INSP 2009 board meeting

Left to right - Joanne Zuhl, Trudy Vlok,
Lisa Maclean, Serge Lareault, Michaela
Gründler and Arkady Tyurin. Photo
courtesy of The Herald

The board of INSP meets with the Executive Director Lisa Maclean every month by telephone conference and twice each year for a face-to-face meeting. This week, our 5 board members from Russia, USA, Canada, South Africa and Austria met with INSP staff in Glasgow for an important 4 day planning meeting. Staff and board reviewed the work and finances for 2008 - 2009; redrafted strategies on fundraising and marketing & communication; evaluated projects and partnerships; and drafted a new business plan and strategy for 2010 - 2012.

INSP's intern programme

Over the summer, INSP has worked with 8 interns and volunteers on various projects. This month sees a change as SNS intern Eoghan Macguire leaves. Eoghan has been working on the SNS project since February, but left earlier this month to start a masters programme in journalism at Cardiff University. Replacing Eoghan this month is Franck Martin a freelance journalist and a recent politics graduate of Glasgow University.

We also say farewell this month to interns Hazel Ferguson and Neil Barclay who worked with INSP for 3 months on a fundraising project. INSP staff would also like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to our regular team of volunteer translators who work on translating SNS articles, SNS feed, monthly bulletins and other member communication. Click here to view our current staff, board and volunteers.

INSP at the Homeless World Cup

Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton
meeting Mel Young and some of the players

This year's Homeless World Cup took place in Milan from the 6th to the 13th of September. Ukraine were crowned this year's champions after defeating Portugal 5-4 in an exciting final. INSP staff Lisa Maclean and Maree Aldam spent 4 days at the event and met with representatives from 11 INSP street papers, who were there with their teams. Lisa and Maree also had meetings with 15 other individuals, to offer support for new or emerging street paper projects and promote the street paper concept.

SNS funding news

INSP recently learned that an independent media funding application made to the EU, in partnership with Inter Press Service (IPS) has been successful. INSP will be awarded some 400,000 Euros, over 3 years, as part of the 940,690 euro total. The project will focus on developing INSP's growing 'Street News Service' project and in particular encouraging the flow of development-related information from the global south to readers in Europe and beyond.

This is a huge development for INSP and a great outcome for our existing 2-year collaboration with IPS. The funding will mean exciting changes for the Street News Service: a new full-time staff person, new website and the development of a bold public face of our news service.

SNS intern position available

INSP is seeking a Street News Service intern to join the Glasgow team on 7th September 2009.

TITLE:

Street News Service Intern

REPORTS TO:

Maree Aldam, Network Development Officer

PURPOSE:

To aid INSP in supporting its global membership of independent social media by collating, editing, posting, and distributing quality editorial content for exchange through its online news agency, the Street News Service (www.streetnewsservice.org).

SPECIFIC DUTIES:

• Collate all submissions of news articles, features, and photographs contributed by INSP street paper members around the world

• Select and collate supplemental content from external partners, including Reuters, Inter Press Service, and international NGO bodies

• Format and copyedit all English-language submissions and ensure their applicability to regional and international audience

• Liaise with INSP staff and volunteer translators regarding article translations

• Write brief article summaries to aid INSP members in the selection of content

• Upload all material (text and photographs) to the Street News Service website

• Draft and distribute email feeds for each weekly edition, recognising contributors and highlighting notable articles as ‘Top Stories'

• Monitor Street News Service usage, as needed

• Communicate with member street papers to encourage use of the service

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

• Strong written communication skills

• Attention to detail and ability to work well independently

• Background in journalism strongly preferred

TIME COMMITMENT:

23 hours per week for at least a 3-month period. Availability on Fridays and Mondays is essential, but other hours of work are flexible and can be both office and home-based.

START DATE:

Monday 7th September 2009

TO APPLY:

Send your CV, a brief writing sample, and a cover letter telling us why you're interested in this opportunity to: m.aldam@street-papers.org

This is an unpaid internship but a small bursary may be provided.