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Call for External Expert!

Call for External Expert!

For one of the new research projects of the ISOCARP Institute, we are looking for urban practitioners with proven experiences working with soil and its integration into spatial planning processes to propose as External Expert.

If you’re interested in becoming part of this External Advisory Board, apply using this form.

The deadline for applications is August 7th 2024 at 23:59 CEST.

For further questions, please contact info@isocarp-institute.org.

JOB OPPORTUNITY: Communication & Graphic Design Officer

JOB  OPPORTUNITY: COMMUNICATIONS & GRAPHIC DESIGN OFFICER

ISOCARP Institute  – Den Haag, Netherlands

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About us 

The ISOCARP Institute is the research spin-off of the International Society of City and Regional Planners (ISOCARP), based in The Hague, the Netherlands. With over five decades of accumulated knowledge and expertise in urban and regional planning, ISOCARP as a non-profit organisation with individual and institutional members in 85 countries worldwide, initiated the Institute as a Centre for Urban Excellence – a think-tank empowering individuals, organisations, and institutions to achieve better human settlements. The Institute’s core function is to conduct research and promote knowledge transfer, offer advice and short-term consultancy services, as well as design and deliver capacity-building and educational programmes. The Institute is involved in several projects and collaborates with a range of international partners. 

Internship description:

We are seeking a Communications & Graphic Design Officer to join our growing team and support the day-to-day implementation of our projects and Institute. In this position, you will support and assist us in the delivery of our multiple projects, including the visual design of project material (e.g., creation of infographics/multi-media output), web development, social media management/content creation, and video editing; as well as the general external communication of the Institute.  

To apply for this position, you should have knowledge of WordPress and graphic design programmes, including Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Adobe Premier, etc.  

You will further assist in the management of our online knowledge base, which includes the development of a new strategy for our company website.

Main tasks & responsibilities: 

Communication and Social media: 

  • Manage the day-to-day implementation of communication tasks within our projects
  • Prepare engaging visual materials, handbooks, infographics and manuals and assist in formalizing presentations, designing handouts, and booklets
  • Manage the social media accounts (Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.) of the Institute and our EU projects (creating content and other informative materials)
  • Support the creation of local communications campaigns for cities and project partners 

Design: 

  • Translate thematic & technical concepts into compelling visual outputs
  • Design and implement all types of graphic design work including reports, publications, posters, brochures, flyers, logos/visual identities, banners, and multi-media creatives;
  • Ensure project branding, style, and tone are implemented across all channels

Website Management: 

  • Support with the upgrade of the Institute and project websites (plan, implement, manage, monitor improvements) 
  • Create website content (including writing press releases, blog posts, media articles, newsletters, etc.)
  • Manage the Institute’s Knowledge Base, including its ongoing restructuring, the development of creative ideas for multimedia content, and organising and updating content libraries/repositories
  • Update website content aligned to the organization’s strategy and events; 
  • Improve user experience of the websites regularly. 

In addition, you: 

  • Bring an enthusiastic and hands-on mentality and enjoy working in a young, dynamic, and international environment. 
  • Are a team player, with the ability to engage with stakeholders. 
  • Can work independently and pro-actively 
  • Can coordinate several projects simultaneously.

Requirements:

  • You hold a Master’s degree or other advanced qualifications in the fields of Communications & Design, and you have a background or strong interest in the field of urban studies/urban planning. Relevant work experience can replace the need for a Master’s degree.  
  • You understand how to appeal to and tailor communications and dissemination outputs to different audiences.
  • You can independently design high quality material and respond well to feedback.
  • You are curious, open-minded, and experienced in communications and design.
  • You have excellent command of the English language, both verbal and written. Other (European) languages are an asset.
  • You preferably have 1 year working experience in the field of communications and design.
  • We are looking for someone who can join us as soon as possible. Therefore, candidates located in the Netherlands will have priority (we accept candidates from all nationalities, but you must hold valid EU citizenship or have a valid EU residence permit and Dutch work permit).

