Clears timetable for ISFiT
President of ISFiT, Marius Jones, has assembled his Board for the student festival in 2015. The group has now made the festival their top priority for the next year and a half.
Tekst: Mari Maaø Nilssen, Jørgen Benkholt
When we arrive at the ISFiT office around lunchtime, Jones welcomes us at the door with a firm handshake. Marius Jones was elected President of ISFiT in April with 80 percent of the votes.
The last months Jones has spent choosing and getting to know his Board for ISFiT 2015. He put emphasis on finding people he would enjoy working with.
– I wanted to find people with different backgrounds who could work well together. We didn’t require previous ISFiT experience. The idea is to learn as you go, Jones says.
The theme of «Labour»
Three candidates ran for the ISFiT 2015 presidency, all of them with different themes for the festival. Jones won with his theme «Labour». Towards the festival in 2015 the Board will further elaborate on this theme.
Head of Theme, Elise Tengs, says it is important to narrow it down to something tangible people can relate to.
– The changing theme makes ISFiT unique compared to other festivals. We can concentrate our efforts on various important topics, Tengs says.
Student Peace Prize and Dialogue Groups
Head of the Student Peace Prize, Ragnhild Sophie Fredheim, is in charge of electing the committee that will award the next Student Peace Prize.
– I have previous experience from ISFiT. I’ve also got experience from UKA (Norway’s largest cultural student festival, authors note). When asked to become a board member, I thought that it was now or never. I’m really looking forward to it, Fredheim says.
Fredheim is also in charge of another important part of the festival, the Dialogue Groups. In the Dialogue Groups people from different sides of conflicts meet for conversation and workshops.
Head of Culture, Kristin Skjærseth Hildre is in charge of everything that happens on a stage: concerts, debates, lectures, art exhibitions and performing arts. Skjærseth Hildre was part of ISFiT 2013 and says it was the best decision she ever made.
Which speaker do you want the most to ISFiT 2015?
– Malalai Joya - Afghanistan's bravest woman, and Majid Tavakoli who was awarded the Student Peace Prize in 2013, she says.
The backbone of the festival
Head of Administration, Martin Scheiene, is in charge of catering, transportation, the participants and the administration. He likes getting chaos handed over to him.
– My section is like the backbone of the organisation. It’s important that communication runs smoothly and that we do a good job, because many people in the organisation depend on us, Scheiene says.
The festival also has a Head of Business: Karianne Gundersen. She is responsible for the economics of the festival.
– I am supposed to have the main overview, but we have an authorised accountant as well, Gundersen says.
Gundersen is one of the board members without previous experience with ISFiT. Although she acknowledges being Head of Business is a very important part of the festival, that doesn't worry her.
– We can always ask the previous board if we have any questions, they are eager to help, Gundersen says.
That ISFiT feeling
Head of Communication, Jonas Helland, does not have any formal qualifications within the field of communication, but he has got a lot of thoughts about it. Helland is looking forward to communicating the significance of the festival better than ever before.
– ISFiT’s potential is unlimited, we can reach far internationally. Few festivals have this much to communicate, Helland says.
Vice President, Sandell talks about the ISFiT feeling. She experienced it first, like many others, as a workshop leader.
– I was sold. It was an amazing experience, Sandell says.
President Jones adds that the Board usually attracts people with previous ISFiT experience.
– You get hooked on the ISFiT feeling, he says.
Balancing studies and festival
The group of people sitting around the lunch table are all students. They have just made a big commitment to work for ISFiT for the next one and a half year.
– ISFiT is a student festival, you should be able to be a student while working for the festival, Jones says.
Previous boards have had problems with board members resigning before the festival because of the workload. We asked how they plan to avoid members getting burned-out. Vice-President, Susanne Sandell explains that having fun is vital when you spend so much time on a voluntary project.
– Focusing on having fun while doing all this work is very important. We need to work well as friends, Sandell says.
Having fun is something this group seems to be good at. We are struck by the positive energy at the ISFiT office. Footballs flying through the room and repeating outbursts of laughter in the background show signs of a playful, relaxed board.
The President’s chosen theme
We sit down with the top leaders Jones and Sandell in a quiet room, to talk more about the theme «Labour». Europe today is suffering from very high unemployment, especially amongst young people. This is one of the issues Jones wants ISFiT 2015 to discuss.
– Lessons from history have taught us what might happen when unemployment is high. The inter-war period in Germany is a good example. The economic crisis following in the wake of World War 1, allowed extremism to grow in the society. This lead to another war, Jones says.
ISFiT 2015 is set to come up with ideas to combat unemployment. An excited Jones tells us about all the other topics they want to discuss regarding Labour.
– We want to discuss what having a job means to a human being. Not just having a job, but also what kind of job, and the value it gives us. Having a job with terrible working conditions might be detrimental to the person, both physical and psychological. Some jobs in the textile industry in Cambodia, provides such examples, Jones says.
By gathering bright young minds from all over the world, ISFiT will try to tackle many issues. Issues related to modern slavery and the educational system are high on ISFiT's agenda.
– Who's to say our current educational system is ideal for helping young people secure jobs in the future? There are a lot of adopted truths in our society, he says.
He stresses the importance of not forgetting to talk about slavery as a problem that is still with us today.
– Regarding slavery, there have never been more slaves in the world, although the percentage is lower, Jones says.
The leaders
We ask the leaders what makes them good for this job. Vice President Susanne Sandell tells us why she thinks Jones picked her.
– I think he chose me because I have a different background. When I lived in Spain, I witnessed unemployment up close. I feel really the topic Labour is engaging, and I have a lot of thoughts about it. I've also been a workshop leader before, and I bet my experience with ISFiT helped, Sandell.
Sandell is finishing a Master’s degree in Nano technology in a few months and she will then have a lot of spare time to focus on the festival. We ask if the Vice President could tell us why she thinks Jones would be a good leader.
– First of all, he's an incredible motivator. He's also a leader with tons of integrity, and we can trust him to do the right thing, Sandell says.
Marius Jones seems to have gathered a competent bunch of people to lead the festival in 2015. The feeling that this festival is going to be fun, exciting and educational, is further enhanced when witnessing the harmonic group dynamic of the board. The ISFiT-feeling will once again radiate from Trondheim.
The board for ISFiT 2015:
President
Marius Jones
4th year student of Civil Economics, third time participating in ISFiT.
Vice President
Susanne Sandell
Master's degree in Nanotechnology
Head of the Student Peace Prize
Ragnhild Sophie Fredheim
Studies teaching. Wants to teach science and French
Head of Communication
Jonas Helland
Bachelor's degree in Economics, currently studying Political Science
Head of Culture
Kristin Skjærseth Hildre
Studies Social Anthropology
Head of Administration
Martin Scheiene
Studies Psychology, 4th year.
Head of Business
Karianne Gundersen
Studies Financial Economics
Head of Theme
Elise Tengs
Studies Political Economy, 4th year
