Winter School "The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR): The Principle of Non-Discrimination"

The University of Bologna organises a Winter School "The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR): The Principle of Non-Discrimination", that will be held in Forlì (Italy) - University of Bologna - School of Political Science from 13 to 17 January, 2014. 

The Winter School is organised in cooperation with the Institut des droits de l'homme (Strasbourg) and the High School of Economics - Moscow. The event is dedicated to the system of protection established by the European Convention on Human Rights with a special focus on the principle of non-discrimination. Keynote speakers include former President of the European Court of Human Rights - J. P. Costa, judge G. Raimondi, professors E. Dubout (Paris) and E. Brems (Ghent).

The Winter School will focus on the functioning mechanism of the European Convention on Human Rights and the protection of minorities through the analysis of the prohibition of discrimination L’école d’hiver sera dédiée à l’étude du mécanisme de contrôle de la Convention européenne et à la protection des minorités à travers l’analyse du principe de non-discrimination.

Applications should be sent before 18 November, 2013. 

More details are available at: http://www.eng.unibo.it/PortaleEn/Academic+programmes/SummerWinterSchools/2013/non_discrimination.htm

 

10 Crazy Scholarships That You Never Knew About

Looking for cash to help pay for college or grad school? Good news: you don’t have to be a top scholar or star athlete. Here are ten scholarships for those of us with more unique and unusual talents:

1. Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest. Attention, aspiring Project Runway contestants! www.duckbrand.com awards cash prizes to the couple who creates and wears the best duct tape outfit or accessories to their prom.  First place is $5,000 each, second place is $3,000 each, and third place is $2,000. The same amount is awarded to the colleges they’ll be attending.

2. Chick and Sophie Major Memorial Duck Calling Contest.  Can you do an incredible duck imitation?  Are you a high school senior?  Do you realize that these two descriptors, put together, can earn you big bucks?  Scholarshipfunds for this contest total $4,250 each year, with the first place winner snagging $2,000. Check out for more information.

3. The VegetarianResource Group Scholarships.  $5,000 each are awarded to two high school seniors who abstain from meat, fowl, and fish, and who promote vegetarianism in their school and/or community.

4. Jif’s Most Creative Sandwich Contest.  This one’s for kids between the ages of 6 and 12: submit a photo and recipe for your most creative and tasty sandwich idea and you could win up to $25,000 towards college.  Last year’s winner? “Magnificent Mole Chicken Torta”.  Yummmm.  Click hereto drool over pics and read the contest rules.

5. Beansfor Brains Scholarship.  Calling all crafty high school or college students: if you can knit, crochet, or sew, you can enter this contest. Send in a pic of your amazing finished project – winners can earn up to $3,200.

6. Star Trek Star Fleet AcademyScholarship.  Trekkies, rejoice – you can cash in for your passion. You must be enrolled in college, graduate school, junior college, or some technical schools, as well as being an active member of the Star Trek Fan Association. Fans of Kirk and Spock can win up to $1,000. Live long, prosper, and get details here.

7. American Fire Sprinkler Association Scholarship Program.  Now here’s one you don’t encounter every day. The American Fire Sprinkler Association believes so strongly in the importance of educating the public about fire sprinklers that it offers multiple scholarships of $20,000 and $5,000 for those who take its online test and answer a multiple-choice test. Winners are chosen by a random drawing. Light your fire here.

8. Collegiate InventorsCompetition.  Do you have a cool idea for an invention?  Enter it in this competition for a chance to compete for over $100,000 in prizes.  You may also be selected to present your invention at a panel of top inventors in Washington, D.C.

9. CommonKnowledge Scholarship Foundation.  If you’re reasonably knowledgeable and you ‘re good at multiple-choice tests, visit this website.  You can take as many quizzes as you like; students with the highest scores on win anywhere from $250 to $2,500.  How easy is that?

10.Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway.  Put your technology skills to use by making a standout video describing how you will make an impact on your community.  Submit it and enter to win either $2,500, or a chance to compete for $100,000. To learn what else the doctor ordered here.

Author Byline:

Mandy Fricke is a community builder for Gradschools.com online master’s programs. In her free time she enjoys biking, traveling, and reading in coffee shops.

Culture and Democratic Citizenship, Culture of Democratic Citizenship

JEF-Europe and JEF-France have opened a call for participants for the international seminar "Culture and Democratic Citizenship, Culture of Democratic Citizenship", which will take place in Paris, France from 26 October to 1 November 2013 in Paris, France. The aim of the seminar is to explore the links between Culture and Citizenship offering ideas and approaches to participating youth leaders which they can use on local level when working with youth. 

