IRSA

IRSA is now accepting applications for Career Night Coordinator 2012-2013!

Each year IRSA hosts a career conference featuring professionals representing different areas within the field of IR. The purpose of the event is to show
current and prospective students of the UBC international relations (IR) program the various career opportunities and paths available.

The responsibility of the Coordinator is to organize the logistics of the event. The coordinator will be contacting past representatives, as well as finding new potential speakers. Details concerning the date and format of the event is at the discretion of the Coordinator; some years IRSA had a multi-day show, while other years have had a conference in the evening or on a weekend. This year’s event was held on March 1st, 2012 at 5pm at Hillel House at the University of British Columbia. The Career Night is featuring a discussions among panellists from areas as diverse as the Department of National Defence, World Bank, the Canadian Red Cross, academia, politics and law and was a moderated question period as well as an opportunity for an informal networking session.

The club executive will appoint the successful candidate to the position, based on applications and interviews.

Job Description:
Formally beginning in April 2012, and ending April 2013, the Career Night Coordinator will be responsible for organizing and hosting the 2012
Career event on behalf of the International Relations Students Association. With the support of club volunteers and the IRSA executive, the Coordinator will:

- Arrange a date and location for the event
- Arrange speakers for the event
- Design and deliver event invitations
- Organize the creation of posters and other promotional materials
- Promote the event through campus list serves, press releases, and poster campaigns
- Select a program for the event

In addition, as part of the IRSA executive, the candidate will
- Attend weekly executive meetings
- Hold weekly office hours
- Assist with and participate in other club events and functions
- Submit a transition report at the end of the year

Qualifications:
The candidate must
- Be a UBC student
- Be available from April 2012 until April 2013
- Possess excellent time management and organizational abilities
- Possess excellent written and verbal communication skills, always in a professional manner
- Be able to work independently, under minimal supervision
- Be able to adapt quickly and comfortably to new situations and circumstances
- Be able to direct both initiative and enthusiasm towards their responsibilities

In addition:
- Previous experience with IRSA an asset
- Previous experience interacting with professionals is an asset, but not required
- Previous event planning or communications experience an asset

Please submit cover letter and resume to the following e-mail address
irsa.careers@gmail.com by Sunday, April 1st 2012. The
successful candidate will be contacted by the current Career Night Coordinator.

The International Relations Student Association is pleased to invite you to the Democracy on Demand Conference: the impact of new media on democratization on March 30 and 31. A wide range of panellists and speakers ranging from prominent public policy thinkers to journalists will be present. Topics will range from the Russian elections to the Arab Spring, as well as other current events that have made the impact of social media a major focus. The conference will be held at the Global Lounge (a full list of venues can be viewed on our website).

Early bird tickets start at $15 and will continue until this Sunday the 24th (extended deadline)so please purchase them as soon as possible! Includes a complimentary breakfast, lunch, and wine and cheese. You can purchase them at www.democracyondemand.ca. Visit the website or contact us (irsa.conference2012@gmail.com) for more details.

IRSA is currently looking to hire an individual to plan the next Night of a Thousand Dinners gala, one of our signature annual events. Night of a Thousand Dinners (N1KD) is a dinner dedicated to raising awareness for the global landmine issue, and every year attracts students from all over campus as well as members of Vancouver’s business and advocacy communities.

Responsibilities include planning the event, hiring and directing a team of volunteers and sitting as an executive member of IRSA. The coordinator is responsible for all aspects of the event: liaising with venues, sponsors, and charities; assembling the silent auction; and planning and distributing promotional materials.

Prior experience in event planning is preferred though not mandatory. If interested, please send your resume and a cover letter to irsa.vpi@gmail.com by March 20th, 2012

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 attended and vote for the candidates they would like see to represent them.

The elections will be held Wednesday, March 21st at 6pm in MASS at Buchanan D. IRSA invites any UBC undergraduate student from any faculty to run for the following IRSA executive positions for the 2011-2012 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
(Position descriptions can be found at the end of this post).

The elections procedure is as follows:

Please submit, by the end of the day on Tuesday, March 20th 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 Iana Messetchkova, IRSA Public Relations Officer, at irsa.prelations@gmail.com no later than 11:59 PM on March 20, 2011. 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 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.

Any additional questions concerning the election and the procedure can be directed to Iana Messetchkova at irsa.prelations@gmail.com

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 IRSA Public Relations gmail account has been recovered, however any emails that may have been directed towards it on Monday March 12th are lost. We will still be using the irsa.prelations@gmail.com account for candidates wishing to participate in the IRSA 2012 Elections. Please send your short write up to this email by 11:59pm on March 20th. They will then be uploaded on the website so they can be read by voters before the elections. Details about the election can be found in the post below.

