IRSA

N1KD Coordinator:

IRSA is seeking next year’s N1KD coordinator. Night of a Thousand Dinners (N1KD) has been a highlight event for IRSA for 10 years. It is an entirely student run fundraiser dedicated to raising awareness of the global landmine crisis and its devastating effect on international communities. N1KD coordinator is one of the most important positions in IRSA, and the candidate must have relevant experience in fundraising, sponsorship gathering, and event coordination. He/she is responsible for the entire coordination of the event, and is expected to dedicate at least 5 hours a week in the planning of the event.

To apply email resume and statement of interest to Chaerean Kim at : irsa.n1kdcoordinator@gmail.com

Career Night Coordinator:

Time commitment- 5hrs/week

As the career fair coordinator, you will be expected to organize and put on IRSA’s career fair for the 2013/14 academic year.  Responsibilities will include contacting and inviting panelists, setting up a venue, catering and deciding on the format of the panel.  As a member of IRSA, you will also need to attend weekly meetings and help out at other IRSA events.  Candidates for this position should be well organized, experienced  or interested in event planning.

Please forward resume and statement of interest to Marie Apaloo at: irsa.careers@gmail.com.

We’re incredibly excited to announce the 2013-2014 IRSA Executive!

President: Kelsey Brooks
Vice-President External: Terralynn Forsyth
Vice-President Internal: Beckie Che
Treasurer: Emma Lange
Public Relations Officer: Jonah Brook
Vice-President Administration: Aman Basra
AUS Representative: Mike Hills
Graduate Representative: Chelsea Brookes
Sports and Social Coordinator: Chelsea Johnston

And our incoming appointed officers!

Journal of International Affairs Editor: Kelsey Franks
UBCMUN Secretary-General: Jennine Punzalan
Community Liaison: Sarah Manshreck

We look forward to seeing how you’ll bring IRSA forward in the coming year.

For those still interested in IRSA involvement, keep an eye out for our postings for exec assistants, as well as N1KD and Career Night coordinators!

The International Relatons Student Association 2013-2014 Executive Elections

Do you love International Relations? Do you want to work with other amazing students who also love IR and get involved with one of the most active clubs on campus? Then consider running for an executive position! IRSA members are also encouraged to attend and vote for the candidates they would like see to represent them.
IRSA invites any UBC undergraduate student from any faculty to run for the following IRSA executive positions for the 2013-2014 academic year­
* President
* Vice-President External
* Vice-President Internal
* Treasurer
* Public Relations Officer
* Vice-President Administration
* Arts Undergraduate Society Representative
* International Relations Graduate Representative
* Sport and Social Coordinator

The elections procedure is as follows:

Please submit, by the end of the day on Wednesday, March 13th at 11:59pm, a “Statement of Interest” paragraph. This paragraph should include the position(s) you are interested in running for, your previous experience with IRSA, other relevant experience, and how you intend to contribute to the club.

If you are interested in more than one position, please list your choices in order of preference.

Applications must be sent to Anna Lindsay-Baugh, IRSA Vice President Administration, at irsa.sec@gmail.com no later than 11:59 PM on March 13th. Please write “IRSA Elections” in the subject of your email. You are encouraged to submit your statements as early as possible, as they will be posted online, on the IRSA blog, for members to view prior to the elections. Only those who submit their statements prior will have their statements posted on the website.

Students will be permitted to run for more than one position on the day of the elections, provided they have indicated their interest in multiple positions in writing prior to the elections. Please include your choices in order of preference in your email. For uncontested positions, nominations will be accepted from the floor. In addition, candidates should prepare a 1 minute short speech for election night, to be read before the votes take place. 

Any additional questions concerning the election and the procedure can be directed to Lauren Clarotto at irsa.vpi@gmail.com.

