Heya! Hopefully everyone had a nice time at the panel. Sadly I wasn’t able to be there in person but thankfully I can answer here :)
How do you see the relation/division of work between you and the foreign relations responsible?:
I think this question was already answered in another thread on here but I’ll summarize my thoughts here too. My idea is to, in the beginning, have a more active role in the foreign relations committee, at least until they get everything up and running smoothly and can operate independently from the captain. After this initial period, I would still like to be kept in the loop of foreign relations-related matters and e.g. attend meetings and voice my opinions where relevant. I could also act as a direct link to the board for the committee. However, once this initial period is over I would like to direct some of the freed-up time to other matters such as being more active in e.g. KvTMK and other fuksi events/committees and in finding new ways to activate the international BIGs throughout the year.
How do you think about the fact that our guild doesnt have an international BIG coordinator?:
In my opinion, this is not really an issue since most international BIGs are second-year BIGs who can operate with less supervision and organize things more independently. Additionally when it comes to joint events between international and TFM people the BIG coordinator is involved in the organization, further reducing the need for a dedicated international BIG coordinator. In my experience the biggest problem with international BIGs is that usually after orientation week there are only a handful of active ones and maybe having an international BIG coordinator could help there, it would however not be the first thing I would try in activating the BIGs more. But that is a different issue completely so maybe I’ll stop here.
What kind of collaboration would you like to do with the Fuksi Captains and BIG coordinator?:
Now that the International Captain has more time than before to direct towards fuksi events it would be nice to explore how to further incorporate international fuksis into existing (and of course new) events. In general, I think there is already a good amount of collaboration but I think just overall having a more tightly-knit group and in-depth discussions on how to best include the international community as much as possible. I think I also mentioned in an earlier answer that the baseline should be to operate as a group of four always when possible.
IntegraatioFest is coming to Otaniemi next year. Would you consider IntegraatioFest to be one of the primary events to work on for the foreign relations division?:
In short: yes.
A bit longer: Yes. It’s a major event that requires a lot of planning and organisation and therefore would for sure be at the top of the priority list for the committee. The more fine details are of course for the committee and the external relations officer to decide but for such a large event I think it would be good for the international captain to also be involved as much as possible.
What is the difference between a BIG and a responsible BIG? What is the most important responsibility of a BIG in orientating a non-finnish person to Teekkari culture?
BIGs are divided into BIG groups where each group has one responsible BIG. This responsible BIG is responsible for coordinating his group’s activities. For TFM BIGs for example the responsible BIG would be in charge of initiating planning of the fuksi groups night for his groups fuksis. This year for international fuksis there were no fuksi groups (and I would keep it that way), so this does not directly apply to international BIGs but it explains the idea. Responsible BIGs are essentially an extra layer of communication/organization between the captains/BIG coordinator and all the BIGs. They also have additional responsibilities such as organizing certain events and at least in my books are expected to be BIGs that are consistently very active throughout the year.
For international BIGs, the main responsibility is initially getting the fuksis settled into Finland nicely. This includes helping them out with simple things like meeting them at the airport, where to get their keys, how public transport works, or going with them to the store for the first time just so they know where it is and what is available. After the initial period, the most important thing is to teach them about Finnish culture in general. It is good to also activate them to attend events that are for both TFM and international fuksis from the very beginning. This way they get to learn and experience the Teekkari culture in the same way as Finnish fuksis.
What does “kv” mean?:
“Kv” stands for “kansainvälinen” which is international in Finnish. so kv kippari/kv captain would be a shorthand for the international captain.
Alright, I think we are done here. Tomorrow is election day so best of luck to everyone, and remember to use your vote!