2. Rama Lobatos
3.3 Las actividades en Exploradores
The fair trade movement seeks to champion workers ’ rights and stand up for a fair wage and fair working conditions, especially in the devel- oping world, where few government regulations exist. The Fairtrade Foundation includes the following criteria in their defi nition of fair trade:
• Fair pricing that refl ects the value of the labor
• Investment in improving the environ- ment of the working location
• Mutually benefi cial long-term relation- ship between workers and traders • Establishment of socially, economically,
and environmentally responsible work- ing conditions
Look for the Fairtrade label when purchas- ing products, and ask your event vendors about their fair trade practices.
a hard-to-pronounce name and didn ’t even realize it. One way to ensure equal opportunity is to insist on anonymous job applications, without any picture or personal details except for a last name. This way the hirer will not know the age, gender, race, or religion of the candidates.
You may wish to include an Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form with each job application. Applicants may volunteer demographic details such as age, gender, race, or religion on a separate sheet, returned separate from the application to an HR person, who can then track the demographics of those who have applied to better understand if your company attracts a diverse pool of applicants. Does your company ’s diversity match that of the region? Are you primarily hiring men? Are all of these men over 40 years old? Is it all men with long white hair and beards over 40 years old? If you work in a magical land of wizards such as in The Hobbit or Harry Potter , this demographic may be appropriate. However, if you work in other locations, you may want to enquire why you have no women or no young persons as members of your staff.
Rarely will a company ’s diversity exactly match that of its community, but if you notice a huge discrepancy, you may want to try advertising your jobs to a wider audience. There may be hugely qualifi ed candidates who have not yet noticed your company because they live in a different neighborhood or read different newspapers.
It is extremely important to be sensitive when communicating about equality and diversity. Saying that you would like to hire people belonging to a certain demographic can be just as offen- sive as saying that you would not like to hire that same demographic. The important thing is that everyone have a fair shot, and a person ’s demographic or personal details have nothing to do with his or her potential work for your company.
A c c e s s i b i l i t y
According to the U.S. Census Bureau ’s 2002 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), 18 percent of Americans have a disability. If your next meeting or event refl ects the national aver- age, one in six attendees may have a disability. Accessibility is no long an option; all events must be accessible to persons of all abilities.
Begin with understanding the correct terminology. Figure 4.4 shows both the correct terms and those that are deemed offensive and hurtful. Some terms are common sense; others are more complex. The important thing is to treat all people with the respect and dignity that they deserve.
Do Say Don ’t Say
Persons with disabilities The disabled, the handicapped
Mentally disabled Retarded, slow, crazy
Persons with physical disabilities Handicapped, crippled
Visually impaired Blind
Hearing impaired Deaf
Persons of short stature Midget, dwarf
Wheelchair user Wheelchair bound
Once you know the language, learn the best practices in accessible communication. Do not raise your voice, as if you are speaking to a child, when speaking with persons with mental dis- abilities. Try to engage wheelchair users at eye level, leaning or crouching when necessary. Offer your hand as a guide to visually impaired persons, and describe where you are leading them. These are simple tips that should be shared with all staff.
The more diffi cult part of this process is building improvements. Is your building or event site accessible? Here are just a few of the guidelines for building accessibility required by the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):
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Clear all accessible walkways and parking spaces of debris.•
Provide accessible pathways at least 3 feet wide.•
Provide ramps for any elevated pathways.•
Provide accessible countertops low enough to suit wheelchair users.•
Ensure that all signs include a Braille translation.•
Provide audio enhancement services.•
Provide captioning and audio description.Accessibility is an exciting issue for public events that is constantly developing. Begin learning the basics now and you will stay ahead of future regulation.
T h e R e l a x e d P e r f o r m a n c e
On December 13, 2012, Edinburgh ’s Festival Theatre hosted the fi rst ever Relaxed Performance in Scotland. No, it ’s not a show where you get a pillow and have a nap. A Relaxed Performance is aimed at children with profound and complex learning needs, who have little opportunity to attend theater and events because they may make disruptive involuntary noises, may not be able to sit still, have complex physical needs, and may not cope well with the darkness of an audito- rium or with loud music.
Unlike a traditional show, this relaxed performance featured:
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No black-outs in the auditorium and reduced sound levels•
Provision of hoists and changing beds•
Break-out spaces for those feeling overwhelmed•
Removed seating to accommodate more wheelchair users•
Accommodations for dealing with food, medication, and transport•
Extra ramped emergency exit provisionThanks to the Festival Theatre ’s efforts, hundreds of children from special schools across Scotland were able to enjoy a very special performance of the Christmas classic The Snowman . For many children, this was the fi rst time they had ever seen a live theatrical show.
