Getting Ready for NUS Conferences.
Getting Ready for
NUS Conferences
Who is this training for?
Anyone attending one of NUS’ 5 campaigns and democracy
conferences this year
•
National Conference
•
Liberation Conference
•
Scotland Conference
•
Wales Conference
•
NUS-USI Conference
What we will do
•
Who’s in the (virtual) room?
•
Talk about decision-making
•
Talk about how we do decision making at NUS
•
Let you know about what happens at NUS
Conferences
•
Tips for getting ready for conferences
Who’s in the room?
We’re going to do a round of introductions:
•
Your name
•
What you are studying/your officer role
•
Why you wanted to be an NUS delegate
Let’s talk about decision making
Group Exercise
Think about a time that you have been in a
decision-
making space that you didn’t feel comfortable
in.
What
was bad about it?
Think about a time where
decision-making has worked
well
and you have been able to participate –
what was
good about it?
Feedback time!
Here’s what other people have said. How do they compare with what your
group came up with?
Decision making that hasn’t
worked well
Lack of knowledge on the issue
Being talked over
Feeling like the decision has
already been made
Not being listened to or respected
Lived experience not taken into
account
Good decision making
Given all the right information
Feel my voice is heard
Opportunities to discuss and
hear other perspectives
Respectful
What NUS Conferences are about
NUS’ Conferences are all about students
coming together to make
decisions
We want to grasp at the root of the big issues facing students today.
This year, National Conference will be all about getting the student
movement ready for the General Election – from our principles going into
it, to making ourselves exceptional campaigners throughout
So what’s happening at Conferences?
Campaigns
Community
building
New ideas
Elections
Campaigns
Our conferences focus
on campaigning
•
Coming together as a
movement
•
Planning the next steps
•
Building our skills
Our Campaigns 2022-23
All our conferences
focus on campaigning.
Impact Report 2020 – 22 and
Campaigns Plan 2022-23 are here >
https://assets.nationbuilder.com/nus/pages/170/attach
ments/original/1668685567/NUS_UK_Impact_Report_20
20-22_and_Campaigns_Plan_2022-23-
compressed.pdf?1668685567
Community Building
We want to use our
conferences to build
communities in the
student movement
•
Speak to people
•
Create a space for
collective care
•
Have fun
Community Building
Group Exercise
Conference is a space where
we bring together a
community of students from
across the UK
Have there been times that you
have you felt part of a
community or movement this
year? What made that happen?
New Ideas: Building our General Election
manifesto
Talking about what NUS should
be shouting about
•
Discuss ideas that have been
submitted by Students’ Unions
•
You choose what’s being
discussed
•
Workshops where we’ll try to
facilitate good decision making
•
Voting takes place after
conference
New Ideas – Submitting ideas
You can submit your ideas before Conference.
Deadline 8 February!
We would love to see your ideas for the key
issues for students in the General Election.
You submit ideas through your students’ union, and
each SU can submit one idea per conference
700 words in format of:
What’s the issue and how does it impact students?
What are changes we want to see?
Once ideas are submitted we’ll host further sessions
to discuss ideas further –
this is not your last
opportunity to be involved!
At conference
Three stage process
Feedback Loop at each stage
All together as a group – smaller groupwork – feedback from each group
Come together to present to whole conference
Plus regular temperature checks and votes
Key changes:
•
Presenting policies to
whole conference
•
Student led facilitation
•
Self organised and
trained at conference
•
Presenting back
findings to conference
•
Spread out over two
days
This is in development
Who’s elected?
PLUS 2 x Member Directors (Students)
Elected by members as members i.e. one vote
per SU
Their appointment then
ratified
by conference
Practical Stuff
•
All conferences in person
with voting online
•
Take place over two days –
with lots of breaks
•
Dates in next slide
•
Please provide an email you
regularly check!
•
Let NUS know about any
access requirements
Dates
Preparing for conference
Here’s some ideas for how you can get ready for conference
Get registered by your SU
Read proposed ideas for discussion ahead of conference – get
together and discuss
Attend on of our delegate information sessions in the lead up to
conference.
Go to our websites and find out latest about our campaigns
Check your emails and make sure you’re receiving info
Think about who you want to network with
Further Info on Conferences
More information can be found at
https://www.nus.org.uk/conferences
Ideas submission and discussion -
https://www.nus.org.uk/submit_your_ideas
Elections -
https://www.nus.org.uk/elections
If you have questions for NUS email
membership@nus.org.uk
Further Reading
Here are some things to read you may find useful:
•
NUS current campaigns. You can read about our campaigns, the latest
news and
sign up to show your support
at:
https://www.nus.org.uk/
https://www.nus-scotland.org.uk/
https://www.nus-wales.org.uk/
https://www.nus-usi.org/
Online Hub
https://www.nus.org.uk/conferences
Read the Plan for Action
Notes for presenters
These slides are designed to give an overview for National Conference delegates to let them know what to expect at Conferences. The slides can be applied to any NUS democratic conference as they cover an overview of what can be expected at conference and some of the decision making principles we will be working to.
They are designed to be delivered by SU staff to delegates attending any of NUS’ conferences
These are designed to be delivered between January and mid March 2022. We would also recommend scheduling in a second training session closer to the time of conference (i.e. 1 – 2 weeks before). We will prepare a further training which will go into more detail about sessions and topics being covered.