The seminars’ learning objectives are:

• To share experiences on the topic of intercultural dialogue and the concepts of culture
• To introduce the concept of democratic citizenship and explore the links it has with culture
• To identify and discuss on differences and similarities between the values of European citizenship and the cultural values of the participants
• To plan potential follow up strategies using the gained knowledge back on local level

 Who Can Apply?

Youth leaders from around the world.

Cost

Accepted participants are requested to pay the participation fee: 120 EUR for JEF members and 150 EUR for non-JEF members (there are 10 scholarships of 50 EUR provided upon request.) in which accommodation and meals are included. Furthermore, 70 % of the travel costs will be reimbursed.

Application

You can apply by submitting the online application form by 20 August 2013.

For any further details contact info@jef.eu

Read more

Eastern Partnership Youth Forum

The Eastern Partnership Youth Forum aims to increase sustainable political/civic commitment to further support non-formal learning/the youth work recognition process through cooperation in the youth field. Objective of the event - reaching better social inclusion and improvement of lives of young people by increasing the quality and recognition of non-formal learning/education and youth work and make outcomes visible and transferable to other sectors. This year, the Eastern Partnership Youth forum will take place on 22-25 October, 2013 in Kaunas (100 km. from Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania)

The Eastern Partnership Youth Forum is organised by the Agency of International Youth Cooperation, which is the Lithuanian National Agency of the Youth in Action Programme, in cooperation with the European Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania and other stakeholders.

The Eastern Partnership Youth Forum aims to:

• Enhance the recognition of youth work and non-formal learning especially in the context of social inclusion, building on the synergies between international, national, regional and local levels;
•  Raise the quality and visibility of non-formal learning and youth work at the local level and foster exchange of good practice of youth work between Eastern Partnership and Youth in Action Programme countries;
• · Showcase current youth cooperation within the framework of the Youth in Action Programme's Eastern Partnership Youth Window and explore opportunities offered by the future EU programme for education, training, youth and sport.

Participants

The Eastern Partnership Youth Forum aims to bring together about 200 young people and youth experts with experience in youth and/or youth related areas to set the ground for a viable, continuous and structured dialogue and cross-sectoral cooperation.

Stakeholders are invited to participate in the Eastern Partnership Youth Forum in evidence based discussions and mutual learning and the qualitative development of non-formal education/learning and youth work.

Representatives/participants from Youth in Action Programme and Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) should have one of the following profiles:

• Young people active in youth organisations at local level;
• Youth workers;
• Youth researchers;
• Youth policy/decision makers at international, national, regional and levels with an interest in local youth policy.

As the event puts an emphasis on the quality, visibility and transferability of non-formal education, representatives with the following background are also invited to apply: 

• Business organisations interested in non-formal education/learning and youth work;
• Formal education institutions interested in non-formal education/learning and youth work.

How to register? 

Representatives/participants from Youth in Action Programme and Eastern Partnership countries should apply by completing the application form here http://trainings.salto-youth.net/3647

Participants from the Eastern Partnership countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) could apply directly through SALTO system http://trainings.salto-youth.net/3647 their travel costs will be covered by the organisers of the EaP Youth Forum. Participants from Youth in Action Programme countries (28 Member States of the EU, Turkey, which is a candidate for accession to the EU, and EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland) should contact their Youth in Action National Agencies before applying to make sure that the Agencies are involved and will cover their travel costs.

The selection process will be conducted by the organisers and representatives of the National Agencies of Youth in Action Programme. The selection is needed to ensure the right number of participants and to form a targeted and motivated group.

Selection criteria

• Relevant experience in youth work field. The Event aims to gather youth work practitioners, researchers, policy/decision makers and other relevant stakeholders in the youth and youth work field especially those working at local level. The priority will be given to participants who are able to contribute to the content and quality of non-formal education in their local realities. The programme of the Forum is designed to strengthen local strategies/plans of non-formal education/learning and youth work.
• Participants should be able to communicate in English. The interpretation from English to Russian and from Russian to English will be provided only in the plenary sessions, some linguistic help will be available in working groups.

