ROTTERDAM 2022 22 National Conference of EYP The Netherlands nd
CALL FOR OFFICIALS VISION & QUESTIONS
Dear reader, We, the Extended Leadership of Rotterdam 2022, are extremely excited to open the Call for Officials! We are looking for eight to twelve Chairpersons, eight Media Team Members, four Jury Members and nine Organisers to join us. The session is going to take place from the 11th until the 14th of February 2022 (10th until 14th for officials) and will welcome over 100 Dutch and international delegates. The call will be open until the 24th of October and all applications should be submitted through the Members Platform. The selection panel will discuss each application individually and all applicants will be notified personally of the selection result. Warm hugs, Anait, Anastasia, Anouck, Dana, Erdem, Jarne, Job, Joshua, Marta, Noel and Sophie
THEME I n February 2022, it will be thirty years since the European Union was founded. The Maastricht Treaty was signed, which meant the next step in the progress of European integration and cooperation. The founding of the EU has been decisive for the development of Europe as a continent, and its culture and economy. Now, it is time to rethink what the EU has done and should do in the future. This is why our session’s theme is ‘30 Years and Counting: On the Past and Future of the European Union.’ The goal is to dive into the deeper fundamental questions surrounding the EU, both within and outside of it, now that we have come to such a symbolic anniversary. What has the EU meant for Europe, and what should change in the next thirty years? Rotterdam is an intuitive location to think about such fundamental questions, given how much the city has changed because of the increased interdependence within the EU, for instance with the increase of international citizens and trade.
The theme consists of three core themes: the EU at a global level, a future-proof EU economy, and EU citizenship. The first one concerns the role that the EU can play at a global level with issues such as climate policy and the protection of democracy. The future-proof economy considers the sustainable design of the EU’s economy, from fiscal policy to the differences between regions within the EU. The last theme focuses on European integration, including topics like press freedom, the battle against disinformation and security and defence policy. It is vital for the Officials to actively integrate the theme throughout the session. This might be a challenge, as there is not just one specific question that surrounds this theme. Instead, there is a whole set of issues that can and will need to be addressed. That calls for a Officials’ Team that is academically well grounded, and able to make the theme visible in an integral fashion. We encourage creative approaches to implement this theme.
VISION FOR THE OFFICIALS’ TEAM
The key elements that bring us together as Rotterdam 2022 team leaders and EYP the Netherlands representatives are the value we give to having a flat leadership structure, cooperation between the different teams, interactive academic output and, as mentioned in the previous section, a powerful integration of the theme throughout the session. In line with the idea of having a flat structure within the leadership, Rotterdam 2022 hosts an extended leadership which strives to work in harmony and design all of the session elements together. We are looking for Chairpersons, Media Team Members, Jury Members and Organisers who can embrace our way of thinking and vision that sets a path with meaningful goals and a lot of growth along the way. We dream of Rotterdam 2022 to be a memorable EYP session, not only with our vision, but also with your experience, talents, ideas and motivation.
DIGITAL PRE-SESSION TRAINING
Our recent experiences tell us that a digital pre-session training can help build a team that functions well and in which members get familiar with each other before the session. As the leadership, we believe that EYP can develop further by bringing positive experiences from digital sessions to physical sessions. We see great benefit in preserving such practices during the transition period to physical sessions. Our initial plan is to analyse the needs of the officials’ team and prepare a tailor-made training programme for them right after their selection. Each official will be expected to attend 16 to 20 hours of modules spread over two or three months until the session. In order to create an exceptional personal development experience for all, we would like to make certain team-specific modules (optional) open to all officials of the session, regardless of their teams or role. Lastly, having done most of the training digitally, we are planning to spare more time for physical general teambuilding activities to allow for the bonding of the Officials’ team in a shorter session such as Rotterdam 2022.
INTERACTIVE ACADEMIC PREPARATION
One of the top priorities of all team leaders in Rotterdam 2022 is to prepare an interactive, remarkable and attractive academic preparation and even reflect on how to present the Committee Work output in an innovative and meaningful way. It should be underlined here that we are in favor of producing a usual resolution booklet and preserving the format of a written academic preparation kit. Our thinking is also to develop additional innovative materials with the close collaboration of the Academic and Media teams. In doing so, Chairpersons and Media Team Members joining us will be asked to produce certain elements of the Academic Preparation Kit together.