The election will be held :

When: Thursday, March 14th, 5pm-7pm

Where: Food, Nutrition and Health Building, Room 60, 2205 East Mall

(see map: http://www.maps.ubc.ca/PROD/index_detail.php?showMapCampus=y&bldg1ID=449)

Position Descriptions:

President
Weekly time commitment: 20 hours

Requires previous IRSA Executive experience. (Previous IRSA experience permitted in the event that the position is unopposed. This includes, but is not limited to: participation in the executive, a conference organizing committee, an external delegation, the JIA editorial team, or regular attendance at IRSA meetings and activities.)

The President of IRSA acts as IRSA’s ultimate representative to UBC and the community. To run for President, you should be friendly, articulate, and willing to speak to people across the spectrum: from a first year student to ambassadors. The president is expected to be familiar with and act as a leader in all of IRSA’s activities and to deliver public speeches on several occasions.

Vice-President, External
Weekly time commitment: 10 hours
The VP, External (VPX) is responsible for maintaining IRSA’s relations with external groups and individuals, including but not limited to the various offices of UBC, AMS, domestic and international communities.  VPX’s primary responsibility is to coordinate all funding applications for IRSA’s projects. This position requires strong professional communication skills, personality, organization and the ability to meet application deadlines.

Vice-President, Internal
Weekly time commitment: 10 hours
The VP, Internal is responsible for maintaining IRSA’s relations inside the club, including but not limited to the executive, members and member recruitment. The VPI’s primary responsibility is to plan weekly meetings and to ensure the active engagement of members. The position also includes maintenance of the IRSA office and requires strong organizational and communication skills.

Treasurer
Weekly time commitment: 10 hours
The treasurer is responsible for maintaining IRSA’s finances and accounting records, and as the main liaison with the Alma Mater Society (AMS), handles all contracts and legal documents.  The treasurer is in charge of tracking IRSA’s revenues and expenditures, and ensuring that IRSA’s budget is balanced.

Vice-President Administration
Weekly time commitment: 10 hours
IRSA’s Vice-President Administration is in charge of maintaining IRSA’s email list and membership database, updating the website, and booking rooms for meetings. The VPA must attend all executive meetings and provide minutes to executive members in a timely fashion.  The VPA is also responsible for editing and distributing the weekly “IRSA Gazette” publication, which highlights current club activities, UBC events, internship opportunities, etc. The VPA also responds to general inquiries about the club.

Public Relations Officer
Weekly time commitment: 10 hours
The Public Relations position involves coordination with all members of the executive. First and foremost, the PR officer circulates information about IRSA and its events via emails, posters, social media and in-class presentations. PR responsibilities require the PR Officer to work with all of IRSA’s unique portfolios (such as N1KD, UBC MUN, Career Night, and the JIA to name a few) to ensure that they are properly advertised and efficiently run. The PR officer is also responsible for promoting IRSA’s image in the community. This requires self-motivation, strong networking skills, creativity and enthusiasm.

Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) Representative
Weekly time commitment: 10 hours
The AUS Representative requires an enthusiastic and dedicated individual who is available to attend both AUS and IRSAexecutive meetings every week.  The AUS rep is additionally required to attend two AUS office hours per week.  The AUS Rep acts as a liaison between the AUS and IRSA, facilitating effective communication and coordination regarding common initiatives and funding opportunities.

International Relations Graduate Representative
Weekly time commitment: 7 hours
As the representative for IR Grads, the IR Graduate Representative (Grad Rep) should be a graduating student who will be responsible for gathering and disseminating information for IR graduates. This will include coordinating grad photos as well as providing information regarding graduate schools, work and internship opportunities for graduating students to be posted on the website.  During the first semester, the Grad Rep will organize and facilitate a panel discussion of professors speaking about post-graduate opportunities.  The Grad Rep is also responsible for organizing a grad event at the end of the academic year.

Sport and Social Coordinator
Weekly time commitment: 5 hours
The sport and social coordinator is responsible for organizing IRSA’s social and community building events. This may include BZZR gardens, intramural teams, field trips or fundraising events. They may also be requested to assist in contributing to social aspects of other portfolios.