What do we offer: 

  • 28-32 hrs/week.
  • Work in an exciting, multi-disciplinary international team.
  • The opportunity to develop yourself through varied assignments
  • A competitive salary.
  • Hybrid working options and flexible hours.
  • Hands-on-experience in real EU-projects in a friendly, encouraging working environment
  • Opportunities to grow as a communication professional specialising in translating complex information into legible material
  • The opportunity to potentially transition to a permanent position or through varied assignments.

Due to legal reasons, applicants must hold EU citizenship or a valid EU residence permit and a valid Dutch work permit. Applications who do not meet these conditions will not be considered for the position. 

How to apply: 

Send an application to dommerholt@isocarp-institute.org containing:

  1. CV (pdf titled: surname_comms_CV)
  2. Motivation letter (pdf titled: surname_comms_ML)
  3. Portfolio (pdf titled: surname_comms_portfolio)

Subject Line of your email: Surname, Comms Officer

In your email or cover letter, please indicate your current citizenship/residence permit/work permit situation.

Deadline to apply: 13 October 2023 

If you have questions about this vacancy, please send an e-mail to Taliah Dommerholt (Project Manager) dommerholt@isocarp-institute.org 

The final intensive study programme of the Erasmus + project WAVE!

The final Intensive Study Programme of the Erasmus+ project WAVE!

We are in Nürtingen until 29th June for the final Intensive Study Programme of the Erasmus+ project WAVE!

University students from Belgium, Estonia, Germany, Italy, and Romania will focus on discovering and proposing alternatives the corridor of the Tiefenbach valley, specifically in Nürtingen city center, where the waterway is visually absent. Together with WAVE partners, we will guide them in their efforts to adopt a landscape perspective to envision these alternative futures for the Tiefenbach in Nürtingen. 

We are super excited to see new and returning students discover the WAVE methods!

As part of the exploration, students studied the water system, its interplay with natural, social, and economic factors, and their profound impact on land use and landforms. They now have to critically evaluate these cause-effect relationships on the landscape values and ecosystem services and formulate new design prototypes! These will serve as tangible representations of their concepts and will help illustrate the transformative possibilities for the landscape as part of the Landscape Forum on 27th June -1st July, co-organised by IFLA Europe and LE:Notre Institut

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Discussing Collective Mobilisation. The ISOCARP Institute at Designing Cities for All: RE-generation In Common.

Discussing Collective Mobilisation. The ISOCARP Institute at Designing Cities for All: RE-generation In Common.

On 6th of June evening, project manager Samir Amin participated in the concluding episode of the Designing Cities for All series: RE-generation In CommonIn the third and last episode with fellow Roberto Rocco, the panel of speakers discussed pathways for collectivisation and re-generative relationships with the commons.  

Samir shared his experiences in community mobilisation, drawing on the many ways we connect communities, policymakers, and researchers in our projects. In particular, Samir explored the value of storytelling as a tool to lobby for co-creative change and to challenge decision-making that is fundamentally removed from citizens.  

The event saw thoughts and experiences shared across an amazing panel of speakers, including activist Martine Doppen, postdoctoral researcher Shahryar Sarabi, and Roberto Rocco, associate professor of spatial planning at TU Delft. Through conversations and meaningful inputs from audience members, moderators, and guests, we came to the point that bottom-up collective initiatives are essential to recognise the intertwined relationships between communities and nature. By working together, we can celebrate biodiversity and human diversity in parallel and work towards healthier and more just cities.

If you would like to watch this episode and the Designing Cities for All series, take a look at the video below. 

External video production services

External Video production services

Context

For a new interregional policy exchange project DOWN TO EARTH, the Institute and other partners are contracted as a consortium by the European Commission to promote sustainable development and increase the disaster risk resilience of rural communities across Europe.

As part of the project we need to produce a introduction video (max. 180 seconds) presenting the project and its objectives by 31.08.23. To that end, we are looking for external support to produce a video on par with the standards of DOWN TO EARTH funding programme, Interreg Europe 21-27.

Interested? Reach out to info@isocarp-institute.org and send your proposal by 01.06.2023

The terms of reference are available here: Request for external services: Video production services.