WORKSHOPS
This one-hour session element will consist of a pair or trio of officials organising a workshop on any subject they want, with a maximum of one member from each team. Officials will be allowed almost endless creativity in choosing their workshop topics. For example, topics may range from creative writing, portrait photography or a dance genre to extremely vague topics such as being happy with little things in life. In the end, it depends on the skills or interests they share. We see the EYP as a place with people from various backgrounds and, through this session element, we wish to bring into the open the passion of our Officials.
CHAIRPERSONS Chairpersons of Rotterdam 2022 will find themselves in the academic preparation process from the moment they are selected. This process will start with the determination of the committee topics by mid-November and the first drafts of the topic overviews will be expected just before the Christmas holiday. Afterwards, the drafts will be finalised with the Session Board and the Academic Preparation Kit will be available by mid-January. Certain elements of the Academic Preparation Kit will be produced in cooperation with your committee’s assigned Media Team Member. Alongside the academic preparation process, the Chairpersons will be expected to attend digital training (as mentioned above). The training modules will be designed according to the needs of the Chairpersons and they will be recorded for further use. The Session Board is intending to ensure academic quality and personal development of all Chairpersons while setting realistic expectations for all team members. Next to our job description, our main priorities are adapting to the needs of the Chairpersons in an attempt to support them, creating a safe environment, setting up a clear vision for the team, bridging the gaps between the digital and physical EYP events and taking an exemplary role in creating a strong bond between different teams. We are looking for Chairpersons to join the Academic Team who are aware of the responsibilities of the role and the expectations that come with it. We expect the Chairpersons to have an ability to lead a group and a sense of awareness of their relevant strengths and weaknesses. Next to having a strong motivation, the Chairpersons must be reliable and have a good understanding of, or a strong intention to learn, group dynamics and methods of chairing an EYP committee. Since our expectations are not limited to academic and role-specific matters, we are looking for teammates who are also open to produce, learn, share and have fun together.
QUESTIONS FOR CHAIRPERSONS
1. What is your personal motivation to become a chairperson in Rotterdam 2022? 2. What are your strengths and weaknesses for this position? Please also elaborate on your learning goals and how you can contribute to the session. 3. Please suggest a committee topic in line with the session theme. Briefly explain why you chose this topic. 4. What is your general opinion about co-chairing a committee? Is there anyone you would like to chair a committee with in Rotterdam 2022? If yes, briefly elaborate on your shared vision and make sure to submit separate applications. If not, please simply state your (positive/neutral/negative) opinion on co-chairing. 5. Please provide your email address and telephone number to allow us to reach you after the selection process. Feel free to use this space for anything you would like to add.
MEDIA TEAM MEMBERS We are looking for eight enthusiastic and highly motivated Media Team Members (MTMs) to join Anouck, Anaït and Marta for Rotterdam 2022. The eight MTMs that will join us will benefit from a personal training programme integrated to the Officials training (read above). By working since the very beginning in buddy groups, the editorial team will be supporting each member of the Media Team to set specific short and long term goals for the session. We will have one committee per MTM to ensure that the collaboration happens as smoothly as possible from the very start with a shared task for the Academic Preparation Kit. Aside from the usual PDF, the Media Team will be actively working on presenting the Topic Overviews to the delegates in different format(s). The structure will be set by the extended-leadership, but MTMs will be actively contributing to shaping the APK by giving ideas and feedback. Together with the Academic preparation and the pre-session training, we are aiming to develop the media projects before the session. The Editorial Team will be providing guidance and organise brainstorming sessions with the goal to foster everyone’s creative process. Each person will be able to develop their own project and be given full ownership while being encouraged to work in cooperation with other team members on bigger and more impactful projects. By getting inspiration from the city, the participants and the vibrant ambiance of the session, the Media Team will create powerful output and capture the moments of Rotterdam 2022.
QUESTIONS FOR MEDIA TEAM MEMBERS Please answer at least one of the questions in a different format of your choice (other than a block of text). Feel free to use the medium of your choice.
1. What is your motivation to participate in Rotterdam 2022? What goals would you like to reach? 2. Describe one project you would want to implement during Rotterdam 2022. Why would this be beneficial to the session and how would this help you develop yourself? 3. Share with us one photo/video/media project that you produced? and are proud of or share a piece of media that you enjoy. For both cases, please explain the reason why you made it/think it’s important. The media projects can be from EYP or outside. If you have not yet a lot of experience in media, don’t hesitate to pick the second part of the question and share a piece of media (e.g video, documentary, movie, article, music) that you enjoy. 4. If you could witness 5 minutes of any event that ever happened, which one would you choose and why? 5. Please provide your email address and telephone number to allow us to reach you after the selection process. Feel free to use this space for anything you would like to add from missing sessions on your Members’ Platform profile to recommendations of songs or any humour material.