The International Relations Student Association (IRSA) of UBC would like to invite you to attend our annual career night. We are very excited to present a diverse and accomplished panel of professionals who will be speaking about their respective careers:

• Ashley Milburn-Program Manager at Department of National Defense
• Angie Osachoff- Play it fair coordinator in Vancouver for Equitas, the International Centre for Human Rights Education
• Robin Bajer- Immigration and Refugee law lawyer and civil litigator
• Norma Hogan-Romann- Online Communications Specialist
  
• Christy Louth- Executive director at Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth 
• Bibhas Vaze- Criminal Lawyer
  
• Johannes Vervloed- the Dutch Consul General in Canada
  
• Aidan- founder of Social Media Startup

The format of the event will proceed as follows: we will begin with an official welcome and introduction of the panelists. Each panelist will then speak about their career experience for approximately 10 minutes. Topics will include things such as educational background, how they arrived in their current employment positions, what daily work is like, the negatives and positives of their chosen careers and suggestions and advice for students interested in pursuing similar careers. As attendees, you will thus learn from those with first hand experience about many IR careers which you may be interested in pursuing in your own future.

Following this we will have a question and answer period where students may direct questions at individual panelists or bring questions forth to the panel as a whole. We will conclude the Q&A period with a brief closing speech. Finally, panelists and students will be free to mingle and enjoy a delicious dinner provided by IRSA. This informal session will allow students to approach individual panelists whom they would like to speak with and for everyone to continue networking and getting to know one another in a more casual setting.

Admission will be $5 and tickets will be available for online purchase HERE or at the door. However, space will be limited thus if you want to guarantee entrance we recommend buying tickets online beforehand.

This is a wonderful opportunity to benefit from the experience and knowledge of experts who work in the field of IR. On behalf of IRSA, we are greatly looking forward to seeing you at this event.

Facebook event: HERE

When: THIS Wednesday, February 27th, 4:30pm-6:30pm
Where: Buchanan Penthouse (Buchanan B, top floor)

IRSA and the International Relations Program are hosting a surprise party for chief coordinator Irina Florov who will be retiring from the IR program at the end of the month. Irina will continue to work half-time and advise students in Political Science and in U.S. Studies.

Given Irina’s contribution to the entire IR/Poli student body we are hosting a surprise night of appreciation which will feature a slideshow and some commemorative speeches. A series of desserts and refreshments will be provided. We encourage attendees with good stories or memories of Irina to share them at the event, there will be an informal order and also chance for impromptu speaking. E-mail irsa.vpi.assistant@gmail.com if you would like to be included as a planned speaker.

Irina will be arriving at the Penthouse at 5:00 sharp with Jessica Wang, and we’ll be waiting to surprise her. As such, punctuality is crucial to the success of the surprise, PLEASE ARRIVE BETWEEN 4:30-4:50, OR AT 5:20, NOT IN-BETWEEN.

For all the details please visit the Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/352205078227526/ 

We invite you to be part of this dynamic team of student volunteers to make the 21st annual UBCMUN assembly the best one yet. Previous Model UN experience is not necessary for a number of these positions, so we urge anyone interested to take advantage of this opportunity and apply.

Please send a resume and cover letter stating your top 3 position choices to irsa.ubcmun@gmail.com. Address all applications to Mike Hills, Chief of Staff. The application deadline is February 20, 2013.

Academic Resources

Director-General Previous Model UN experience required

The Director-General is in charge of the substantive program for the conference. Working in tandem with the Chief of Staff, the DG helps to recruit and manage substantive staff over the course of the year, as well as their training. The DG facilitates the planning of committees and topics, development of any special simulations, and management of the background guide writing process. Finally, the Director-General is responsible for mentoring and teaching substantive staff to help facilitate their growth both in Model UN generally and NWMUN in particular. The DG must be an experienced delegate, with an exceptional grasp on the rules and procedures of MUN. The DG will be responsible for choosing committee topics and crises, in conjunction with the Secretary General and IPC Director. Therefore, it is essential that they are well versed in international politics. Furthermore, the DG will assist in any matter requiring extra-attention in the months leading up to the conference, including recruitment.

