Association newsletter for week 7/2019

This is the AYY association newsletter for week 7/2019

Did you know that AYY will be crowning Manta this year? Tell us how it should be done (item 2).

Upcoming events and important dates for associations

12 Feb: Registration for Security Officer course opens (item 4)
28 Feb: AYY Representative Council meeting 2/2019 (http://ayy.fi/live)
5 Mar: Laskiaisrieha and Gravitaatio

Contents of the newsletter

1. Preview of the lightly revised operating grant
2. AYY crowns Manta this spring – have your say!
3. FYI – dates of AYY events
4. Train as a Security Officer, AYY pays for the costs!
5. Tips for performance auditors and those preparing their financial statement
6. Mindful Tools for Stress Management
7. Inkubio wants to challenge your association to join Ilmastoveivi 2019!
8. Group ticket sales for Teekkarispeksi now open – bring your association to watch our 30^thanniversary performance for a discounted price!
9. Rent image, sound and light from OUBS ry
10. Latest on the community structures project presented in the Council meeting

1. Preview of the lightly revised operating grant

In March, AYY will be handing out operating grants to 1^st list associations. The scoring model has been lightly updated and the application form revised to ease the process for associations.

Operating grants are handed out in accordance with the scoring guideline. The previous scoring guideline is from 2014, and AYY’s association field has moved on since then. The scoring model was updated lightly in late 2018, increasing the weight of newly current themes. New sections include the promotion of equality and sustainable development, for example. The section on the association’s uniqueness was removed altogether. There may be more changes to the model and grant allocation criteria once the community structures project is completed, but these will not be effective until the allocation round of spring 2020.

The lightly updated scoring model is available here: https://inside.ayy.fi/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=12615842&preview=/12615842/40468726/Pisteytysmalli%20toiminta-avustusten%20jakoon%202018_EN.pdf

Based on the updated scoring model, the application form for the operating grants has been made lighter. Less open answers and long explanations are needed, as these have been replaced with tick-box choices. Of course, you can still write in the open fields about the development of your operations as well as events that are not listed in the tick-boxes.

The next application round for operating grants takes place in March. It would come in handy and make applying for a grant easier to have the association’s spring meetings organised before the end of March, as various documents approved in these meetings (e.g. financial statement, annual report, operational plan, budget) are required as appendices to the operating grant application. If your term of office is not tied to the calendar year, of course, there is no need to organise any extra meetings at this stage, as long as the approved documents in question from the previous term of office are at hand.

If you have any questions about the application round at this point, do not hesitate to get in touch at jarjestoasiat(a)ayy.fi. Naturally, more detailed instructions and dates will be provided in the association newsletter before the application period starts.

2. AYY crowns Manta this spring – have your say!

This year, it is once again AYY’s turn to crown the Havis Amanda, and we want all Aalto people to help us come up with the best and most wonderful ideas!

Do you have an idea for how Manta’s student cap could be brought to the site? How can we celebrate the best student’s life in the world during the procession? How can this unique event be celebrated the Aalto way?

Send us your ideas now! In 2015, when AYY crowned Manta last, the community suggested using a drone to fly in the student cap, and this was brought to fruition!

https://lomake.ayy.fi/culture/manta2019-en/

3. FYI – dates of AYY events

The volunteers of Aalto University Student Union organise various big events aimed at all Aalto people, and some of their confirmed dates have been listed below. These are for your information and to support the planning of other events.

International Sitsit 22 Feb
Laskiaisrieha and Gravitaatio 5 Mar
ISO training afterparty 29 Mar
Tutor training 17–18 Apr and 6–7 May
Sitsi competition 20 Apr
Aalto Open Air 23 Apr
Wappurieha declaration 30 Apr
Manta crowning 30 Apr
Dipoli Wappu 30 Apr
Village clean-up 4 May
Flower Day 13 May
AYY 9^th annual ball 18 May

Other dates will be confirmed later and added to this list of important dates closer to the time. If you have any questions regarding the events, you can contact the Culture Sector at kulttuuri(a)ayy.fi or, for the part of tutor training, the Board member in charge of new students, Anna Halsas at anna.halsas(a)ayy.fi.

4. Train as a Security Officer, AYY pays for the costs!

AYY is organising a Security Officer course in the beginning of March. The training is held on 1–3 Mar and 8–10 Mar 2019. The training is free of charge if you commit to working as a Security Officer in four (4) AYY events by the end of 2020. If there are spots left, you can also take part on the Security Officer refresher course on 9–10 Mar.

The course will be held in Finnish. The course has 15 spots and is organised in Otaniemi.

Registration opens on 12 Feb at 12 noon and closes on 19 Feb at 11.59 pm or when the course is full.

More info and registration: https://lomake.ayy.fi/vapaaehtoiset/kouluttaudu-jarjestyksenvalvojaksi/ (in Finnish).

5. Tips for performance auditors and those preparing their financial statement

For many associations, the operating year came to an end as the year changed, and now is high time to start preparing your financial statement. After this, the performance auditors can get going. Check the topical tips for both the financial statement and the performance audit in AYY’s Association Guide: https://yhdistysopas.ayy.fi/financial-statement-and-performance-audit/?lang=en.

