“How do I write a policy paper decision-makers actually read?” “How do I get financial support for my project idea?” Operative soft skills are central requirements for successful projects in international relations: fundraising, writing reports, coordinating events, negotiating and evaluating impact are just some of the many tasks you’ll be confronted with. CISS’s skills workshops with renowned experts provide young people with instructive knowledge and methods in all of these areas.

What do international actors do? What are their perspectives on specific problems in international relations? Our fireside chats and visits to organizations provide occasions for discussions and background briefings on topical issues. Their informal setting makes for a frank and upfront exchange and bridges the gap between academia and practice.

Career paths in international relations are extremely diverse. In our career talks, experienced practitioners talk about their professional biographies in an informal setting. Students get first-hand insights into a variety of career options. Eventually, the contacts established at the talks may even develop into long-lasting mentorships.

In this format, experts from academia, politics, civil society, media and/or the private sector discuss current topics with young people. Panel events can, for example, be ways of launching or concluding CISS projects. In any case, they rely on the active participation by students and young professionals. The conventional discussion format can be supplemented by live votings, twitter chats and other innovative elements.

CISS invites students to write an essay on a specific topic. All competitive submissions are published on ciss.eu and the best papers are awarded prizes, for example books, publication with one of CISS’s media partners (Diplomatisches Magazin, The European) or an invitation to act as a panellist in an CISS events.

How can cooperative projects become accessible to young people from different geographic and socio-economic backgrounds? Our online workshops provide opportunities for international exchange with low entry costs. Participants discuss concrete questions in breakout groups, conduct analysis and present and discuss their findings in a joint online conference. The workshops result in practice-oriented output such as policy papers. The online meetings are based on video conference technology and the participants work in a joint cloud.

How to foster international exchange in a sustainable manner? One possibility are research tandems: Bi-national or bi-regional teams of authors work together and contribute to a larger topic. The articles are bundled in a dossier on CISS’s Think Tank. Optionally, they can additionally be published in a policy paper or, via cooperations with newspapers or magazines, as journalistic articles. These contributions will then, as voice of the youth, advanced to policy makers, strengthening the influence of young experts on actual politics.

Voice your idea for new formats and ways to bring young people into International Politics. For example you may organize a ‘simulation game’ – participants model an international bargaining process, trying to get at the question which circumstances and constellations likely produce a certain political outcome. CISS projects can likewise include the organization of scientific symposia or intercultural exchange programs. Bring together young people, cultures, ideas and combine disciplines to ‘join the world of our making’.