Vacancy for a volunteer at UNITED, Amsterdam

This is way "off topic" but you never know maybe this is exactly what you are looking for [Very happy]

This is perfectly legitimate and not spam... see also http://www.unitedagainstracism.org/
Their email address is
info::at::unitedagainstracism.org

UNITED is looking for EVS Volunteers!
Who wants to be involved in the work of the international secretariat of the UNITED Network?

****Please distribute this call for volunteer within your organisation****

The UNITED secretariat in Amsterdam is looking for help to keep the European-wide Network against Racism, Fascism, Nationalism and in support of Migrants and Refugees moving - and therefore aims to recruit volunteers directly from its partner organisations.

We are preparing an EVS project that will cover accommodation and living costs (EUR 450,-/per month), pocket money (EUR 115,-/month), one time the travel to Amsterdam and back home, health insurance, all visa costs and visa-related costs, residence permit and vaccination costs and travel costs concerning the training and evaluation cycle.

For more information on EVS see: http://ec.europa.eu/you ... doc82_en.htm

First starting dates of the projects would be 1st September 2008 and 1st March 2009 and the volunteer will work preferably 12 months in the UNITED secretariat in Amsterdam.
It is a unique chance to gain experience in the diverse working fields of UNITED and to train new working skills in an international environment.

Below you find a description of the different projects/tasks the volunteer will be involved in and also a volunteers profile. Beside these requested tasks the volunteer will have the possibility to advance and evolve in his work and to take more responsibility in UNITED projects. It is always possible to show additional commitment serving own projects or personal interest within the working fields of UNITED - of course we encourage you to use therefore all the provided tools of the secretariat and the network itself.
If you are interested please forward us (info::at::unitedagainstracism.org) your Curriculum Vitae and the filled in Expression of Interest form until latest Sunday 18th May 2008.

Please note: The tasks at the UNITED secretariat consist mostly out of administrative office work! Visits to local NGOs and community projects are scheduled, but in general the UNITED secretariat develops, creates and maintains networking and campaigning tools to serve grass-roots initiatives all over Europe - it acts as platform of the European anti-discrimination movement and enables NGOs to get active on local and national level and to start co-operations with like-minded partners.

Volunteers profile:
- Between 21 and 30 years
- Legally resident of a EU member state, or Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Egypt, Former Yugoslavia, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Morocco, Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Republic of Macedonia, Norway, Russian Federation, Serbia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine
- Committed in the European anti-discrimination movement
- Member of a NGO working in the anti-discrimination field (preferable NGOs that are already accredited as EVS sending organisation)
- Good language skills in English (speaking and writing)
- Experience in office work (sufficient skills in using Office programmes like Word, typing, electronically communication, using the WWW and concerning general office tasks)
- Basic computer skills
- Able to work independent, but also team-oriented
- Good sense of self-responsibility
- Flexible (priorities are adopted due to the needs of the network and working tasks can change rapidly)
- Personal reliability
- Reasonable self-confidence
- Proficient self-assessment

We are looking for activists who would like to take responsibility in the following projects/tasks within the UNITED secretariat:

Calendar of Internationalism
The Calendar of Internationalism is an ongoing project of the UNITED Network and constantly overseen by volunteers in the UNITED secretariat. The Calendar acts as public source and information tool about events, seminars, training courses, conferences, demonstrations, exhibitions, festivals, campaigns and any other action linked with the working fields of UNITED. It is a promotion tool for active groups and organisations in Europe, but also an international action agenda for active citizens and activists in Europe.
This project was implemented in 1992 and proofed to be an excellent reference guide to good practices and co-operations within the European anti-racist movement. As the information 'comes' from the movement to serve the movement, it documents the ongoing struggle for equality and reflects the themes and dimension of the anti-discrimination work in Europe.
Beside the weekly-updated online version of the Calendar, UNITED publishes 4-5 printed editions every year (each containing about 140-160 announcements). With every printed edition of the "Calendar of Internationalism" UNITED displays a special 'Good Practice' case selected from previous activities that took place within the anti-racist movement in Europe.

Tasks
- Researching of publications, agendas, Emails and web pages for events within the European anti-discrimination movement to be documented in the calendar (the secretariat receives daily hundreds of Emails and publications that has to be looked through!)
- Creating the entries for the calendar (formulating of the entries and completing the necessary data concerning contact details and themes)
- Weekly update of the on-line version of the calendar
- Researching and documenting special "Good Practices" that took place within the European ant-discrimination movement
- Creating of a printed edition of the calendar (4-5 times a year)

Coordination of the "International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism" around 9th November 2008/2009
November 9 is the "International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism" and symbolises the beginning of the Holocaust. At that date in 1938 the Nazis unleashed the 'Kristallnacht' pogrom against Jews: Synagogues were set on fire, Jews faced brutal violence on the streets and Jewish shops were ransacked and devastated during the so-called 'Night of Broken Glasses'. It was just the very beginning of the darkest European hour.
To the occasion of the International Day Against Fascism and Antisemitism UNITED unifies organisations all over Europe under one slogan to commemorate the Holocaust and take a stand against present right-wing extremism.

Coordination of the "European-wide Action Week Against Racism" around 21st March 2009/2010
On 21 March 1960 police opened machine-gun fire on a peaceful anti-apartheid demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa: 69 demonstrators were killed and nearly 200 injured. This event storied as the 'Sharpeville Massacre'.
In reaction to this massacre and to protest against the legitimisation of racism and white superiority in the South African regime (1948-1994), the United Nations declared 21 March the 'International Day for the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination'.
In 1992 UNITED initiated the first European-wide Action Week Against Racism and coordinates it since then every year with growing numbers of participating NGOs. The Action Week has become the broadest annual anti-racism campaign in Europe, inviting people to get active to promote the values of equality, respect and diversity.

