SpunOut.ie Blog
October, 2007
Blog: Golden Spider Awards 2007.
It’s been good news central here at SpunOut.ie HQ recently. After some serious hard work by our staff and volunteer network, it appears SpunOut.ie is on the verge of great things.
Further proof of this is the news that SpunOut.ie has been short-listed for a prestigious Eircom ‘Golden Spider’ internet award. The Golden Spider Awards, organised by Business and Finance magazine, honour Irish individuals and organisations for their outstanding achievements online and celebrate the successes of the Irish Internet and digital media.
The Golden Spiders are considered a mark of excellence in web based business strategies and are commonly known as Ireland’s internet ‘oscars’.
Fingers crossed we’ll be holding one of these oscars come November 22nd!
More info: www.goldenspiders.ie
Opportunity to join the SpunOut.ie team.
SpunOut.ie is an award winning youth media organisation with a growing national reputation for innovation and impact. Our mission is to empower young people throughout Ireland with information, tools, resources and opportunities to create positive change in their own lives and in their communities. SpunOut.ie is the sole programme of the Community Creations charity.
APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED
We are currently recruiting an experienced Administrator, reporting to the CEO and Management team.
This role requires an enthusiastic, organised and experienced person to manage our growing office and provide administrative support to our staff and volunteers online and in-house.
The successful candidate will have excellent administrative, communication, PC, internet and email skills and will be interested in social change, health, youth and media issues.
Closing date for applications is: 12 noon, Friday October 26th
Community Creations is an equal opportunities employer.
Job specification
Key responsibilities include
- Office management
- Database management
- Accounts and payroll administration
- Basic website administration (training provided)
- Communication and liaison between staff and volunteers
- Reporting
- Filing
- Supporting SpunOut.ie staff team, including:
- PR and communications support
- Fundraising support
- Ad-hoc project support
- Dealing with queries
- General office and administrative duties
Essential: education and experience
- A relevant qualification with a minimum of 2 years experience in a busy office environment
- Experience of administration including management of finances, payroll, filing and office management
Essential: skills, attributes and criteria
- High proficiency in MS Word, MS Excel, Powerpoint and Access
- Experience of managing databases
- Excellent email and internet skills
- Excellent verbal and written communication
- Interest in youth, health, media and social issues
- Understanding of online opportunities and operating environment
- Self-starter with ability to work independently and as part of a team
- Willing to work flexible hours and travel as required
- Clear Garda record
Desirable
- Youth, health, media or community sector experience
- Child protection training
- Friendly, creative city centre workplace
- Be part of a young, growing, award-winning national organisation
- Opportunity to learn new skills and make a difference
Terms and conditions
- Based at our Galway City office in Quay St., Galway
- 40 hours per week (flexible)
- €25,000 - €30,000 per annum depending on experience
- 6 month initial contract with potential to renew
Application process
Phase 1
Phase 1 Is now closed
1. Oct 18th – 26th: Review and short-listing of applicants.
2. Oct 26th – 27th: Short-listed applicants notified.
3. Oct 31st - Nov 2nd:Interviews in Galway
4. Nov 5th - Reference checking and second interviews.
5. Nov 6th - Candidates notified of outcome.
6. Start date:ASAP.
Notes
- Only online applications considered
- Review, short-listing and final decision by recruitment committee
- Canvassing will disqualify
- Dates and details may vary
Blog: On our way to the global stage.
SpunOutters are celebrating the news that SpunOut.ie has been selected as part of a global competition to attend the prestigious 3rd Global Knowledge Conference on ‘Emerging People, Emerging Markets and Emerging Technologies’, which takes place in Malaysia this December.
SpunOut.ie will take part in the Young Social Entrepreneurs Forum with 100 other leading young innovators initiatives from across the world.
This selection as part of a competition between young social entrepreneurs using ICT is further proof of SpunOut.ie’s winning formula.
It will give us a chance to strut our stuff on the global stage and connect with international activists, NGOs, governments and corporations, giving us an additional platform from which to grow and develop in the years to come.
You can find out more about this competition and event at:
http://www.gkpeventsonthefuture.org/gk3/
More good news on SpunOut.ie developments coming next week in our end of month blog.