Director of International Press Corps
The Director of the International Press Corps must have outstanding communication skills, particularly written, as they will be responsible for ensuring all external documents are professional and accurate. The IPC Director should also be familiar with international news and politics as they will also be responsible for managing the crisis and all conference press releases in coordination with the Director-General and SG. During the conference they are responsible for a team of editors as well as the entire IPC. Strong leadership qualities are essential for success in this position.

Conference Services

Director of Delegate Affairs

The Director of Delegate Affairs must be a detail-oriented, creative and an extremely organized individual. This Director will be responsible for organizing several events, including information sessions for first-time delegates and the conference’s delegate social event in coordination with External Relations portfolio. The Director of Delegate Affairs must be able to respond to a high volume of e-mails in a prompt and professional manner. The Director will be working with the Director of Finance in all matters of registration, especially in dealing with delegates’ registration issues. Therefore, this person must possess outstanding verbal and written communication skills.

Director of Design and Technical Affairs
The Director of Design and Technical Affairs must be creative, take pride in their own work and possess unfailing knowledge regarding all practical computer skills. This position entails web design, poster and document design, in addition to the management of other technical issues that arise prior to and during the conference. This position may be divided between two applicants if particular strengths are observed during the interview process. Candidates should be ready to produce a portfolio at time of interview.

Human Resources

Director of Volunteers

The Director of Volunteers must be outgoing and confident when seeking volunteers of all backgrounds. They must be able to give presentations when necessary, and willing to reply to large amounts of emails. Excellent organizational and leadership skills are essential, as the Director of Volunteers will be called upon to manage and schedule upwards of 150 volunteers.

External Relations

Director of Sponsorship

The Director of Sponsorship must be able to confidently present the best aspects of UBCMUN to potential sponsors while maintaining a professional demeanor when dealing with clients. The Director of Sponsorship will be responsible for running at least one fundraising event (i.e. Tight and Bright) prior to the conference,assist with the delegate social event, as well as obtaining sponsors for certain aspects of the conference (printing, advertising and delegate materials).

Director of Public Relations
The Director of Public Relations must be vigilant and professional at all times, constantly advertising UBCMUN and engaging followers on all our current social media outlets (Facebook page and Twitter). As the event draws near, they will be tasked as well with acquiring earned media through traditional sources such as print, web, and news publications. The Director of Public Relations will also require a keen grasp on the interests of our target demographics in order to create additional content beyond the regular updates provided by our staff. Lastly, they will benefit greatly from a sense of curiosity and creatively, enticing them to explore new and untested grounds in social media and marketing. Previous HootSuite experience would be an asset.
*If you wish to apply for this position, please provide your Twitter handle or links to any other public social media profiles for our review.

Director of Recruitment
The Director of Recruitment must exhibit strong communication skills, unending persistence and outstanding organization skills. This portfolio includes contacting local and international universities to promote UBCMUN and attract a wide-range of delegations. The Director of Recruitment must be driven and willing to introduce and implement new strategies on how to increase UBCMUN’s presence on and off campus.

Thank you and we look forward to seeing your application!

The AUS referendum and elections are underway! Please take a moment to vote online at: http://www.referendum2013.ca/ 

Please find below IRSA’s endorsement for the AUS referendum:

The International Relations Student Association is happy to endorse the 2013 AUS referendum. As an AUS club, we appreciate the support and grants we receive from the AUS. We recognize that in order to continue supporting IRSA’s events and efforts, the AUS requires sustainable funding that reflects inflation since 2001.

Moreover, we feel that the proposed Arts Student Space is an exciting opportunity to foster a stronger Arts identity, and will provide much needed club, social, and study space for all Arts students.

IRSA and the International Relations programme are excited to announce the release of the premier issue of the IR programme alumni newsletter! The newsletter will be released bi-annually to update students, faculty and alumni on the current ongoings within the IR community at UBC.