In addition, there are some good materials available on the Opintokeskus website: https://www.tjs-opintokeskus.fi/julkaisut-ja-aineistot/verkkoaineistot/toiminnantarkastus/toiminnantarkastuskertomus(in Finnish).

In terms of applying for an operating grant, it would come in handy to have your financial statement and performance audit completed in time for approval in the association’s spring meeting before the end of March. Various documents approved in these meetings (e.g. financial statement, annual report, operational plan, budget) are required as appendices to the operating grant application; otherwise, an extension must be requested for their submission. More details at item 1.

6. Mindful Tools for Stress Management

Feeling stressed or anxious? Come and get new ideas on how to boost your wellness. When facing difficulties, we often try not to notice them. Handling stress becomes easier when we approach difficulties rather avoid them and learn to recognise when we start to feel stressed or worried. With practice, it is possible to become less reactive and more free with our responses to the stressful situation.

The workshop is on Mondays at 2–4 pm from 25 Feb to 25 March, class room Majakka (M140), Otakaari 1. The workshop is held in English. More information at https://into.aalto.fi/display/enopisk/Courses+and+workshops+for+students.

7. Inkubio wants to challenge your association to join Ilmastoveivi 2019!

Climate change is something that affects the daily lives of us all. All climate deeds are steps towards a better tomorrow, but the greatest effects are achieved together. We feel that our student community has plenty of potential to influence climate matters, which is why we want to encourage everyone to take part!

Ilmastoveivi 2019 is a campaign aiming to encourage the leaders of Finland to make the most of Finland’s presidency term in the Council of the European Union from July to December. As the nation holding the presidency, Finland can have a strong impact on the climate policy of the EU. More information on the campaign at https://www.ilmastoveivi2019.fi/en.html.

So, we suggest that you share the campaign with your association’s membership and challenge other parties as well, should you wish to do so. This way, we can have as big an impact as possible. We also challenge you to come up with and execute one tangible climate deed.

We intend to put some effort on recycling this year, for example, by sorting the waste from our Guild room and events in an orthodox manner. We have started by getting a bin for compostable waste for the Guild room! Think about what would be the right eco deed for your community. The successes can be shared using the hashtags #univeivi and #ilmastoveivi 2019.

Best r-eco-gards,
Inkubio Board

8. Group ticket sales for Teekkarispeksi now open – bring your association to watch our 30^thanniversary performance for a discounted price!

Performances of the 30^th production of Teekkarispeksi, Keinolla Millä Hyvänsä (“At Any Cost”), are knocking at the door! Our musical, set in Prohibition-age New Orleans, has its premiere in the Peacock Theatre on 19 Mar, and we want to offer associations a chance to come see it at a lower cost, seeing as the premiere simultaneously acts as our 30-year anniversary performance.

Groups of more than 10 persons get a 10% discount on tickets for the anniversary performance, so this is your chance to get a group together and come mix up the voodoo doctor’s plans with your omstarts. Group tickets can be easily reserved by email at [email protected], and they can all be paid with one invoice. Teekkarispeksi is performed in Finnish. Ticket prices and more info on the theme of the Speksi and its other performances can be found at teekkarispeksi.fi/keinolla-milla-hyvansa/ (in Finnish).

The other performances take place in the Alexander Theatre, and although you can book group tickets for these from us as well, unfortunately no discounts are available for them.

You have to see this – at any cost.

9. Rent image, sound and light from OUBS ry

Alongside its other operations, OUBS ry rents out its equipment for the use of other associations and AYY members. For example, we have just acquired two Yamaha DXR12 loudspeakers that will guarantee a high-quality sound system for most occasions. Other rentable equipment includes, for example, LED lights and microphones.

Take a look at all of our rentable equipment at https://oubs.fi/laitevuokraus/ (in Finnish). Please make your rental requests in good time. We also do our best to help with questions regarding video, even though all of the related equipment is not listed as rentable.

10. Latest on the community structures project presented in the Council meeting

In the autumn, associations answered the community structures project questionnaires and commented on the preliminary solution proposals. Two weeks ago, results from the comment round were presented in the Representative Council meeting 1/2019. A summarised presentation of the results is available here: https://inside.ayy.fi/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=40468685&preview=/40468685/40468717/2019_yhteis%C3%B6rakenneprojekti_edustajiston_kokous_24012019.pdf(in Finnish only).

If you are not familiar with the project, it is worthwhile to watch the recording of the results being presented at http://ayy.fi/live (from the time 32:30 onwards).

Next, the project proceeds to a solution proposal compiled by the Project Coordinator, which will be presented in the next Council meeting on 28 Feb. More detailed information on the goals of the project can be found in the introduction piece on Project Coordinator Elina Nieminen (https://ayy.fi/en/blog/2018/08/23/new-project-coordinator-helps-the-aalto-community-develop/), and the presentations of the previous stages in last autumn’s Representative Council meeting materials at https://inside.ayy.fi/display/ED/2018.

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The information in the newsletter is edited by the AYY Association and Communications Specialist, Essi Puustinen (essi.puustinen (a) ayy.fi, tel. 050 520 9442).

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