Volunteers

 

Volunteers play a vital role in making the Edinburgh International Culture Summit happen: from helping to manage events, guiding cultural leaders and ministers around the Scottish Parliament, providing useful information about Edinburgh and beyond to those unfamiliar with the city, and supporting the operations teams from media to tech.

By volunteering you can:

  • Learn more about international relationships and collaboration
  • Get an inside view of how major global summits are run
  • Expand and develop your professional knowledge
  • Showcase Scotland’s capital to people from across the world
  • Discover more about global arts and cultural policies and their implementation
  • Meet people working in the cultural sector from all around the world

No formal qualifications or experience are required – although additional languages, cultural knowledge or other specialist skills would be very helpful – the main characteristics we look for are positive, tolerant and welcoming people from diverse backgrounds, who have energy, enthusiasm and professionalism.

Ideally you would volunteer on multiple days of the summit (26-28 August 2022) in order to ensure you have the best possible experience and to help the event run smoothly; there are two training sessions (one virtual, one in person) ahead of the summit which volunteers are required to attend. Lunch will be provided and a contribution to travel expenses.

Find out more about volunteering roles, and how to apply, below.

There are a range of volunteering opportunities available: Welcome, Delegate Aide, Summit Support and Wellbeing.

Welcome:

Welcome volunteers are the friendly, familiar faces greeting people attending the summit, sharing useful information about both the Summit and the city, answering questions, and helping ensure excursions run smoothly.

This role would suit people with an upbeat personality but who can also be a reassuring presence for Summit attendees with questions, and who have an enthusiasm for Edinburgh and culture.

Delegate Aides:

Delegate Aides assist and support international delegations (which include ministers, cultural leaders, youth representatives and others) during the Summit.  During the event you will be on hand in case of queries and to assist delegations to move from one session to the next. Most Delegations will have one Delegate Aide assigned to them.

This role would suit someone who is interested in cultural and international diplomacy and who can conduct themselves to the highest standards. It is a key role and would therefore suit someone who can keep calm under pressure, maintains politeness and remains flexible to the changeable nature of the event.

Summit Support:

Summit Support volunteers encompass a range of roles, some of which are listed below, and we will aim to tailor your skills to the roles. You could be overseeing a performer rehearse or supporting the Media team as they conduct interviews, helping the Production team set up spaces for meetings or helping ensure that audio and recording equipment is working.

These roles would suit a range of people – it might be that you have a specific skillset (e.g., note taking) or you are happy just to pitch in and help with spur of the moment tasks.

Wellbeing:

Wellbeing volunteers are the ones who look out for the health and wellbeing of staff, contributors and volunteers; summits can be extremely busy and people can become stressed, and these volunteers are specifically focused on ensuring that people take breaks, know how to get their lunches and refreshments or can speak to someone if they need a chat.

This role would suit people who are calm, caring and considerate, able to look out for others and ensure that they are taking care of themselves.

For more information, email volunteers@eicsf.com

To apply to be a volunteer click here