December 20, 2012
IGLYO
[Deadline for applications extended until 16th January 2013, midnight CET]
We are excited to inform you that IGLYO is to hold a conference “STOP H8 – Tackling Bullying in Europe”, which will take place in Oslo, Norway, from the 10th till 16th of May, 2013. The conference will be organized in partnership with IGLYO’s Norwegian Member Organisation Skeiv Ungdom (Queer Youth Norway). The event has been kindly supported by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe.
The conference will address the themes of education, bullying and LGBTQ youth.
The conference pursues the following objectives:
– To facilitate discussion and understanding of the concept of bullying that is grounded LGBTQ youth experiences;
– Gain knowledge of the different structures that can be used to tackle bullying, and to develop strategies to combat bullying in national/regional contexts;
– Identify various types of bullying, including school bullying, cyber bullying, and bias-based violence.
The “Stop H8 – Tackling Bullying in Europe” conference will gather 32 participants from across the pan-European region for the 5-day event held in Oslo, Norway.
We will use the experiences of young LGBTQ people to gain understanding of the particular issues underlying bullying. The conference seeks to enact social change for LGBTQ youth. We will discuss interventions in schools, on social media sites, and with authorities.
The discussions will be based on the Council of Europe’s standards on “Combating discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity”, particularly article VI which addresses the right to education in a safe environment free from violence, bullying, social exclusion or other forms of discriminatory and degrading treatment related to sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.
We will also highlight best practices from across Europe, including the Gay-Straight Alliance model from the Netherlands, the Stand Up! campaign from Ireland, and other efforts combating bullying from participants’ home countries. We will look at the situation in Norway and hear from authorities and activists from other regions. Finally, we will use action-planning models to ensure that participants will multiply their knowledge. We will also draft follow-up materials, possibly including
an anti-bullying web-based toolkit.
We have opened this call for preparatory team members to help plan, organize and facilitate this conference. The team will consist in total of six people (1 IGLYO Board member, 2 members of IGLYO’s Education Working Group and two (or 3) external representatives to be included in the preparatory team), taking into consideration the gender and geographical balance within the team.
The preparatory team will have following responsibilities:
– Work within the themes, identify methods of facilitation for each session within the conference program using both non-formal and some formal methodology;
– Select participants on the basis of the given selection criteria;
– Coordinate the running of the event with the rest of the team, including daily reflection groups;
– Ensure a good cohesion and flow among different program elements;
– Implement the program by facilitating/moderating workshops and chairing plenary sessions;
– Write the conference report and evaluation;
– Maintain follow-up work after the conference to identify progress made by participants in their own countries.
The ideal candidates should:
– Be fluent in English (the conference working language will be English);
– Have experience of LGBTQ youth work;
– Have experience with the theme of bullying (especially bullying in school) and safe and inclusive education intervention programs;
– Have experience in leading non-formal education workshops and activities and be a confident facilitator;
– Be between 18 and 30 years of age;
– Be available to attend the preparatory team meeting (date to be confirmed) and 8th to 16th of May 2013 conference in Oslo, Norway;
– Be a good team player, responsive and ready to provide a reasonable amount of preparation work before and after the event, mostly by e-mail and over Skype (between c. 1 and 8 hours a week as the event approaches);
– Be motivated to work in a stimulating, challenging and fun environment of young queer people!
Candidates will be selected on the basis of geographical balance, gender balance, and a good reflection of the LGBTQ diversity. All related expenses (travel, accommodation and subsistence costs) will be covered by IGLYO.
Interested candidates can apply by sending their CV/resume and a motivation letter to the IGLYO Education Working Group coordinator Despina Michaelidou at despina@iglyo.com, presenting yourself, your previous experience on the issue and/or in IGLYO events and your availability for the preparatory meeting.
Please, describe in your motivation letter (not more than 500 words):
– Why you are interested in this particular event;
– What qualifies you to be a preparatory team member;
– What expectations you have from the conference and
– Your relevant skills and experiences.
If you have any question, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
The prep team members will be selected by the IGLYO Executive Board.
Successful candidates will be notified by January 15th 2013.
The deadline for sending CVs/resumes with the motivation letters is January 16th 2013 (midnight CET).
Please, note that applications received after the set deadline will not be considered.