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Down to Earth – Interregional cooperation for sustainable, resilient and attractive rural areas

ISOCARP INSTITUTE partners in Interreg
Europe project DOWN TO EARTH

We are excited to announce the launch of our new project “DOWN TO EARTH” funded by the Interreg Europe programme. This project aims to lead to a better use of available tools and resources, including Cohesion Policy funds, in the participating regions, ultimately seeking to promote sustainable development and increase the disaster risk resilience of rural communities across Europe.

DOWN-TO-EARTH gathers a group of organisations working on different aspects related to disaster risk reduction and rural development from regions across Europe, who firmly believe that retaining population and encouraging sustainable practices in key sectors is crucial to curb environmental deterioration, and can greatly contribute to risk prevention.

The partnership is composed of 8 partners, and two associated policy authorities, led by Axencia Galega de Desenvolvemento Rural, and will work together to identify and promote win-win solutions to manage, maintain and enhance natural capital to reduce the risk and impact of environmental disasters, while generating economic and social opportunities to attract population to rural areas.

Thanks to mutual learning through interregional exchange of experiences, the capacities of the regional and local authorities as well as relevant stakeholders from the participating rural areas to deal with the identified challenges will be increased.

Or download the document here.

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Sustainable Urban Planning And Development Masterclass

Sustainable Urban Planning And Development Masterclasses

The ISOCARP Institute and Think City Institute have partnered to develop a series of three online masterclasses on Sustainable Urban Planning And Development.

This first course will take place over the first three week of May 2023, with one module per week and the final case study workshop in the third week. Through a number of activities, attendees are guided through the modules and equipped with knowledge and strategies that they can apply, to work towards fairer and more sustainable cities. The activities in the course are divided between individual and group work.

The first course, Governace, will touch on topics of policy scale, governing cities in inclusive manners, and involving urban populations in decision-making.

APPLY NOW by filling out the application form
*early bird USD399 if registration is before 15 April

📨 For any further inquiries, please contact amin@isocarp-institute.org or duncan.cave@thinkcity.com.my

And for more details about topics, course structures, and timeline, check our the website.

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CONEXUS launches survey for Urban Planning Professionals

CONEXUS launches survey for Urban Planning Professionals

Attention urban planning professionals!

We would like to invite you to participate in a survey on nature-based solutions (NBS)* in urban areas. This survey was developed by researchers at Wageningen University in the Netherlands and the Technical University of Munich in Germany, in collaboration with partner institutions in the CONEXUS research project.

Whereas most cities have at least some metrics and indicators in place to assess the outcomes of NBS, we know relatively little about the processes of governance, planning, and managing urban NBS. Such procedural aspects are seen as major factors for successful implementation of NBS. This survey was developed to address this knowledge gap.

The survey allows participants to reflect on possible bottlenecks and challenges preventing the uptake of NBS in their city. The goal of this survey is to better understand and potentially improve decision-making processes on urban NBS, not to compare or rank the performance of cities. The results will be used by researchers and practitioners participating in the CONEXUS project to build a better picture of these possible bottlenecks across Europe and Latin America.

We will ask you about your perception of 12 different dimensions of urban NBS governance in your city, which will together be building a comprehensive picture of opportunities and challenges. For each dimension, a scoring rubric is provided within the survey to give additional guidance.

The survey is available in the four main languages of the CONEXUS project:

👉English , 👉 Spanish , 👉 Portuguese (Brazil) , 👉 Italian.

Additional information related to the CONEXUS? research project and your rights as a participant in this survey is provided in the section “consent form” in the online survey. Please complete the consent form before starting the survey.

You are welcome to forward this survey to other local experts in public institutions, academia, private sector (built environment & other) and civil society in your city.

Thank you very much for participating in this survey!

*Nature-based solutions (NBS) is a relatively new concept referring to interventions based on nature that improve urban sustainability. If the concept of nature-based solutions (NBS) is not yet commonly used in your city, please consider other types of multifunctional urban nature, such as green infrastructure, community gardens or wetlands, when completing the survey.