This newsletter includes new tips and ideas related to movement building from EAGxVirtual, resources on diversity and inclusion, and a community spotlight: Jessica McCurdy from Yale EA. Since many groups are considering running introductory EA fellowships in the next few months, this newsletter also features some key fellowship resources.
At this time of year, many groups are currently thinking through their next 6-12 months. If your group is in this situation, you might find the EA Resource Hub pages on strategy useful for setting and refining your goals. Also, feel free to reach out to the CEA groups team for personalised advice.
All the best,
Katie, Harri, and Catherine (Groups team, CEA)
News and Interesting Links
CEA is temporarily closing EA Community Building Grant applications from August 28th until early 2021, in order to focus on improving other aspects of the programme. This doesn't affect applications for renewed funding, or for group running expenses such as venue hire, food, and advertising costs.
EAGxVirtual involved 1,424 attendees across 57 countries, and produced a wealth of content you might find helpful:
The complete playlist has videos you could use as the basis for discussion events, and these crowd-sourced notes provide summaries and background reading.
These videos specifically relate to EA movement building:
Sami Mubarak is starting an EA Virtual Group. This is intended to take the role of a local group for people who don’t have, or aren’t able to access, a local EA group.
The Community Health page on the EA Resource Hub has been updated, and now includes a list of readings on how to make progress towards creating a supportive and welcoming community for people from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Contact Julia or Sky for help with community concerns, or make a time to talk to Julia during her office hours.
Introductory EA Fellowships
Introductory EA Fellowships involve a group of fellows (usually undergraduate students) attending a weekly series of structured group discussions and other activities. Fellowships allow newcomers to get a high-fidelity introduction to EA, and have proved to be excellent recruitment tools for university groups.
Many groups have reported a very high demand for their fellowships recently, and with most groups meeting online, more experienced fellowship coordinators are able to help groups run their first fellowship. Jessica McCurdy recently shared her experience on how she is running an online fellowship in collaboration with two other groups in her EAGxVirtual lightning talk, and Stanford EA is currently recruiting organisers/mentors to help them with their summer fellowship. Join the discussion on the #fellowships channel on the EA Groups Slack.
Fellowship models
Approximately 15 people are invited from a pool of applicants to attend weekly discussions. Yale EA is using this model.
Many applicants are accepted, and the group is broken into small groups of 5-6 fellows with each group assigned to a facilitator. EA Brown is using this model.
The fellowship is run through a series of regular one-on-one meetings (or one-on-two meetings). This requires more time from the facilitators, but groups using this model report that the 1-1 dynamic can feel more supportive and warm than a large group discussion, and the program can be tailored to the individuals involved. EA St Andrews and Stanford EA use this model.
EA Brown University (Rhode Island, USA) has started a 7-week virtual summer fellowship, which received an unprecedented number of applications. The 80 fellows are split into 16 cohorts of 5 fellows and 1 mentor each. Emma, the president of EA Brown, attributes this demand to students having more time and motivation due to the current state of the world. One quote from an applicant: "Like many, I am more inspired now than ever given the disturbing times we live in, with COVID-19, persisting racism, and the looming threat of climate change."
Several new groups have started or are preparing to start at the beginning of the academic year, including:
Join the conversation with other group organisers on Facebook and Slack.
Finally, please help us improve this newsletter by filling in our feedback form!
Group Organiser Spotlight
Jessica McCurdy- Yale EA
“When I first started organizing I would sometimes feel intimidated [when I reached] out to people in the community for help. I thought people would be too busy and annoyed by my reaching out. However, I have discovered that the people in the EA community are just some of the most generous and helpful people I have interacted with. We all want what is best for EA and to see groups succeed. So please reach out. The worst thing that can happen is that you don’t get a response. However, the much more likely thing that will happen is that the person you reach out to will be excited to share what they have learned and that it will probably make them feel good.”
Read more about Jessica and her perspectives on EA and community building here.
If there is an organiser or a group you’d like to see featured, fill in our feedback form with your suggestion!
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