Call for application: Coordination of the International MitOst-Festival 2017
We are looking for a coordinator who will organise the International MitOst-Festival 2017 together with MitOst, a local team and his/her city. This application serves as a proposal of the festival location at the same time.
The Festival Every year, MitOst invites its members, alumni and partners, as well as everybody interested in cultural and civic exchange in Europe and its neighbouring regions to the MitOst Festival, a four-day international forum with cultural, training and network offerings.
The festival takes place in a different European city every year. After Pécs, Vilnius, Wroclaw, Timisoara, Görlitz-Zgorzelec, Uzhgorod, Gdansk, Perm, České Bud ějovice, Ruse, Leipzig, Novi Sad, Ivano-Frankivsk and this time in Tbilisi, we are looking for the festival location for 2017 and especially welcome applications from Central Europe.
Get MitOst in your city!
About us MitOst is an international organisation located in Berlin. It promotes cultural exchange and cooperation among European civil society actors and supports active citizenship in Europe and its neighbouring regions. Founded in 1996 as a platform for networking and project work, today MitOst serves as an umbrella organisation for several foundation programmes, international projects, ten alumni groups, the annual MitOst Festival and vivid engagement of 1400 MitOst members in 40 countries.
MitOst as a Guest in your City 200 guests from several countries will bring international flair to your city and turn it into the European capital of engagement for four days. Together with and for local NGOs and cultural institutions, the local team and MitOst organise a broad cultural and training programme, which is open to the inhabitants of the city as well. In trainings and workshops, local NGOs and citizens learn about international project work, fundraising and intercultural communication. The city and its institutions get the possibility to present their profiles and projects and to connect with partner organisations from other European countries. The programme will be complemented by some MitOst events and the MitOst members’ assembly.
What to do? As coordinator, you form a local team. You organise a location for the festival centre (unconventional meeting point for the festival participants with café, bar, rooms for discussions and exhibitions), the cultural events, trainings and the MitOst members’ assembly. You look for inexpensive accommodation for the participants and support the Berlin team with visa organisation. Together with the Berlin team, you develop the festival programme and keep your eye on the integration of local NGOs, cultural institutions, city administration and citizens. You are responsible for public relations and fundraising in your city.During the whole process, you cooperate with local partners. Your Qualifications You are able to work independently and autonomously. You are already experienced in event and project management, in negotiation with partners, in public relations, fundraising and accounting. At least some members of your team are fluent in German and you speak the language of the host country. You have good local knowledge and ideally a local network. Previous participation in a MitOst-Festival and knowledge about the organisation would make your work a lot easier!
Time Frame & Working Hours The festival is expected to take place in September or October 2017. Preparations and organisation should begin in January 2017 the latest. As our experience has shown, the working hours in the first seven months are about 5-10 hours weekly. From then on until the festival they increase up to 40 hours per week.
Compensation The remuneration for you and your team derive from the total funds for the festival, which are jointly acquired by MitOst and you. Together with the MitOst headquarters in Berlin, you search and apply for funding; you provide information about the situation in your city and give content-related input. Some support for the festival should come from the hosting city/region as well, e.g. by financing of accommodation or event locations. We will also need your assistance for negotiations with the city’s or region’s administration. Further funding may be raised through cooperation with local partners or sponsors.
Contact and Application The application deadline is 1st of June, 2016 . Pease send your CV and motivation letter (max. 1 DIN A4 page) to Kathrin Oerters, [email protected] . If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact her via email or phone: +49 (0)30 31517463.
Your motivation letter should include your personal motivation, your qualification as coordinator (experiences in cultural management, connections in your city) and your availability. Please present convincingly, why your city would be perfect for the MitOst festival. Below, you will find a set of questions which may be helpful for you. Please answer them and add them to your application.
The requirements of this announcement can be discussed in a personal interview and adapted to the local conditions.
Questions for the Application | What are your experiences in event management? | How did you already cooperate with the administration of your city or region? | Which possibilities do you see regarding the cooperation with the administration of your city/region and its support? | How much time can you spend on the preparation of the festival? What is your availability until the beginning of the festival? | Please explain how you intend to organise your local team and how many people should be included. | How many MitOst members are available in your city? How can they be involved in the preparations of the festival?
| 2 | Which places/rooms can be used inexpensively as festival centre, for workshops, discussions, other forms of talks and the festival opening? | What is your concept for the festival center? | Is there a low-priced hotel, youth hostel or student dormitory for the MitOst members/ participants (approx. 200-250)? | What are the travel options to your city? | Who are potential partners in your city? | Who could be addressed as sponsor? | Are there any institutions that might help us with the visa procedure (free visa, help with invitations)? | What are the advantages of your city? How would the city benefit from the festival? How could the festival be thematically included into the city? | What are your contacts to the local and regional press/ media? | Please prepare a brief budget calculation for the festival (accommodation for approx. 200 participants, rent for rooms, technical support, costs for administration).
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