Vo l u n t e e r C o o r d i n a t i o n
Volunteers are the lifeblood of many events. Without volunteers, these events would cease to exist. In fact, the vast majority of events are entirely volunteer driven. Effectively recruiting, train- ing, coordinating, and rewarding volunteers is a vital part of many event operations. Although challenging, the recommendations that follow will help you streamline this critical function.
Julia Rutherford Silvers, CSEP, in Professional Event Coordination (2003), describes how using “reverse scheduling” assists event planners with realistic scheduling of human resources. According to Rutherford Silvers, “When estimating the time required for each task defi ned, you must consider all constraints, assumptions, capabilities, historical information, and mandatory dependencies (the tasks that must be completed before another task can begin).”
Many event planners are now turning to corporate America to recruit legions of volunteers for their events. First, the corporation is asked to serve as an event sponsor, and as part of its sponsorship, the corporation may provide key executives to give advice and counsel or a team of 100 or more volunteers to manage the beverage booths, games, or other aspects of the event. A good source for volunteer leadership through corporations is the offi ce of public affairs, public relations, or human resources. Toni McMahon, former executive director of the Arts Council of Fairfax County and producer of the International Children ’s Festival, goes right to the top. “I start with the chief executive offi cer. If I can get this person to buy into the event, others will surely follow,” McMahon says. Her track record speaks for itself, with literally dozens of major corpora- tions providing hundreds of volunteers for this annual event.
Other sources for volunteers are civic and fraternal organizations. Part of the mission of these organizations is community service, so they will be receptive to your needs. A related organiza- tion is that of schools, both public and private. In many school districts across the United States, high school students are required to complete a minimum number of community service hours in order to graduate. Do not overlook colleges and universities. Many institutions of higher learn- ing have dozens of student organizations that also have a service mission and may be willing to participate in your event.
Social consumer-generated media, such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, have become critical to the recruitment process. Encourage your current employees and family, as well as friends, to post on these sites about opportunities to work with your event. These sites now reach a wide range of diverse stakeholders, whose talents may be well used for your upcoming event.
The key to attracting these groups is the WIFM (“What ’s in it for me?”) principle. When you contact these organizations, learn a little bit about their needs and then use the objectives of your event to help them fulfi ll their needs. Jeff Parks, president of ArtsQuest, the producer of the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, award-winning MusikFest, works with numerous community groups to produce everything from food and beverage stands to maintaining the porta-johns; in turn, each group raises thousands of dollars to support the good work for their not-for-profi t organization. These groups know exactly what ’s in it for them: cash. This cash enables them to do good work all year long. Determine what ’s in it for them, and you will quickly fi nd volunteers standing in line to help your event succeed.
All volunteers must be trained. This training need not be time-consuming, but it must be comprehensive. One way to reduce the amount of time required is to publish a handbook for volunteers that summarizes event policies and procedures. Training may take the form of a social gathering, such as an orientation, or it can be formalized instruction in the fi eld at the actual event site. It does not matter how you deliver this training, as every group of volunteers will require a different method in order to help them learn. However, what is important is that you test for mas- tery to make certain that they are learning and applying the skills you are imparting. Testing for mastery can be done through a written exam, observation, or a combination of both.
The on-site management of volunteers entails coordinating their job performance to ensure that you are accomplishing the goals of the event. Depending on the skill level of the volunteers, you must assign team leaders or supervisors in suffi cient number to oversee their performance. Remember that the coordination of volunteers involves coaching and mentoring. Make certain that your team leaders or supervisors are skilled in these areas.
Don ’t wait until the end of the event to say “thank you.” Some organizations publish volunteer newsletters; others host holiday parties to thank the volunteers for their help during the annual summer festival. Giving volunteers early, frequent, and constant recognition is a critical compo- nent in developing a strong and loyal volunteer team. You may wish to create an annual contest for Volunteer of the Year or some such recognition to encourage good-natured competition among your team members. Make certain that you carefully research with your volunteers how to effec- tively recognize and reward their service to the event.
C o n t r a c t Te m p o r a r y E m p l o y e e s
You may incorporate cost-effi cient human resource management with cost control by contracting temporary employees for peak seasons. This will allow you to keep in place only those employees whom you need all year long. This will also help you to retain your permanent staff longer, since you will be in a better position to extend your resources to a smaller number of permanent staff. The biggest downside of this strategy is the challenge of attracting qualifi ed personnel for short- term assignments. You can minimize the risk of having to deal with unprofessional behavior by hiring hospitality and event students from your local colleges and universities or by establishing long-term trusting relationships with a specialized staffi ng agency. Your collaboration with local schools can be based on offering shorter- and longer-term professional internships. Such pro- grams can also be helpful for screening your potential future employees.
One of the scarcest resources within any event organization is time. In fact, some event plan- ners describe their time as their only real resource. Therefore, it is important that every event planner become a master of time management.