Hi everyone! I’m Cameron, a masters student in the School of Physics and Astronomy. The education I’ve had from SoPA has been amazing, but taking on 5 years of committee roles in the Athletics Club (Captain 20-21, 21-22; Treasurer 19-20, 23-24; Development 22-23) has inspired most of my personal development and unique skill set. In the past year, I have also been working as part of the staff team within the EUSU as the Coaching and Volunteering Academy Intern. Therefore, I have been responsible for the organisation and marketing of projects (alongside Emily, Events and Communications Co-ordinator, and Neil, Volunteering and Participation), such as the “ConcussED” course in concussion treatment; the “Active Bystander Training" course that aims to combat sexual and gender-based violence (almost 900 signups); “CVA Member of the Month," to celebrate our volunteers and their achievements; and the “Coaching & Officiating Fund" which aims to provide resources to up-skill our coaches and volunteers. Lastly, I love cameras and have worked as a photographer (as well as videography and website design) for numerous years, with my experience ranging from sporting events and weddings to conferences and charity events. I've had the pleasure of meeting quite a few of you through volunteering with photography and live streaming at EUSU events and fixtures as part of the Media Team.

Throughout my roles, I’ve noticed how pivotal media from the EUSU is in increasing engagement and participation by allowing us all to celebrate our triumphs in competition and beyond, showcase our opportunities, and most importantly, provide a platform to coordinate together as a community to improve sport at Edinburgh year on year. I’m running for Media Officer because I believe that the organisational, leadership, and communication skills that I have gained from the challenges of previous roles, as well as my in-depth knowledge of the functioning of the Sports Union, will allow me to ensure that the content generated by the Media Team at Edinburgh is even better organised, consistent, efficient, and clear; represents and showcases the diverse range of people and sports teams that we have here; communicates best practices and our stories for others to learn from; and most importantly, further develop the media team alongside club Media Officers to take the skills they gain into professional environments.

Manifesto

Improve Media Team Participation & Retention

There is a large drop in Media Team participation as the year progresses. I would investigate the cause of this and make changes to improve participation, accessibility, and retention within the team to ensure that all individuals feel included and that they gain something positive from their experience. Please see some of my other manifesto points for ideas on improving opportunities.

Professional Pathways for Media Team Members

I aim to find professional partnerships/opportunities for team members to take the next step beyond learning these skills as volunteers. Ideas include allowing clubs to bring paid opportunities to team members (balls and professional content requirements), as well as looking for external project/internship opportunities in graphic design, videography, photography, and production.

Develop the Media Officers within our EUSU Clubs

Build a starter pack for all incumbent Media Officers within clubs (tailored to suit a club’s branding). This aims to provide Media Officers with a more efficient handover and the resources required to easily generate their own creative content while being able to incorporate key features of the Sports Union’s branding as well as other important organisations/campaigns that we work with throughout the year.

Invite club Media Officers to some training days organised for the Media Team to allow them to cultivate their own skills and see what joining the team has to offer.

Aid club Media Officers by offering a weekly drop-in where they can meet me in Pleasance Cafe to discuss plans, difficulties, and compare methods of producing content.

Liaise Between Clubs and the Media Team to Increase Opportunities and Inclusion

Provide a platform for more clubs (especially those overlooked) to approach me with opportunities that the Media Team could collaborate with them on, and also a place for clubs to find out more about what the Media Team can offer help with.

Improve Collaboration to Generate Streamlined Content

Work with groups such as the Inclusion Committee and the International Sports Club to generate media that can be used by clubs and the wider EUSU to promote a uniform message and branding that ensures all students feel valued, represented, and included.

Build the Graphic Design and Video Teams

These are the smallest sub-groups of the team. Those in them have worked incredibly hard this year to deliver new branding on various projects as well as this year’s Sports Ball video. As Media Officer, I would aim to work alongside those already involved to contact others at ECA and similar groups who have a passion for sport and design to advertise the Media Team and its opportunities, hopefully increasing participation in this area. This will hopefully help the team understand projects that potential members would be interested in working on.

Bring Back the SportED Podcast

As CVA intern, I have had the chance to talk to many great coaches here in Edinburgh, and I wish their words and insights were shared as much as possible. This is my reasoning for wanting to bring back the podcast: to share best practices and inspiring stories, give a platform to those who haven’t had one, and breakdown complex topics through discussion.

Continue and Improve Livestreams

We livestream around once per week, with the aim of increasing this if the current exploration into a livestreaming partnership continues. I would like to recruit others to the media team who would like experience in livestreaming and commentating, as well as train individual clubs to use the equipment.
Current technical difficulties prevent EUSA from broadcasting our livestreams. I will continue to search for a solution to this so that more individuals around the university get involved and support our own teams, for example, in Pleasance or at Peffermill.