Costs

Costs of accommodation, meals and other related costs will be covered by the organisers of the Eastern Partnership Youth Forum: the European Commission (Eastern Partnership Platform 4, Youth in Action Programme), the Lithuanian Government and other funds. Certain budget limits will apply. Participants will be accommodated in shared twin rooms. Participants willing to accommodate in single rooms will be asked to pay 35 EUR extra per night.

Travel costs

For participants (including representatives from respective ministries) from Eastern Partnership countries,travel and visa costs will be covered by the organisers of the Eastern Partnership Youth Forum.

For participants from Youth in Action Programme countries will be covered by relevant National Agencies. Please contact your National Agency for more details (financing, travel arrangements, reimbursement of expenses, etc.).

Please note: A participation fee may be required from selected participants from Youth in Action Programme countries. No fees will be required from Eastern Partnership country participants.

Deadline for applying is 5 September, 2013.

Official website:  http://youthforum2013.eu/

Knowledge Team Assistant Trainee

European Schoolnet is searching for a full-time Knowledge Team Assistant for its office in Brussels.

European Schoolnet is the network of 30 European Ministries of Education, based in Brussels. As a not-for-profit organisation, we aim to bring innovation in teaching and learning to our key stakeholders: Ministries of Education, schools, teachers, researchers, and industry partners. Since its founding in 1997, European Schoolnet has used its links with education ministries to help schools make effective use of educational technologies, equipping both teachers and pupils with the skills to achieve in the knowledge society.

In particular, we pledge to:

• Support schools in achieving effective use of ICT in teaching and learning
• Improve and raise the quality of education in Europe
• Promote the European dimension in education

The Knowledge Team is responsible for the main research outputs and knowledge-building activities within EUN. The team’s remit is to ensure that EUN develops as a think-tank offering its members grounded evidence on innovation and ICT in education on which they can build policies and visions for their national strategies. The team is responsible for designing appropriate tools for information collection, depending on the topic being addressed and the target audience (e.g. questionnaires, case study grids, expert interviews, peer learning visit guidelines etc.); analysing and comparing national information; and producing various user-friendly outputs, such as studies, literature reviews and policy recommendations, appropriate to our users.

Main tasks of the trainee:

• Administrative and financial support: drafting and follow-up of contracts; day-to-dayproject administration; financial organization and follow-up (using EUN’s in-house accounting software for introducing new contacts, requesting approval for and keeping track of expenditures); following partners’ payment and reimbursement etc.; liaising with third-party service providers (designers, translators and other sub-contractors), following-up their work, contracts/payments; keeping record of all project related correspondence and other relevant documents with partners, the European Commission, sub-contractors and the general public; preparing mission orders and expense notes.

• Logistical support to projects and activities managed by the Knowledge Team: reserving meeting rooms; organizing project meetings, events and workshops as required; liaising with travel agencies and hotels for meeting participants; purchasing online articles etc.

• Drafting: preparatory documents for meetings; minutes of meetings; emails to be writtento project partners at various levels; contributing to project brochures and newsletter texts; assisting in the production of project deliverables from the content and formatting perspectives etc.

• Editing: proof-reading, editing and formatting documents and reports, data compilation,etc.

• Communication activities: updating project’s mailing lists and partners’ information;assisting in the dissemination of the Knowledge Team’s publications and projects; updating EUN newsletters with news from the Knowledge Team; taking part in presentations when required.

Required skills:

• Fluent written and spoken English
• Very good knowledge of written and spoken French is highly desirable (and any other EU language is also a bonus)
• Strong organisational skills
• Problem-solving attitude and ability to react to fast changing situations promptly and appropriately
• Excellent level of computer literacy (Excel and PowerPoint skills, as well as the ability to use online tools such as Google Docs and DropBox are essential)
• Excellent editing and formatting skills
• Financial monitoring experience (costing, budgeting, reporting, tracking etc.) and background in EU funded programmes are an assetExcellent communication skills
• Preferably a background in education (but other specializations may be considered)
• Ability to work independently and in a team
• Ability to multi-task
• Ability to work in a multilingual and multinational working environment
• Ability to meet tight deadlines

Duration: 6 months internship

Starting date: Monday 2 September

Remuneration: circa EUR 1000

Deadline for applications: 23 August

How to apply:

Please apply by email to Caroline Kearney (caroline.kearney@eun.org), Education Analyst & Project Manager, with Michela Pagano (michela.pagano@eun.org), Knowledge Team Assistant, in copy, enclosing a CV and a covering letter in English. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.