CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
Chairs’ team
RISE 2016 – 82 nd International Session of the European
Youth Parliament
The 82nd International Session of the EYP will be held in Rennes, France between 14th and 23rd July
2016, under the session motto 'Diversity to reinvent ourselves’. The event will be presided by Mr
Lorenzo Parrulli (IT). You can read the Message from the President below. For more information
on the session, please, visit the event’s Facebook page.
We are now looking for 3 Vice-presidents, 12 Chairpersons and 1 or 2 Editors.
Chairpersons bear significant responsibilities and play a crucial role in the success of the event. Therefore, we
would be delighted if you were interested in making RISE 2016 an unforgettable event for the session’s
participants and the entire EYP community. All members of the Chairs’ team are required to arrive in Rennes by
Tuesday, 12th July in order to attend the training. Departures are on Sunday, 24th July. Additionally, please, note
that in preparation for the session all members of the Chairs’ team are required to attend the Chairs’ Academic
Training (CAT), that will take place between 6th and 8th May, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. All members are asked to
arrive on Thursday evening. Attendance of the CAT is an integral part of a member’s responsibilities. Expenses
of the training will be covered by the EYP-SF and the National Organising Committee.
Message from the President
Dear potential applicants,
To get involved in RISE 2016 as a Chairperson, Editor or Vice-president is a big commitment.
The first thing to consider is that International Sessions are not just ‘our flagship events’. They are international
projects with nearly 300 participants, six-figure budgets, important sponsors and partners, and high-level guest
speakers, planned and set up in over two years and executed in less than two weeks. Should you get selected
to the role you will apply for, you will become one of the volunteers responsible for the execution of this project.
The second thing to think carefully about is that the majority of the session elements and programme of
International Sessions is structured according to our policies and standards, but each International Session has
its peculiarities. The motto of RISE 2016 is ‘Diversity to reinvent ourselves’; this will be put into practice through
two major changes to the IS format: the working languages will be three – English, French and German – and
the participants will be also selected outside of EYP. To further analyse this aspect, I advise you to read the
‘Message from the National Organising Committee’ in the Call for the President of RISE 2016.
The third thing to recognise is that from your selection until the fulfilment of your post-session duties you will
be spending quite some time working for and on this project. The Head-organisers and I have already had
several Skype meetings and laid down a working plan for the next few months; given the amount of dedication
and enthusiasm they, together with their team, have put into this project, you will have no choices than to roll
up your sleeves and help us. With regard to this, both the Vice-presidents and the Editors will become part of
the Leadership Team of the session, along with the Head-organisers and me: I expect them to be fully involved
in the design of the organisational structure of the Chairs’ Team.
The fourth thing to look at is that you will have different responsibilities, depending on your role, but will not
live this experience in your Chairperson’s, Editor’s or Vice-president’s watertight compartment. Surely,
Chairpersons will spend most of their times with their committees, Editors with their team, Vice-presidents with
their committees, with the Chairpersons and with the President; but all of you will be involved in cross-team
and cross-committee activities, that will aim creating a general experience for all participants.
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The fifth thing to reflect on is that at the centre of this project there will be the delegates: for some it will be yet
another EYP session, for others it will be the long-awaited first International Session, and for others again it will
be the first contact with our organisation. Our only, but not even primary, success indicator will not be the rate
of delegates who will stay or get involved in EYP after RISE 2016; to keep this session as a one-time experience
or to make it a stepping stone to long-term membership will be up to the participants. Regardless of their
background and intentions, we will make them enjoy the experience as much as we can.
The sixth thing to keep in mind is that the views and opinions I have expressed in this message regarding the
way this project could be carried out do not have any ‘constitutional value’; they are, and will remain, debatable.
In fact, freedom of thought will be an imperative for our team. I am looking for people who are willing to make
this project their own, to challenge their opinions and the ones of the others, and to return from Rennes with a
different understanding of this organisation, of our methods, of our activities, and of their own skillset: in brief,
people who are willing to reinvent themselves.
The last, but most important, thing to focus on is that all this will be fun: because we are volunteers, because it
is summer, and because we enjoy doing what we do.
If you have any questions on the application form, or you would like to discuss your ideas for RISE 2016, don’t
hesitate to contact me at [email protected]. I am looking forward to reading your applications.
