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Volunteer at the
IHDP Open Meeting 2009

Volunteers – The Idea

Volunteers will play an important role during the IHDP Open Meeting 2009 and thereby in its successful outcomes. By dedicating their time, energy and their talents the volunteers will contribute to advance the global environmental change research community and research. The Volunteers will be essential support of the IHDP staff during the conference and will help them in achieving the IHDP Open Meeting 2009 mission. For the days of the conference the Volunteers will be part of the IHDP Team and will be involved various, including demanding and responsible assignments.

As a benefit the volunteers will have the possibility to be part of the conference, which means that they will be able to attend the programme for those times without assignment, they will have the opportunity to develop new skills, and to enhance existing knowledge and networks. During the conference the Volunteers will enjoy all meals and drinks like the regular participants. Unfortunately, IHDP can neither provide a financial reward nor reimbursement for accommodation, travel expenses, and other costs.

Tasks

Volunteers will have certain tasks at the IHPD Open Meeting 2009 that will be assigned by the Volunteer Coordinator or any other IHDP staff member. They will in particular assist the logistics-unit and the programme-unit. Task can include:

• Room supervision – Setting up and maintaining the rooms for sessions, e.g. setting up beamers, laptops; assisting presenters with uploading presentations; making sure that drinking water for presenters available, etc.

• Registration / Info desk – Registering participants upon arrival, handling cash payments of conference fees, providing general services to participant, being the central information and service point at the venue.

• General basic information about the conference, about the public transport, phone numbers of interest, places to see in the region, the UN in Bonn etc.

In order to fulfill these tasks quickly and in a satisfactorily way, the volunteers will receive training and background documents prior to the conference. This will enable them, as very visible representatives of the IHDP Open Meeting 2009 to provide a friendly and efficient service thus creating a friendly and welcoming environment for all the participants.

Requirements

The requirements for Volunteers at the IHDP Open Meeting 2009 are:

• To have a strong command of the English language (knowledge of further languages is a plus)

• To be available full-time from 26-30 April (we may also need some volunteers before the IHDP Open Meeting 2009)

• Have a strong interest in Global Environmental Change issue

• Service oriented

• Want to help make the IHDP Open Meeting 2009 an outstanding event

Becoming a volunteer at the IHDP Open Meeting 2009

If you meet the requirements and are interested in becoming a volunteer, please send a short motivation letter with your contact details to L. Fernando Rodriguez Terrón (rodriguez@ihdp.unu.edu). Please feel free to contact him for any further questions you might have (+49 (0) 228 815 0623).

Further Information

Accepted volunteers will have to attend some hours of training prior to the conference. It is intended to have two training sessions. The first will be approximately one month before the conference, the second a few days before the IHDP Open Meeting 2009. Exact dates and times have yet to be determined. For volunteers that do not have the possibility to attend the first volunteer meeting (e.g. they do not live in the Bonn-area), there will be an extra meeting at a date close to the conference.