This session includes an overview of what conferences are about and some exercises to get delegates thinking about decision making and what they want to get out of conferences.
Included in the notes pages are instructions and scripted elements. Feel free to deliver how you want, the script is just there if you find it useful.
Scripted elements are in normal font with no italics. Any instructions for presenters are in italics.
Please feel free to edit and prepare/incorporate into your training materials as you see fit.
For any questions email membership@nus.org.uk
Explore the world of NUS Conferences where students gather to make impactful decisions, discuss campaign strategies, and foster community building. Learn about effective decision-making processes, tips for conference preparation, and the significance of student voices in shaping the student movement. Discover what happens at NUS Conferences and how they empower students to address pressing issues and drive positive change.
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Presentation Transcript
Getting Ready for NUS Conferences
Who is this training for? Anyone attending one of NUS 5 campaigns and democracy conferences this year National Conference Liberation Conference Scotland Conference Wales Conference NUS-USI Conference
What we will do Who s in the (virtual) room? Talk about decision-making Talk about how we do decision making at NUS Let you know about what happens at NUS Conferences Tips for getting ready for conferences
Whos in the room? We re going to do a round of introductions: Your name What you are studying/your officer role Why you wanted to be an NUS delegate
Lets talk about decision making Group Exercise Think about a time that you have been in a decision- making space that you didn t feel comfortable in. What was bad about it? Think about a time where decision-making has worked well and you have been able to participate what was good about it?
Feedback time! Here s what other people have said. How do they compare with what your group came up with? Decision making that hasn t worked well Good decision making Given all the right information Feel my voice is heard Opportunities to discuss and hear other perspectives Respectful Lack of knowledge on the issue Being talked over Feeling like the decision has already been made Not being listened to or respected Lived experience not taken into account
What NUS Conferences are about NUS Conferences are all about students coming together to make decisions We want to grasp at the root of the big issues facing students today. This year, National Conference will be all about getting the student movement ready for the General Election from our principles going into it, to making ourselves exceptional campaigners throughout
So whats happening at Conferences? Campaigns Community building New ideas Elections
Campaigns Our conferences focus on campaigning Coming together as a movement Planning the next steps Building our skills
Our Campaigns 2022-23 All our conferences focus on campaigning. Impact Report 2020 22 and Campaigns Plan 2022-23 are here > https://assets.nationbuilder.com/nus/pages/170/attach ments/original/1668685567/NUS_UK_Impact_Report_20 20-22_and_Campaigns_Plan_2022-23- compressed.pdf?1668685567
Community Building We want to use our conferences to build communities in the student movement Speak to people Create a space for collective care Have fun
Community Building Group Exercise Conference is a space where we bring together a community of students from across the UK Have there been times that you have you felt part of a community or movement this year? What made that happen?
New Ideas: Building our General Election manifesto Talking about what NUS should be shouting about Discuss ideas that have been submitted by Students Unions You choose what s being discussed Workshops where we ll try to facilitate good decision making Voting takes place after conference
New Ideas Submitting ideas You can submit your ideas before Conference. Deadline 8 February! We would love to see your ideas for the key issues for students in the General Election. You submit ideas through your students union, and each SU can submit one idea per conference 700 words in format of: What s the issue and how does it impact students? What are changes we want to see? Once ideas are submitted we ll host further sessions to discuss ideas further this is not your last opportunity to be involved!
At conference Key changes: Presenting policies to whole conference Student led facilitation Self organised and trained at conference Presenting back findings to conference Spread out over two days Three stage process Understanding where we agree/disagree Any changes? Understanding the issues Aims: delegates to understand what the issue is and find out the details Aims: to understand where there are fundamental areas of divergence or changes that can be made that the group feels will strengthen proposal Aims: Find out where there is common ground and where agreement is difficult This is in development Feedback Loop at each stage All together as a group smaller groupwork feedback from each group Come together to present to whole conference Plus regular temperature checks and votes
Whos elected? National Liberation Scotland Wales NI Campaign Committee DPC Steering Committee Steering Committee Steering Committee Steering Committee NSC PLUS 2 x Member Directors (Students) Elected by members as members i.e. one vote per SU Their appointment then ratified by conference
Practical Stuff All conferences in person with voting online Take place over two days with lots of breaks Dates in next slide Please provide an email you regularly check! Let NUS know about any access requirements
Preparing for conference Here s some ideas for how you can get ready for conference Get registered by your SU Read proposed ideas for discussion ahead of conference get together and discuss Attend on of our delegate information sessions in the lead up to conference. Go to our websites and find out latest about our campaigns Check your emails and make sure you re receiving info Think about who you want to network with
Further Info on Conferences More information can be found at https://www.nus.org.uk/conferences Ideas submission and discussion - https://www.nus.org.uk/submit_your_ideas Elections - https://www.nus.org.uk/elections If you have questions for NUS email membership@nus.org.uk
Further Reading Here are some things to read you may find useful: NUS current campaigns. You can read about our campaigns, the latest news and sign up to show your support at: https://www.nus.org.uk/ https://www.nus-scotland.org.uk/ https://www.nus-wales.org.uk/ https://www.nus-usi.org/ Online Hub https://www.nus.org.uk/conferences Read the Plan for Action
