Summer School Program Manager: Looking Forward to Living Up to the Challenge!

Rens, you have only recently joined the YT team. Tell us a bit about yourself, your background and experiences. How did you end up at Youth Time?

I was working for a big consultancy company in Prague when I stumbled upon a job as project manager for Youth Time. As a former graduate in cultural anthropology and political science I was directly drawn towards the purpose of the organisation and immediately applied for the job. After having a job interview with the president of the Youth Time Movement, Julia Kinash, I was inspired by her drive and felt challenged by the critical questions that she asked me during our conversation. That day I felt what I can now say for sure, which is that Youth Time is a place where young people are offered the chance to grow and become better versions of themselves. I feel pleased to be involved in the organisation of events in which other people can also experience this by themselves.

Currently you’re responsible for Summer School’s program. Could you point out a few core points which future participants should pay attention to?

For our Summer School we are looking for social leaders. That means we are looking for people who are willing to take on the responsibility of making a change in the world, or even better, those who are already doing so as we speak. Demonstrate to us how you are involved, what you are willing to do in the future, or what you need to make a change. This way you prove that you are conscious of your goals and will be more likely to get results when you participate in our events.

You’re also involved in the selection process. What is the selection of the participants mainly based on? What do the organizers from Youth Time pay most of their attention to?

As we set out to organise high quality events, we only accept high quality applications. Make sure you put time and effort in your application, just as we put time and effort in taking all your applications into consideration. Then when you apply, make sure you precisely answer the questions that are being asked as well as being to the point. What is it that you want and what is it that you have to offer others…

What criteria is the team of trainers and experts formed on?

All the selected trainers and experts are to dispense professional experience on the topics requested for their workshop and they most also be used to working with young people. Furthermore, they all come from different spheres in society (politics, business, education, healthcare etc.) but they all have a proven interest in social matters. Finally, we wanted all the trainers to use a different approach. Where some of the workshops will have a more instructional character, others can be typified as more playful, whereas others still will use a more emotional approach. We have taken all this into consideration in setting up the program, as we intend to offer our participants a rich and varied learning experience.

Summer School will be your first Youth Time event. What expectations do you have?

In sports we usually say that a team is as good as the sum quality of all the players. As we have a set of top quality experts, a group of high-potential participants as well as an extremely motivated organising team, the outcome of the event can’t possibly be disappointing. I am looking forward to hopefully living up to the challenge!

You may also like:

Summer School in Faces: ‘Breaking Stereotypes’ Workshop Moderator Adi Kolasevic

‘Prepare for the Unknown Showing Itself as a Powerful Source for Growth’, – ‘Conflict Reconciliation’ Workshop Moderator Jaron Reisman

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