Paid Opportunity at YEE | Call for project team!

Spreading pollen

Empowering youth to engage in the conservation of pollinators

Call for preparatory project team members! 

Length of engagement: March 2021 – June 2021

Timeline of engagement: 

• March 2021 – June 2021: Regular online meetings and independent work, approximately 3 hours/ week (the weekly time commitment is an estimation and might be distributed unevenly within the timeframe of the project)
• 26th-28th March 2021 and 9th-11th April 2021: Preparation of training courses (3 full days spread over these two weekends)
• 14th-16th May 2021 and 21st- 23rd of May 2021: Training courses days (3.5 days spread over these two weekends)

Compensation: 600 EURO (for the total duration of the project)

Application deadline: 10th March 2021 / Midnight CET 

Context

Pollinators are an essential component of healthy ecosystems that both animals and humans depend on for food and shelter. However, pollinators have been declining at unprecedented rates. Appreciating the severity of the decline of wild pollinators, the European Commission has adopted the EU Pollinators Initiative in order to tackle it. The initiative sets long-term strategic objectives towards 2030, and short-term actions to put the EU on the right path towards reversing their decline. In this regard, The Joint Research Centre (JRC) supports DG Environment through the STING project aiming to increase collaboration in reverting the decline of pollinators. Understanding the importance and potential of youth involvement in biodiversity matters, the JRC has decided to support youth initiatives in fostering engagement in the conservation of wild pollinators. 

As part of this project, two training courses will be delivered exploring different avenues of involving young citizens, on the topics of community engagement and advocacy. The training courses will complement citizen engagement activities under the STING project by identifying potential multipliers for youth engagement (such as youth organisations and networks) on the conservation of wild pollinators, and organising virtual courses to motivate, train and educate them with a view to scale up youth engagement on the topics. The planned training courses aim to provide youth groups the knowledge and tools necessary to engage and mobilise others in the conservation of pollinators. 

We are currently recruiting a prep team for the first course (community engagement) and a separate call for a prep team for the advocacy training will be launched during the summer.

Selected prep team members of the community engagement training course may have the option to join the second training on advocacy if they wish. 

About the Training course: Community engagement on pollinators conservation

This course will focus on equipping youth to lead awareness raising activities with a view of mobilising community action. It aims to empower youth to become pollinators champions in their communities through coordinating decentralised direct action. The expected outcomes of the training include:

• Participants will gain an understanding of pollinators ecology, their importance in ecosystem functioning and the main threats to pollinators 
• A diverse community of young Europeans passionate about pollinators conservation will be built
• Participants will feel empowered to take action within their respective communities
• Public support will be generated for European initiatives relating to pollinators conservation through the design of initiatives
• A library of resources on pollinators will be created

The entire training is based on experiential learning and non-formal education and will include a wide array of activities in the virtual space. It is grounded in generating actionable ideas fit for real life situations.

Role specifications

Key responsibilities

Each team member would be involved in the following activities:

• Assist in promoting  the training and selecting the participants
  • Share the calls through your networks and social media to recruit motivated applicants
  • Assist in identifying and reaching out to potential participants
  • Assist in selecting successful applicants
• Designing the training course
  • Work with the trainer to design the full learning journey as well as the individual sessions you will deliver
  • Prepare sessions and create support materials (visual powerpoint templates, accompanying applications, handouts, etc.)
• Delivering the training course
  • Facilitate agreed upon training sessions (Facilitation training will be provided)
  • Provide any technical or facilitation support during sessions of other prep team members
• Contribute to the writing of final reports required by the funders during and after the delivery of the training
• Attend regular team meetings between March and June 2021 
  • It is obligatory for all prep team members to attend the following dates:
    • March 2021 – June 2021: Regular online meetings and independent work, approximately 3 hours/ week (the weekly time commitment is an estimation and might be distributed unevenly within the timeframe of the project)
    • 26th-28th March 2021 and 9th-11th April 2021: Preparation of training courses (3 full days spread over these two weekends)
    • 14th-16th May 2021 and 21st- 23rd of May 2021: Training courses days (3.5 days spread over these two weekends, exact schedule to be determined with the Prep Team)
• Assist with any other duties that might arise for the successful implementation of the training.

All of the above will be undertaken collectively by the entire prep team and all team members will be supported by the Project Leader and the Lead Trainer so fear not!

Requirements

• Must be 18-30 years old 
• Must be an EU resident
• Ability to commit to the full project between March and June 2021
• Must be available during the specified dates for preparation (26-28 March 2021 and 9-11 April 2021) and delivery of the training (14th-16th May 2021 and 21st- 23rd of May 2021)
• Advanced level-Fluent in English
• Have previous experience designing and implementing training courses and workshops  (either in person or online) related to environmental awareness and/or community engagement
• A strong interest and a working knowledge on the topic of pollinators
• Strong communication and teamwork skills
• Self-motivated, organised and dependable
• Able to work independently and stick to deadlines
• Flexibility and adaptability 

Assets (Optional)

• A background in education and/or the environment sector
• Previous experience with involvement in pollinators conservation
• Active in youth networks and organisations

About the Project Leader

This project is led by Venetia Galanaki, YEE Liaison Officer on Oceans & Arctic. Venetia is a young conservationist from Greece who is active in the youth environmental movement. She currently serves as the Biodiversity Working Group Coordinator at Generation Climate Europe and the Liaison Officer on Oceans and the Arctic at Youth and Environment Europe. In both organisations her role is to open up the space for youth voices to be included in decision making. 

Apply by submitting this form before the 10th March 2021 / Midnight CET.

For any further questions or clarifications please email Ven (Project Leader) at venetia.galanaki@yeenet.eu 

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