URBAN EMPTINESS NICOSIA | Call for volunteers December 1-10, 2017

What is URBAN EMPTINESS NICOSIA? 

Urban Emptiness Nicosia is a public art and performance festival, focusing on the creative potential of walking the city, taking place from December 1-10, 2017, in Nicosia, Cyprus. We welcome disciplinary diversity: walks, performances outdoors, and indoors related visuals/ installation, going along with public talks. 

Urban Emptiness Nicosia invites to innovative, experimental approaches to the city of Nicosia. Walks and performances encompass engaging ways of intervening public spaces and relate  to Nicosia's social/cultural/geographical fabric. The project is particularly oriented to creative projects that challenge us to rethink our everyday relationship to the urban environment. 

The Urban Emptiness 2017 Nicosia  organizers are:

⦁ Cultural Studies and Contemporary Arts (CSCA) Laboratory Nicosia, Cyprus

⦁ DANCE GATE LEFKOSIA CYPRUS, supported by DH Lefkosia, Cyprus/ framework of NO_ BODY Festival 2017

⦁ Urban Emptiness Network 

The Urban Emptiness 2017 international partners are:

Parsons - Fine Arts, New York.

Institut supérieur des arts et des chorégraphies (ISAC) - Académie royale des beaux-arts de Bruxelles / École supérieure des arts (ARBA - ESA), Brussels

National Technical University of Athens - School of Architecture  (NTUA), Athens

Why should you get involved?

We are looking for 20 enthusiastic people who will form the core team of volunteers for the event, and who are willing to offer their time and expertise to help in the smooth management of this unique event. As a volunteer you will be an integral part of Urban Emptiness team working with staff members and partners to run the event. You will be allocated a specific role, in consultation, but should be flexible and happy to help with other tasks where needed. You will be part of a multi-national team and gain new experience in all aspects of making a city festival and symposium happen.

Criteria to apply as a volunteer

•   Be aged at least 18

•   Have experience in organising or supporting (international) events

•   Be a flexible team-player with good communication skills

•   Have a good command of English (knowledge of other EU languages is an asset)

•   Live within close proximity to Nicosia*

Furthermore, by applying as a volunteer, you commit to:

•   Be available for a preparatory meeting in Nicosia second half of October (date, time, place to be defined). 

•   Be available for the preparation of the event and the event itself on 1-10 December 2017 and/or for the preparatory phase 1-30 November 2017

•   Take an active part in all stages of the preparation, in close co-operation with the team.

Your main responsibilities as a volunteer

As a volunteer you will be mainly responsible for:

•  Being part of or leading a team of volunteers assigned with a specific tasks on the days of the Festival

•   Providing information and orientation to participants

•   Developing and running specific programme elements

•  Supporting collaborating organisations and partners in setting up and running their activities

•   Managing  spaces  (meeting artists, speakers  and  participants,  preparing  the  rooms/spaces, ensuring IT and other material is in place and properly used)

•  Facilitating performance spaces and supporting artists to ensure performances run smoothly

•   Other tasks defined in consultation with you

In addition to these general responsibilities we are looking for a number of more specific profiles for the different roles below. Please indicate in your application if you would be interested in taking on one of these specific roles.

Co-ordination

Do  you  have  experience  in  managing  a  team?  Are  you  stress-resistant  with  great organisation and communication skills? We are looking for two co-ordinators responsible for managing the volunteers on-site and making sure their needs and expectations are met.

Communication

Are you passionate about communication and social media? Do you have specific skills such as graphic design or copy writing? Are you a keen photographer or video-maker? We are looking for two volunteers to support the Urban Emptiness Festival communication team and for (live) coverage of the event.

Event management

Do you have experience with event management? We are looking for one or two volunteers to support the implementation of our action plan.

Commitments from Urban Emptiness

Urban Emptiness commits to:

•   Provide adequate insurance coverage for you while carrying out your volunteering role

•   Provide a description of the role offered, its aim and expected learning outcomes

•   Provide thorough induction needed to meet the responsibilities of this role

•   Provide support and supervision, including with regular contacts and mutual feedback

•   Ensure a healthy and safe working environment

•   Ensure that all volunteers are dealt with in accordance with equal opportunities policy

•   Resolve fairly and swiftly any problems, complaints and difficulties you may encounter while volunteering at Urban Emptiness

Interested? Here are the next steps…

The deadline for applications is  October 15th  2017, 23:59 CET. 

To apply as a volunteer you should send us the following application  form.

Selected applicants will be contacted latest beginning of October 2017.

Any questions?

Get in touch with urbanemptiness@gmail.com 

*for those living abroad please be reminded that you can use the Erasmus Internship Program to fund your travelling expenses and accommodation.