Descriptions of the Committee Positions / Utskottets förtroende

If you want to know more about any of the posts, please contact lotta.l.nieminen@helsinki.fi

Chairperson

Chairperson coordinates committees meetings around two times a month. The Chairperson´s task is to facilitate meetings, prepare the agenda for the meetings and review the minutes. Other tasks in the Chairpersons post include drawing up budgets, preparing plans of activities and archiving the minutes of previous meetings. The Chairperson is responsible for coordinating activities in the committee and together with other members ensuring continuity and visibility of the development committees work. The Chairperson is more or less included in all of the activities of the committee – events, projects, meetings etc. The Chairperson is also involved in the meetings and decision making of Helsinki University’s Student Union, especially in the matters that concern development cooperation. Being a Chair may be time consuming and requires delegation skills yet it is extremely gratifying and an amazing opportunity to learn new skills and more about development cooperation in general. It is an advantage if the Chair knows about the Development Cooperation Committee’s practicalities and activities in general, yet this is not a requirement.

Vice Chairs (1-2 persons) / Vice ordförande (1-2 personer)

Acting as a Vice Chair (VC) is an easy way of getting involved in the Committee’s activities. There can be up to two Vice Chairs. The VCs take care of the practicalities of the meetings such as food/drinks receptions and room bookings. They assist the Chairperson in tasks delegated to them and actively participate in the Committee’s action in general. They also participate in the executive group’s meetings together with the Chair and the members of HYY Committee. In case there are two VCs, one of them is responsible for monitoring the budget and accountancy while the other is responsible for managing meeting invitations. The VCs may cover for the Chair in case the Chair is absent. The VCs may also act as representatives of the Committee and organize presentations on its activities. Moreover, the VCs support the other members of the Committee. As a VC, you’ll have a chance to learn new useful skills, such as budget management, organizing meetings, and communication.

Communications Manager (1-2 persons) / Informatörer (1-2 personer)

The Communications Manager is responsible for actively communicating on the Committee’s activities. The Comms Manager may also create posts on other current theme’s relating to the Committee’s action. The Comms Manager is responsible for updating the website’s information and imagery, managing the Committee’s mailing lists and creating and sending the Committee’s newsletter once or twice a month. The Comms Manager aims to gather fresh imagery for the Committee and may also take photographs themselves. They may also coordinate possible purchases of communications material. The Comms Manager stays in contact with the HYY’s communications person on issues that shall be published in HYY’s media channels as well. The Comms Manager also closely cooperates with other members of the Committee as they often have events, activities and information they would like to share. They may also help others in making communications plans, and have a great opportunity to participate in brainstorming with the other teams. It is important that the Communications Manager is present in various Committee meetings in order to stay updated on the Committee’s activities.

Secretary / Sekretär

The main responsibility of the Secretary is to participate in Committee meetings. The secretary takes minutes in the meetings, writes them out, send them to the Chairperson(s) for check up and stores them properly for them to be signed during the next meeting. Writing minutes requires precision and concentration skills. It is encouraged that the secretary also participates in the other activities of the Committee which is why this is a good opportunity to get an overview on what the Development Cooperation Committee really is about.

Fundraising Coordinator (1-2 persons) / Insamlingars koordinator (2 personer)

The Fundraising Coordinator designs and manages the fundraising of the Committee, often in close cooperation with the other members such as the Event Coordinator. They are responsible for managing the fundraising caskets and their usage. The activities are mainly focused on fundraising campaigns and finding partners for cooperation. In this position you are allowed to get creative and get to contact and meet people from outside of the Committee as well.

Event Coordinator (1-2 persons) / Evenemang coordinator (1-2 personer)

The Event Coordinator is responsible for managing the events team. The team designs and plans the Committee’s events and campaigns, such as the newbies eve, spring picnic, fundraising campaigns, and holiday parties. The Coordinator usually steers the Committee’s participation on the World Village Festival and the University’s Opening Carnival. The events are set in the Annual Plan but proactive brainstorming and new ideas are always welcome. The following skills are an asset in this position: creativity, excitement, commitment and organisation skills. It is also expected that the Event Coordinator delegates tasks to the members of the Events Team and actively communicates on the activities both internally and externally.

Events Team  / Evenemang team (minst 5 personer)

Being a part of the Events Team is easy; all that is required is willingness for brainstorming and interest on the Committee’s activities. The team designs and organizes the Committee’s events and campaigns and is responsible for the practicalities of various events. The team members support the Events Coordinator and take on tasks delegated to them. If you are willing to learn new things and be active within the Committee, this might be the position for you!

Global Education Coordinator (1-2 persons) / Global utbildnings koordinator (2 personer)

One of the most important actions of the Development Cooperation Committee is to raise awareness on current issues and information concerning development cooperation in general, both internally and externally. The Global Education Coordinators critically communicate both to the Committee and to the public issues relating to development cooperation, development studies, and global education. The aim of this position is to have a couple of people focused on spreading awareness and keeping the conversation going. The Global Education Coordinators design and organize campaigns and events on global education, together with the rest of the Committee. It is encourage to organize one or two events around the topic during the year. You may look for inspiration for example from Kepa’s trainings!

Kimppu magazine’s editorial team / Kimppu magasinleverans

Kimppu is the Development Cooperation Committee’s journalistic online magazine focused both on global development issues and questions, and on the Committee’s activities. A print version is published every spring, usually by the World Village Festival, and it includes an online version with the best bites. The Editors are chosen by a public recruitment process before the Committee’s election meeting; look out for open positions around October-November! . Anyone interested in contributing to the magazine is welcomed to participate!

The Project Teams / Projekt team

The Project Teams design and manage the HYY’s development cooperation projects, communicate on their activities and actively report project news both within the Committee as well as to the whole student community. They create and store yearly reports, budget plans and other official documents related to the project. Read more about the project on their dedicated project sites! Do not hesitate to contact the Project Coordinator if you have any queries or would like to get involved in the project teams activities!