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If you received an email from the IRSA Public Relations gmail account today from someone claiming to be Iana Messetchkova, please disregard it. The account was hacked. Iana is not in Spain and was not mugged/robbed. Please do not send any money to this person, this is a scam.

The UBC Journal of International Affairs is now accepting applications for our first ever essay contest. The two winners will receive a cash reward and be published in this year’s edition of the journal. We are collecting submission of short, 1000-2000 word op-ed style essays on one of the following two topics:

1. Financial Crisis:

We’re now three years after the onset of the financial crisis. What started as a housing bubble quickly metastasized and brought about the failures of large financial institutions, the bailout of banks, and massive stimulus spending, both in the United States and around the world. Most would say we have yet to emerge from the crisis. What have the implications been for the distribution of power in the global political environment resulting from this crisis, and what does this mean for the future of international relations?

2. Climate Change:

On climate change, the scientific community has reached a consensus, and continues to voice stark warnings as to climate change’s environmental impacts. To our generation, global climate change is a serious issue, yet very little progress has been made in addressing it. Internationally, we have witnessed stunning failures (and embarrassments) at high-profile conferences in Copenhagen, Cancun and Durban, and the prospects of a future agreement seem dim. What steps need to be taken to address global climate change, and how do we get actors to come to a meaningful agreement on how to proceed?

The Prize: We are offering a $250 prize to the chosen paper for each topic

The Deadline: the deadline for essay submissions is March 9th! Please email all submissions to irsa.prelations@gmail.com with “Essay Contest Submission” in the subject line.

** CONTEST APPLICABLE TO UBC STUDENTS ONLY **

Dear colleagues, the UBC International Relations Student Association (IRSA) would like to invite you to IRSA’s Spring 2012 Conference: “Democracy on Demand: the Impact of New Media on Democratization.” The two-day conference will be held on March 30-31 at the Global Lounge at Marine Drive Residence.

The conference will feature:

-   A wide range of panellists

-   Interactive small group discussions

-   Complimentary breakfast and lunch

-   Wine and cheese event with keynote speech

Attending the conference is a great way to learn more about international relations for both current majors and prospective students alike. Early bird tickets will be sold at $15 starting on February 24th, 2012 and will end on March 18th. After that regular ticket prices will be at $20.

Register here: www.democracyondemand.ca

The conference will be a wonderful way for students to gain experience in planning events, and to get involved with IRSA.  We look forward to seeing you at the conference!

The UBC Journal of International Affairs is now accepting applications for our first ever essay contest. The two winners will receive a cash reward and be published in this year’s edition of the journal. We are collecting submission of short, 1000-2000 word op-ed style essays on one of the following two topics:

1. Financial Crisis:

We’re now three years after the onset of the financial crisis. What started as a housing bubble quickly metastasized and brought about the failures of large financial institutions, the bailout of banks, and massive stimulus spending, both in the United States and around the world. Most would say we have yet to emerge from the crisis. What have the implications been for the distribution of power in the global political environment resulting from this crisis, and what does this mean for the future of international relations?

2. Climate Change:

On climate change, the scientific community has reached a consensus, and continues to voice stark warnings as to climate change’s environmental impacts. To our generation, global climate change is a serious issue, yet very little progress has been made in addressing it. Internationally, we have witnessed stunning failures (and embarrassments) at high-profile conferences in Copenhagen, Cancun and Durban, and the prospects of a future agreement seem dim. What steps need to be taken to address global climate change, and how do we get actors to come to a meaningful agreement on how to proceed?

The Prize: We are offering a $250 prize to the chosen paper for each topic

The Deadline: the deadline for essay submissions is March 1st! Please email all submissions to irsa.prelations@gmail.com with “Essay Contest Submission” in the subject line.

** CONTEST APPLICABLE TO UBC STUDENTS ONLY **

Come join the IRSA exec at the Gallery this Friday Feb 3 to help us celebrate the start of the weekend! This is a great opportunity to hang out with other IR students outside of an academic context, to meet a bunch of other awesome IRSA members, and drink free beer!

10 free pitchers of beer will be provided on behalf of IRSA (first come, first serve!)

When: 4pm till around 6:30pm

Where: The Gallery, S.U.B.

We hope to see everyone this Friday!

Join fellow IRSA members this Wednesday, January 11th from 2-4pm at the Global Lounge for a fantastic documentary screening. Winning over 19 awards, Crude: A Joe Berlinger Film is a controversial documentary following oil production in the Amazon rainforest.

“Joe Berlinger’s award winning film launched an epic First Amendment battle with Chevron about the infamous Amazon pollution case, one of the largest and most controversial environmental lawsuits on the planet!”

Free snacks and refreshments will be provided. See you all there!