JURY MEMBERS Dear reader, My name is Jarne and I have the honour of being the Head of Jury at Rotterdam 2022, our 22nd National Conference. There will be about 100 delegates gathering at this event. The strength of the EYP is that it is fully youth-led and so these young participants are the ones that will eventually take over the torch from us. If you join me in the Jury team, we will find those delegates who have something special to offer to EYP, and something to gain from staying involved. Our Jury team will focus not so much on performance, but on how delegates develop over the course of the session. Rather than using grades alone, I want us to base our decision on constructive and feedback-based comments. Our feedback should also be shared with delegates in an appropriate format, so they can continue their learning curve. All Jury Members’ views are valid and add something new. This is why we will do our work on the basis of consensus. After putting together our different observations and perspectives, we can complete the puzzle and make our final selection. Often the Jury is on the sidelines at EYP events, which is a loss for both the session and for Jury Members. I wish for the Jury Team of Rotterdam 2022 to be a connective force between all participants. Jury Members can contribute to the session’s learning environment by giving trainings and helping to prepare other Officials for their tasks. Jury Members can also join trainings given by other Officials. This way, the session truly becomes a collaborative project that the Jury is an essential part of. I hope to see you become a part of the collaboration that is Rotterdam 2022 by applying to join my team! Prior experience is no prerequisite. See you in Roffa, Jarne
QUESTIONS FOR JURY MEMBERS
1. Why do you wish to be part of the Jury Team at Rotterdam 2022? What will you enjoy most about being a Juror? 2. Please describe what you will bring to the Jury Team and what you expect to gain from it? Use concrete examples if possible. 3. Describe something that could negatively affect someone’s ability to be a good Juror. What should we be conscious of as a Jury? 4. What attributes do you consider the most important in a person when selecting them to represent EYP the Netherlands abroad? 5. Please provide your contact details so we can contact you about the outcome of the selection process.
ORGANISERS
QUESTIONS FOR ORGANISERS
As an organiser you have one of the most diverse and important roles at the session. We make sure that the foundation for the session is set, and that the conference runs smoothly. This means that there is a wide set of tasks for the organisers, pre, during and post the session. More concretely, these are: managing the HR with our participants, arranging the catering and materials, contact with external relations, implementation of our vision and the logistics of the session. Everyone should feel welcome to apply, Dutch or international, experienced or inexperienced. In our team, you will be able to challenge yourself, work in a close knit environment and develop your skills. We truly believe that we can make your experience worthy, rewarding and - most importantly - fun.
Please answer at least one of the questions in a different format of your choice (other than a block of text). Feel free to use the medium of your choice.
1. What motivates you to apply as an organiser for Rotterdam 2022? 2. What experience relevant to organising do you have, in- and out of EYP? 3. How would you incorporate the theme and/or the vision of Rotterdam 2022 into your work as an organiser? 4. Please explain what you would do in one of the following scenarios. a) You are on door duty the evening of the Welcome Party and see a group of delegates acting suspicious going in and out of their room. You suspect they are drinking. This is against the code of conduct of EYP NL, even for delegates that are above the age of 18. How would you handle the situation? b) You have arranged a bus from the Euroconcert venue back to the hostel, but it does not show up. It is cold, dark outside and a long walk back. How do you get the delegates and officials safely back to the hostel? 5. What is your availability up until the session, and how would this impact your role as an organiser at Roffa 2022? 6. Is there anything else you deem relevant for your application we need to know about you, like having a driver’s license, any additional comments or missing sessions from your Members Platform? 7. Please provide your email address and telephone number to allow us to reach you after the selection process.
HOW TO APPLY
Apply through the Members Platform. The calls for extended leadership are open from October 9 until October 24 23:59 (CEST). In case of any questions, feel free to reach out to the Head-Organisers at nationals@eyp.nl, Erdem at erdem. topcu@eypturkey.org, Anouck at anouck.guillot@eyp.be and Jarne at jarne.vanderpoel@ eyp.nl.
COVID-19
Though the current Covid situation in the Netherlands gives hope, it remains unclear what the regulations will be around the dates of the session. Please be aware that because of this, a physical session cannot be guaranteed. We will work in close cooperation with the NC Board to give a green-light for the session. Any tickets booked before that point will not be reimbursed.
CONTACT
For any questions or concerns, please send an email to nationals@eyp.nl. Stay updated about the conference by following the Facebook page and checking out the website.