You can access the direct link here: http://blogs.ubc.ca/irsa/files/2013/01/Alumni-Newsletter-Winter-2013.pdf

ATTN: The newsletter committee is hiring!! If you are interested in collaborating on this awesome new project, please email Alyssa (irsa.commliaison@gmail.com)

In collaboration with the Canadian Red Cross and the Liu Institute for Global Issues, the International Relations Student Association of UBC will be organizing and facilitating an afternoon discussion and workshop event addressing issues regarding International Humanitarian Law on February 9, 2013. The structure of the day will focus on key issues presented in Benjamin Perrin’s new book, Modern Warfare. Benjamin Perrin is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Law at UBC and is currently serving as Special Advisor, Legal Affairs and Policy, in the Prime Minister’s Office in Ottawa. More details about the book and the author can be found here.

The format of the afternoon will be comprised of a keynote address and panelist discussion with a Q & A to follow, starting promptly at 11am and continuing until 1pm.

There will be free morning coffee and goodies during check in at 10:30am, free lunch and discussion time following from 1pm until 2pm, and an official training simulation workshop for students run by the Canadian Red Cross from 2pm until 4pm.

***PLEASE NOTE***

The event is FREE, and all students are welcome! However, given the limited capacity of both the Liu Institute Multipurpose Room and the Red Cross Workshop from 2-4pm, those who e-mail the address below will be given first priority. Please note not all those who attend the discussion (11am-2pm) will be able to attend the workshop component (2pm-4pm). IRSA members will be given preferential access to the workshop.

When you e-mail, please specify:
- Are you an IRSA member?
- Are you hoping to attend both the panelist discussion AND the workshop.

Email in your registration info BEFORE the end of FEBRUARY 3, 2013 in order to be entered into a draw for a FREE COPY of Banjamin Perrin’s book, Modern Warfare.

******** Please email irsa.vpi.assistant@gmail.com to register. ********

International Development Research Network is looking for contributors to their blog, especially on topics about global health. This is a great opportunity to get involved!

For more information visit: http://blogs.ubc.ca/idrnblog/get-involved/

Jump Start will be hosting an event called the Global Dialogue Series. This event gives students the opportunity to present a global issue they are passionate about and introduce their own perspective on the topic. Submissions can be in various media forms from videos to poems and the idea is to express and share different ideas and knowledge.

More details of the event can be found here:

http://glblog.sites.olt.ubc.ca/2012/11/19/jump-start-and-global-lounge-present-the-global-dialogue-series/

When: Wednesday, January 16th, 6pm-7pm
Where: Buchanan Room B219

Our first Bi-Weekly meeting of 2013 is this Wednesday! It will be a board games night (Risk and Star Trek and possibly more…) and a welcome-back which will provide an opportunity for IRSA members to relax and become informed of our activities in the current semester.

The submission deadline for the JIA is has been extended to Monday, January 7th, 2013. Submissions and questions should be sent to irsa.jiaeditor@gmail.com. More information is available on the JIA page : http://blogs.ubc.ca/irsa/jia

Hi everyone! Hope you are all enjoying a well deserved break during this holiday season!

Just writing to let you know about a couple of upcoming volunteer opportunities happening in the new year:

1. International Humanitarian Law Workshop -

Upcoming in late January IRSA will be hosting a workshop and book launch (Modern Warfare by UBC Law professor Benjamin Perrin) in coordination with the Liu Institute and the Red Cross. We are currently looking for volunteers to help plan the workshop. This is an great volunteer opportunity for people looking for more volunteer experience, and specifically event planning and coordination experience. Topics for the workshop and more information will be forthcoming.

2. Lift the Children Reception, January 31st - 

IRSA will be helping to launch a new NGO called Lift the Children at the Vancouver Lookout. We are looking for volunteers to be on our planning committee! It’s another great opportunity to hone your volunteer skills. For more information about Lift the Children check out: http://liftthechildren.org/charity/

Finally, we are interested to know what international humanitarian law related speakers you would like to see speak at UBC.

If you are interested in helping out with either event, or have ideas for speakers please contact IRSA’s President, Karlson Leung, at irsa.president@gmail.com

Congratulations to Emma Lange on her election as IRSA’s new Treasurer! Welcome to the team! We all look forward to working with you next term.