Stay tuned!
Blog: SpunOut.ie Youth Editor talks about the difference a song made to him.
SpunOut.ie Youth Editor Ian Howley would like to introduce you to a song that means a lot to him. The song is called Feel The Sun by Melanie C.
Ian says: “After my third attempt of suicide I was sitting on my bed staring at myself in the mirror thinking about what to do next, then this song came on and the lyrics reached out to me and pulled me out of my darkness.”
”This song made me realise who I was and made me feel proud of myself. Something I could never do as a child. The line "I am the person I was looking for" changed my life and all my fears and worries disappeared one by one."
In telling Ian’s sory, Anthony Stephenson, a friend of Ian's made a video, which emphasises darkness into light with a few bumps along the way.
"The video was made in 2D to show that life isn't always clean and crisp and captures what someone is going through in their head when dealing with depression" explained Anthony.
Ian says "Feel the Sun can mean anything from feel the inner strength to feel the love for yourself. I hope you can be inspired by this like I was. I would like to thank Melanie C not just for the use of this song, but for creating a song which has not j only helped me but also many many other people."
The video can be played here.
Or you can download it here.
By: Ian Howley
Blog: SpunOut.ie Youth Editor, Marie Duffy reports back from travels with the European Youth Press.
I recently attended a training week in Macedonia, organised by the European Youth Press. I’m ashamed to say that before the trip I knew nothing about the country – it is in the Balkans in Eastern Europe, just above Greece and was formally part of Yugoslavia.
Macedonia is relatively poor by Irish standards and is currently attempting to join the European Union, but the capital Skopje, is on its way to becoming a vibrant and energetic European city. I was surprised as to how trendy the city is. Its bars, restaurants and nightclubs could rival many Irish establishments, while everything is dirt cheap! 100 Denar is the equivalent of 1 euro and to put things in perspective a 2-course meal for 4 people including drinks all came to less than €20. My idea of heaven.
The Macedonian people pride themselves on their food and one of their unwritten rules is that food must be cheap and of the highest quality. In the whole city there is only one fast food restaurant -McDonalds, which struggles to compete with the more popular bakeries. (Hah to corporate takeover!)
A visit to a Macedonian bakery is a must. A croissant is around 10 Denar; their specialty pastry pies filled with everything from cheese to chocolate are about 20 Denar. Unlike us Irish who visit the chippy after a night out, the Macedonians visit the bakery. If someone was to start up a Macedonian bakery in Ireland I have no doubt they would make a fortune.
I was pretty naive to think that the country would be backward because it had only declared independence in the 1990’s. It’s true that it may not be as modernised as western Europe and the country is quite poor, but I have no doubt that in a few years Macedonia will be a tourist destination. I was completely shocked when I discovered that it is the world’s first wireless internet country!
The other people on the course, who were from all over Europe, actually laughed when I told them that I still used dial-up at home because broadband wasn’t available. They haven’t used dial-up for years. Although the country has wireless internet, the majority of the people are too poor to afford it. The American government provided the funding for the wireless internet and one must question this good-will gesture. Perhaps it’s not a coincidence that they use the country as a stopover for Iraq and are heavily investing in the country’s infrastructure with the hope of setting up companies there.
20 people from all over Europe attended the European Youth Press course. Myself and Jessica (also on the SpunOut.ie Youth Board) attended from Ireland. Other countries represented included Macedonia, Poland, France, Denmark, Romania, Russia, UK, Belgium, Lithuania, Portugal and Finland.
Meeting with other young media makers was inspirational, especially when we learned that most European countries have a youth press established. Having made links and friendships with these people, I hope to learn from their experiences of working in the media.
Most of all I learned so much about other nationalities. I think that if more young Irish people had the chance to attend events like these, there would be less racism in Ireland. Perhaps the reason that much of Ireland’s racism exists is because of communication difficulties. It had been a long time since I have had so much fun and learned so much about other European cultures. There is actually little difference between us all!
By: Marie Duffy
Check out the new mental health awareness campaign.
