original and comprehensive, manner -one of the topics mentioned below as you would see fit to do this at an EYP session. Try to involve session participants and different means of media output into your concept (max 250 words). Topics (please, pick one): a) The Greek Referendum b) The World Cup c) Europe’s Asylum Crisis Additionally for the Video Editor: 3. Present a concept for session videos, including ideas on content, journalist involvement, and how this could provide a link to other media team’s outputs (no word limit). 4. Pick two EYP videos, one that you think is good, one that you consider not so good and evaluate their merits/faults. What lessons do you take from these videos in relation to your plans for the Leipzig Media Team? (max 400 words) Additionally for the Editorial assistant responsible for the design and written output: 3. As the editorial assistant responsible for design, how would you plan to work with the journalists in order to maximise efficiency and give the journalists more ownership of the creative design process? (max 400 words) 4. Describe your technical skillset and provide an example of your previous design work, ideally within an EYP context. Beyond design, describe further skills or strengths you have that would make you an asset to the editorial team (max 250 words, excluding links). The deadline for submitting your application and sending in the updated session history is Monday, 27th July at 12:00 (noon) CET. All the applicants will be informed individually about the outcome of the selection process. For any questions regarding the application procedure, please contact the HR Officer at hr@eyp.org.
European Youth Parliament, Sophienstraße 28-29, 10178 Berlin, Germany. www.eyp.org. info@eyp.org