Founded in 1985, the Journal of International Affairs is a student-led, faculty-reviewed journal at the University of British Columbia that showcases UBC undergraduate essays of the highest caliber. UBC students get a chance to have their work circulated to numerous universities and institutions across Canada and the world, offering an incredible opportunity to have their work published and distributed early in their academic careers.

The JIA is also accepting undergraduate essays from an international network of 21 schools, whose work serves to broaden the journal’s perspectives.

We are looking for research papers or photo essays from a variety of disciplines written on Post-1945 topics related to global political issues.

Some suggested themes include: 

Sustainability and climate change

Regime change

Financial turmoil

Civil liberties, humanitarian law.

Access to food and water

Gender issues

Arab spring

Please remember that essays are not restricted to these topics, and that students may submit papers that are related to any number of global concerns that they feel are relevant to the field of International Relations.

Requirements

Submitted papers must be roughly 1200-3500 words, written in English, be properly cited, have received a grade worth 80% or more, and must not have been previously published.

Deadline

The deadline for submissions is December 19th, 2011. Students should include their name, University, Faculty/Department, and year standing in their submission.

Possible Questions:

How many submissions do you get? We get on average 80 to 100 that we seriously consider. Last year we published 10.

What is the process like? You’ll submit your paper online. It will get reviewed and placed on a short list for publication. From there there will be several rounds of editing partnering you and other students experienced in the field. If the Editorial Board then decides to publish it, it will be reviewed by a faculty sponsor. The JIA is published in Mid-March.

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We look forward to your papers! Please send them in Microsoft Word (.doc) format to Iana Messetchkova, JIA Director of Communications at irsa.prelations@gmail.com. 

Please be advised that the deadline for your graduation photos is January 18^th, 2012.  In order to be included in the 2011-2012 International Relations Program Composite (the big frame with all the individual IR grads), you must book a session with Artona before this date. 

(Please note that IR/US Studies grad students graduating this MAY 2012 and next NOVEMBER 2012 will be included in the 2011-2012 IR composite)

Please book your appointment EARLIER than later, as spots fill up quite fast.

1. Book an appointment at Artona: http://ubc.artona.timetrade.com/ 

(My School Info -> Search University of British Columbia -> Select International Relations)

2. At the photo session:

Bring a $60.00 deposit (cash, debit, cheque, Visa, Master Card, AMEX) and up to two outfits. There is no labour charge for your sitting; however, they do require a deposit. The deposit will be deducted from your purchase when ordering within the specified timeframe. Your deposit is also 100% refundable: within 30 days of receipt simply return your previews (which will be delivered approximately two weeks after your sitting date).

Getting your graduation photos remains your individual responsibility!  If you have any troubles with meeting this deadline, please contact the IRSA Grad Rep (irsa.gradrep@gmail.com) ASAP.  You may also contact Artona with any customer service related questions at 604-872-7272 or csr@artonagroup.com.

Journal of International Affairs 2012: Call for Submissions 

Founded in 1985, the Journal of International Affairs is a student-led, faculty-reviewed journal at the University of British Columbia that showcases UBC undergraduate essays of the highest caliber. UBC students get a chance to have their work circulated to numerous universities and institutions across Canada and the world, offering an incredible opportunity to have their work published and distributed early in their academic careers.

The JIA is also accepting undergraduate essays from an international network of 21 schools, whose work serves to broaden the journal’s perspectives.

We are looking for research papers or photo essays from a variety of disciplines written on Post-1945 topics related to global political issues.

Some suggested themes include: 

Sustainability and climate change

Regime change

Financial turmoil

Civil liberties, humanitarian law.

Access to food and water

Gender issues

Arab spring

Please remember that essays are not restricted to these topics, and that students may submit papers that are related to any number of global concerns that they feel are relevant to the field of International Relations.

Requirements

Submitted papers must be roughly 1200-3500 words, written in English, be properly cited, have received a grade worth 80% or more, and must not have been previously published.

Deadline

The deadline for submissions is December 19th, 2011. Students should include their name, University, Faculty/Department, and year standing in their submission.

Possible Questions:

How many submissions do you get? We get on average 80 to 100 that we seriously consider. Last year we published 10.

What is the proccess like? You’ll submit your paper online. It will get reviewed and placed on a short list for publication. From there there will be several rounds of editing partnering you and other students experienced in the field. If the Editorial Board then decides to publish it, it will be reviewed by a faculty sponsor. The JIA is published in Mid-March.

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We look forward to your papers! Please send them in Microsoft Word (.doc) format to Iana Messetchkova, JIA Director of Communications at irsa.prelations@gmail.com. 

TICKETS ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR NIGHT OF A THOUSAND DINNERS!