A new mental health awareness campaign, called ‘Your Mental Health’ has just been launched. The campaign aims to improve awareness and understanding of mental health and well being in Ireland.
Over the coming weeks you can expect to see the TV ads, hear the radio ads, see the bus stop posters and of course, check out the website at www.yourmentalhealth.ie
The campaign was developed by the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention in collaboration with partner agencies in the voluntary and statutory sector, including SpunOut.ie.
Blog: Listen to Youth Editor Paddy Duffy on The Tubridy Show.
SpunOut.ie Youth Board member and student radio whizz, Paddy Duffy, recently spoke on the Ryan Tubridy show.
Paddy gave the youth view in a discussion about young people and relationships. Well done to Paddy for telling it like it is on national radio!
Listen online:
http://dynamic.rte.ie/quickaxs/209-rte-tts-thetubridyshow-2007-10-04.smil
(Paddy talks at 16:25 minutes into the show)
Below, Paddy talks about the Tubridy experience:
There aren’t many things in the world that would make me react with a high-pitched “yay!” after getting word of it. Spurs winning the League; that would do it. Finding out Keira Knightley quite fancied me; you better believe that would do it. Getting an email asking to do a slot on Radio One’s Tubridy show; well, this one actually did.
There are a few reasons I got so excited. Firstly, as a budding radio-type person the opportunity to get on Radio One is a damn good one, and secondly Ryan Tubridy is a bit of a hero of mine, I’ve interviewed him a few times in the past and he’s always been very accommodating and helpful and generally a real gent, so it was nice to talk to him again!
We were going to be talking about young people and relationships, and I initially thought, “Wait, am I the right person to do this?! It’s been so long since I was in school, I wasn’t exactly great at dating and the likes when I was, sweet Jesus I’m going to bomb!”
Thankfully all fears were quelled when Tubridy’s producer, Tom Donnelly, rang me up to discuss what we might talk about on air, as my recall over the whole turbulent era was surprisingly clear, and I was able to get across the complexity of angsty teenage romance reasonably well.
So the following morning I was due to get the call at 9am for the first segment of the show, and I don’t mind telling you, I was nervous. But instead of that nervousness exacerbating the falling-into-orchestra-pit complex I’ve had since I was sixteen, it gave me the adrenaline I needed to get through the piece with limited stumbles and having pop-culture references at the tip of my tongue for mirthful use (Listen to the piece and you’ll know what I mean, I talk in TV code or something).
I was joined on air by Yvonne Joy, a mother whose son was getting to “that difficult age” and the author Ruth Gilligan, who is probably best known for having a hugely successful book published when she was in about fifth class of primary school.
While I empathised with what Yvonne, who seemed a pretty cool Mum by all accounts, had to say about her son’s progression into sexual awareness and the like, I was expecting Ruth’s story to be diametrically different to mine, what with her being South County Dublin in female teenage form and me being a rural northerner, but we did have some common ground.
After Ryan asked for some explicit details of teenage life, Ruth alluded to the practice of, how should I put this, girls going to a disco, as the French might say, sans underpants. I don’t know why I’m being so delicate now, cos Lord knows I wasn’t on air, as I disclosed to Ryan and a few hundred thousand listeners that such a practice was called “bushing”. Yep, I talked about bushing on Radio One at 9 o’clock in the morning. I’m sure I accounted for a few monocles being broken.
While I felt the time just flying in, overall it was very enjoyable: I think I came across OK, we had a lively and funny discussion and brought important youth issues out in the open on national radio.
It wasn’t bad on a personal front either, I was inundated with congratulations and well wishes, and my Bebo profile showings spiked out of control between 9 and 10am when I was on. Not bad for a morning’s work!
By: Paddy Duffy
We had the flu!
UPDATE 9/10/07 12am...
We have taken measures to prevent this issue re-occurring.
UPDATE 4/10/07 12am...
This issue appears to be resolved, thanks for baring with us.
UPDATE 4/10/07 11am...
We have identified the issue and hope to have all images back up by tomorrow morning. Sorry again.
As you may be able to tell some of the sites images aren't currently working. We are working hard to get them back up and running as soon as possible.
Sorry for any inconvenience.
The Spunout Team