Tasks in coordinating a campaign
- Preparation and planning of the campaign (slogan, campaign material, contents, campaign descriptions etc.)
- Motivation and stimulation of NGOs to take part in the campaign with concrete actions
- Creation and constant update of a "List of Activities"
- Assistance and support of NGOs in setting up actions or partnerships
- Coordination of the divers actions all over Europe and contact building with like-minded actions in the same period
- Creating public awareness through media (media releases)
- Disseminating of campaign- and info material to the participating NGOs (via post mailing)
- Participation in events that take place within the campaign (in the Netherlands)
- Documentation of the actions that took place during the campaign
- Creation of a campaign report

Preparation and organisation of UNITED Network Conferences
Every year UNITED organises international network conferences bringing together around 70-90 NGO's from up to 40 countries each time. To ensure that different interests and viewpoints are taken into account and the diversity within the UNITED network is represented, each conference is prepared by a rotating International Preparatory Group (IPG). The IPG consists of committed activists from different regions of Europe and prepares the conferences in close cooperation with the UNITED secretariat in Amsterdam. The conferences are organised as part of the network's overall work and conferences are seen as catalyst part of a longer process. The conferences have many links to the other work in the network, such as the campaigns and the publications. There is an interaction between the information exchange through the mailings and the conferences; there is an interaction between the conferences and the campaigns that are coordinated on a European level, etc.

Tasks
- Technical preparation of the conference (communication with participants about travel, visa, accommodation etc.; preparation of all technical equipment; technical assistance of the IPG)
- Organisation of the conference on spot (preparing of the venue before conference starts; keeping working group room, plenary and other spaces on the venue tidy up and organised; technical assistance of experts and participants before and during plenary or presentations; maintenance of all technical equipment; preparation and implementation of side events and evening program)
- Administrative tasks concerning travel reimbursement of participants
- Assistance in the evaluation process of the conference

Maintenance of the UNITED Database and Archive
The internal UNITED database maintains details on over 8000 diverse contacts all over Europe and builds the basic fundament of the UNITED network and its tools. Since the database is also one of the essential tools in the secretariat's daily work a constant review and update on its data is required.
The archive forms the backbone of the UNITED information service. With documentation on more than 3000 organisations, UNITED holds the biggest an most up to date databank of material in its working field. Journalists and organisations both inside and outside the network use archived material provided by the UNITED secretariat.
Since 1998 UNITED has cooperated with the International Institute of Social History (IISH) of the University of Amsterdam with the aim to preserve the archive in a responsible way. The archive is handed over to the IISH for further research and safekeeping - already more than 50 m archived material from UNITED is preserved by the IISH.

Tasks
- Review and update of old entries
- Establishing new contacts (via web and media research and by contacting 'new' organisations all over Europe)
- Review of all publications and printed material that reaches the UNITED secretariat (research on calendar entries, new organisations, funding possibilities, related projects, refugee death cases etc.)
- Registering and archiving of all publications and printed material that reaches the UNITED secretariat
- Assistance with researches in the database and archive

Maintenance of the UNITED web page
The web page provides public access to the UNITED Database, to the "Calendar of Internationalism", to all products ever published by UNITED (for free download) and it holds detailed information on campaigns, projects and conferences. The secretariat in Amsterdam takes the responsibility for maintenance, advancing and up-dating of the web-page.

Tasks
- Creation and maintenance of HTML pages
- Maintenance of the UNITED Apple computer Network (11 computers)

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EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

***Please forward us the filled in form and your Curriculum Vitae until latest Sunday 18th May 2008 to info::at::unitedagainstracism.org***

First name volunteer:
Family name volunteer:
Street:
Postal code:
City:
Country:
Private e-mail delegate:
Phone:
Mobile phone:
Nationality:
Legal citizen in:
Date of birth:
Male: Female:

Did you ever participated in an EVS project before?
no yes (please specify)

Do you consider yourself as part of a minority?
no yes (please specify)

Name organisation:
Name organisation in English:
Abbreviation name organisation:
Street:
Postal code:
City:
Country:
Phone organisation:
Mobile phone organisation:
Fax organisation:
E-mail organisation:
Website organisation:
EI reference number (EVS accreditation):

Preferred starting time internship: 1/9/08 1/10/08 1/1/09 1/3/09 1/9/09 1/1/10 1/3/10 1/9/10

Preferred length of stay: 6 months / 9 months / 12 months

What is your motivation to apply for this volunteers project:

What do you think will be the benefit for you and for the UNITED Network:

Please describe the work you are doing and the specific projects you have been involved in:

Please describe your competences and abilities (referred to the project/task description in the call):

Please specify your technical skills (computer, office experience etc.) and language skills:

Indicate the field(s) of your activity:
put a cross before the relevant field(s)
[ ] Anti-nationalism
[ ] Anti-racism
[ ] Anti-fascism
[ ] Migrant / minority rights
[ ] Refugee support
[ ] Human rights
[ ] Youth work
[ ] Roma issues
[ ] General Discrimination
[ ] Other:

Have you personally experienced racism and/or discrimination?
No:
Yes: (please, specify)

***Please forward us the filled in form and your Curriculum Vitae until latest Sunday 18th May 2008 to info::at::unitedagainstracism.org***

Perhaps I should "up sticks"?

Jay