Lorenzo Parrulli
President of the 82nd International Session of the European Youth Parliament
Selection criteria
According to EYP policies, the Selection panel is looking for individuals with the following qualities:
i. Excellent English language skills;
ii. Good knowledge of and interest in European issues;
iii. High sense of responsibility, expressed motivation and commitment to further EYP’s objectives;
iv. Previous group facilitation and EYP experience;
v. Good planning and organisational skills;
vi. Ability to lead a group and good understanding of group dynamics;
vii. Ability to work as a member of a team and with individuals from various cultural and socio-economic
backgrounds;
viii. Creativity and personal vision for the role desirable.
Additional for Editors:
i. A clear vision and plan for the media team and its output;
ii. Excellent leadership skills and understanding of group dynamics;
iii. Creativity in all aspects of the work of the media team;
iv. Previous media team experience;
v. Ability to critically assess contemporary media production technologies.
Additional for Vice-presidents:
i. Excellent English language skills;
ii. Excellent knowledge of and interest in European issues;
iii. High sense of responsibility, expressed motivation and commitment to further EYP’s objectives;
iv. Substantial facilitation experience at EYP events including a minimum of one International Session
attended as a chair;
v. Very good planning and organisational skills;
vi. Excellent leadership skills and advanced understanding of group dynamics as well as
ability to provide feedback;
vii. Ability to work as a member of a team and with individuals from various cultural and
socio-economic backgrounds;
viii. A solid understanding of the EYP and a strong personal vision for the role;
ix. Training experience: ability to plan, run and evaluate training modules;
x. Ability to represent EYP in an official capacity;
xi. A sense of awareness of one’s own strengths and weaknesses in the role.
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 Chairs’ 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 President Mr Lorenzo Parrulli (IT), past session President Ms Luca
Olumets (EE), a member of the Governing Body Mr Hans Maes (BE) and a designated member of the NOC Mr
William Goyet (FR).
According to the Policy on the Selection of International Session Officials to be eligible for selection, the
applicant needs to have at least one official EYP evaluation.
In case you are unsure if you are eligible to apply, you can contact the Human Resources Officer of the EYP at
hr@eyp. org.
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 with the
platform, please, get in touch with [email protected]);
2. Update your personal profile on the platform. Please, make sure your full name, country, Home National
Committee and contact information are available and updated.
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3. Sign up for the 82nd International Session in Rennes 2016 as either a Vice-president, Chairperson or an Editor
and fill in the 'additional fields' in the application form (questions are listed below). If you wish to apply for
multiple positions, please, send one of your applications in PDF format to [email protected]. Please, include the
personal information (full name, country, Home NC and contact details) in the offline application, as well as
your answers to the questions.
4. Once you have submitted your application on the platform, please, send your updated session history using
the template provided on the event’s page on the Alumni platform to [email protected]. Please, note that this is one
of the prerequisites for your application to be considered.
5. The deadline for submitting your application on the platform and sending in your updated Session History
document to the [email protected] is Monday, 8th February at 12:00 (noon) CET.
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 Alumni platform at http://alumni.eypej.org/governance.
Application questions
Please, note that the panel will be looking 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.
1. Explain how you fulfil the criteria for the position you are applying for and support your reasoning with
concrete examples. (max 250 words)
2. Identify and discuss your key strengths and weaknesses as Chairperson/Vice-president/Editor and how
you intend to work on the latter at the session. (max 250 words)
Additionally, for Chairpersons:
3. What is your area of interest and knowledge in European affairs? Suggest a topic you would like to
facilitate at the session, and explain why. (max 250 words)
4. In your view, what role does chairing play within EYP? In what ways will delegates benefit from having
you as their Chairperson? (max 150 words)
Additionally, for Vice-presidents:
3. In light of the recently published documents ‘International Strategy 2016-2020’ and ‘Education in the
EYP’, how do you see RISE 2016, with its peculiar session elements, contributing to the development of
our organisation? (max 250 words)
4. Leadership and RISE 2016: In your view, what does leadership by the session board entail in the context
of the session? What is your understanding of providing support to the President? (max 150 words)
Additionally, for Editors:
3. Explain how the Media team led by you would contribute to the academic and social experience of the
participants of RISE 2016 by outlining your vision and concrete ideas for the Media team and its output.
Please provide us with a link to significant media contents of your creation (whether specific for this
application or produced for previous projects), and state who you would like to edit with. (no word limit)
The deadline for submitting your application on the platform and sending in your updated Session History to
the [email protected] is Monday, 8th February at 12:00 (noon) CET.
The selection will only begin once the application deadline is over. All the applicants will be informed
individually about the outcome of the selection process.
Should you have any questions regarding the application procedure, please contact the EYP HR Officer at
[email protected].
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