The second edition of a brochure encouraging young Scottish people to make the most of the opportunities that are available to them at a European level has been launched by Scottish Nationalist Party EFA MEP, Alyn Smith.

The brochure, entitled “Opportunities for Bright Scots in Europe” will be sent to all secondary schools, universities and libraries in Scotland and is also available on request in electronic format. The booklet provides an overview of what jobs are on offer in the main institutions such as the European Commission and the European Parliament as well as information on funding and exchange programmes.
MEP Alyn Smith, who is Scotland’s youngest MEP, said:

"There are a whole host of opportunities available for students across the EU. It is a grave shame that so many Scots are unaware of these possibilities. I have produced this brochure because I want to open as many doors for Scots as I possibly can.
"As a proud Scot working in Europe and a fellow intern back in 1996, I want to see more and more Scots making their mark across Europe. With a lot of pessimism surrounding the job market at the moment I want to reassure bright young Scots that they can have a bright future if they make the most of opportunities that are readily available."

Young Scots for Independence (YSI)

Saturday (31st January 2009) saw the close of the World Social Forum (WSF) in Belém do Pará, Brazil.

The three day event featured exhibition space devoted to the the theme of ‘Collective Rights of Peoples’, which discussed issues related to self determination, minoritised languages and indigionous peoples. It was the first time that such a theme has been held at the WSF and was run in collaboration between Escarré international Centre for Ethnic Minorities and Nations (CIEMEN) and the Catalan Agency for Development Co-operation.

Quim Arrufat, who is in charge of international relations for CIEMEN, said that one of the aims of the exhibition was to:

"bring the World Social Forum process, the aims of the alter-globalization movement and the existence of other stateless peoples to the attention of the Catalan public."

In turn, Andreu Felip, who is the Director of the Catalan Agency for Development Co-operation, said that the idea behind the theme of the ‘Collective Rights of Peoples’ was to say "... that another world is not possible if the right to self-determination of nations is not respected. " Mr Felip added that the aim was also "to set up a worldwide network comprising peoples which have their national rights restricted or unresolved”.

The European Free Alliance Youth (EFAy) is currently working on a short film project, which will be launched in March 2009, giving the views of people across Europe on the topic of self determination and what it means to them.

Links:

CIEMEN

Nationalia

World Social Forum 2009

Blog of exhibition

The Centre Maurits Coppieters (CMC) is now looking for a full time employee to work as an Administrative Coordinator.

The deadline for applications is noon on 20th February 2009 and should consisit of a detailed curriculum vitae and a covering lettering outlining your motivation in applying. Applications should be forwarded to:

Mr. Günther Dauwen
CMC Secretary
info@cmc-foundation.eu

CMC was founded in September 2007, under a pilot programme of the European Commission. It was recognised as a European political foundation affiliated to the European Free Alliance (EFA).

More information about post can be found here.

Links:

Centre Maurits Coppieters (CMC)

European Free Alliance