Ithra events
Contributed by Baroness Amanda Kendal and HL Oriana of Myrtlewood
To the Canton, College, Shire or Barony who has expressed interest in hosting an Ithra session in your branch.
Ithra is one of the educational organizations for the Kingdom of An Tir, modelled after and with the traditional autonomy of medieval universities. Ithra is non-political and non-territorial, chartered by and responsible to the Crown. Sessions may be held when a branch invites a Chancellor to conduct a session.
Ithra is not the only educational system in An Tir. Be sure an Ithra session is what your branch wants. Your branch can hold an educational event, but in order to call the event an Ithra, a Chancellor must be involved.
Sessions can range from a single class to 50+ classes held over a weekend. A good starting size session for a group to host is 2-3 tracks of classes over a weekend. This is usually sufficient for 40-75 students. The theme of the session can be general (a variety of subjects) or specific (costuming, or a particular culture, for example). It is up to the group. The Chancellor can help you tailor a session to your group's unique needs.
To have Ithra classes at an event (like a war or tourney), the autocrat team will need to make a written request to their local Chancellor. It will be the autocrat’s responsibility to report the status to the seneschal and branch.
When your branch has decided you'd like to host an Ithra session, the first thing to do is contact a Chancellor. Often a region has a Chancellor and campus traditionally associated with it, but feel free to contact any Chancellor you'd like to work with. Look in the Crier, on the Ithra page for the listing of Chancellors. Campuses are currently located in Lions Gate, Montengarde, Rivers, South Sound, Wastekeep and Wealdsmere. Each campus operates somewhat differently, but in general the process is something like this.
Once contacted by the branch seneschal, a Chancellor will ask questions including (but not be limited to...):
|
- When would you like to have the session? It is best to plan six months to a year ahead of time. Traditionally, fall, winter and spring is the best time for an Ithra session. - Do you have any ideas for sites? - How big a session do you think your group can handle, i.e. how many students do you think you could draw from your branch? - What kinds of classes would you like to have? - Who will be the liaison person? Should be someone who can handle organization and will possibly be the registrar if the branch is not near the chancellor. |
The chancellor, once contacted, will suggest several possible weekends they’re available and will give time to plan and organize the session. Go back to your branch and pick a first choice and a second choice date. Get back to your chancellor as soon as possible as their schedules fill up fast. Also, start putting out feelers for sites that suit our needs and are available on those dates.
Once we’ve settled on a date, prepare the Date Reservation form and have your seneschal sign it. Once the site is decided on and confirmed, the Event Information Form must be filled out, again with the Seneschal's signature, and sent to the Chancellor in order for her or him to sign it and send to the Calendar and the Crier. You must have the seneschal’s signature on the forms, and the Chancellor must sign on the Autocrat/Ithra Chancellor line for it to be an official Ithra session.The Chancellor will also submit the Crier copy.
Communication is critical at all stages for a successful session to occur. Nobody can function in a vacuum. If, at any stage, your group doesn't feel like you know what is going on, go ahead and contact the chancellor.
Some words on the selection of a site -- requirements for an Ithra site are few. We have had sessions everywhere from mundane universities to a picnic bench in a park. Classrooms are the best, however. The rooms must be separate, with real walls (unless you have a single class at a time). There must be some kind of seating at either tables or desks, and often we need outlets for slide projectors and dance music, etc. If the session is having more than one track of classes, an extra room is needed as a common room for students to gather in between classes and to store their gear. Some classes need special equipment or furniture (cooking, fighting, jewelry making, calligraphy, etc.). Another factor to keep in mind is the cost of the site, which will be added to the registration fee to be paid by the students.
Any transportation costs for out-of-town instructors will ultimately have to be included in the registration fee or class fee as well as the printing of forms and the catalogue, and other administrative costs. The cost of the site is included in these costs. Keep in mind that instructors do not pay the registration fee.
The Chancellor will take care of finding instructors and the scheduling of the classes. Any suggestions from you will be welcome, however, remember they will only be suggestions. Please! Do not book instructors or schedule classes on your own! The Chancellor has been trained in how to present a well-rounded, cost effective session.
If you have someone who would like to teach a class, have them fill out an application form, pull a copy for your files and send the original to your Chancellor. This can be done by eMail or you may have them enter their information at the Central Registry database
Basically, your responsibilities as hosting branch aren't many, but critical.
- Initiation of date and calendar forms--send to the Chancellor for confirmation and final signatures. - Find and start negotiations for a site. Don't pay any money until you've checked with the Chancellor. Ithra will usually pay all site costs for the classes but not for the evening feast and activities. - Poll the populace to find out which classes the Chancellor will need to try and find instructors for, if necessary. - Have a local person to be the site liaison, and perhaps registrar, depending on the campus. - Help distribute the catalogues that the Chancellor will print up. - Arrange crash-space for out-of-towners. - If you wish and the site allows it, a branch may provide or have for sale munchies or lunches. This is a great fund raiser. Check with the Chancellor for details. - If you wish to have the traditional Saturday evening feast, it would be your branch's responsibility. Again, contact the Chancellor for details. - Clean-up (although the Chancellor will provide a lot of help). |
In short, Ithra sessions are not difficult to have, and a very good opportunity to draw people from out of town into your fair area. Ithra staff are always delighted to work with branches to design sessions that suit their needs, and look forward to working with you soon.