ACTIVITY REPORT 2017-2019
EDITORIAL ABOUT US THE PEOPLE PROJECTS, EVENTS, CAMPAIGNS SECTIONS PROJECTS SECTIONS CAMPAIGNS EXTERNAL REPRESENTATION AND ADVOCACY EXTERNAL RELATIONS MEMBERS A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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EDITORIAL
Dear JEFers, dear friends of JEF Europe, We are glad that you are interested to learn more about the work and activities of the Young European Federalists and we hope you will enjoy the impressions from the core activities of our organisation during the past two years. If it conveys a bit of what we call the #JEFspirit, the relentless enthusiasm for Europe, the focus on inclusiveness and the believe in a strong civil society at the heart of functioning democracies, that are so characteristic for JEF, it has already achieved its purpose. While the political clouds over Europe have not lifted, we have prepared to fight back: JEF has delivered Europe at School trainings to more than 20,000 students across Europe, worked with our partner networks ESN and AEGEE on the inclusiveness on European volunteering through a series of seminars and provided trainings for civil society actors in endangered democracies in Europe where civil society comes increasingly under pressure. We have also established a pool of trainers, so we can now draw from our own resource of educators. All of this would not have been possible without a record number of now eight full-time employees in the secretariat and committed volunteers in the executive board, the Federal Committee and in sections all across Europe, investing time and energy into JEF on a daily basis. In 2019 our focus naturally was on the European elections. Under the framework of the #IChooseEurope campaign JEF Europe let a network of twelve organisations to increase youth participation in the elections and asked politicians and citizens alike to make a choice for Europe. More than 1,000 members of JEF Europe benefited directly from participating at seminars, youth exchanges and bus tours, with many more citizens reached through street actions, debates, demonstrations and social media. We do not need to be shy in saying that the highest turnout to European elections in twenty years is also our success. And yet, the political situation in Europe remains challenging. While citizens have provided the pro-Europeans in the European Parliament with a stable majority, more voters than ever before have turned away from the European idea. The message of the federalists remains as relevant as ever: Nationalism and illiberalism can be defeated if, and only if, we start taking decisive steps towards a more sovereign Union that delivers for its citizens. Much work remains to be done, but as Altiero Spinelli said already more than 60 years ago: “The project of a federal Europe is not an invitation to dream, it is an invitation to work.” JEF is well prepared to pick up the battle. It remains for me to say thank you. Thank you to the Executive Board for your hard work and your friendship. Thank you to Valentin Dupouey and Milosh Ristovski who have both shaped and strengthened JEF Europe as Secretary Generals in ways I would not have deemed possible. Thank you to all members of the secretariat who have gone the extra mile time and time again in the past two years and thank you to all our members for the countless hours of voluntary work – you are a daily inspiration and motivation and I believe it is fair to say that Europe would not be the same without you.
CHRISTOPHER GLÜCK JEF Europe President 2017-2019 5
ABOUT US
JEF Europe is an independent, transnational, nonpartisan, political youth NGO operating in 32 European countries with 12.500 registered members.
OUR VISION A federal Europe based on the values of peace, democracy and the rule of law.
OUR MISSION JEF Europe promotes active European citizenship, works for the widening and the deepening of the EU and strives for a more just and integrated society on the European continent.
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OUR POLITICAL PLATFORM The Political Platform is JEF Europe’s main guiding political document. Through the political platform, JEF Europe formulates its key convictions and ideas that provide inspiration to move on from the current political constellation in Europe and enable progress towards a true European Federation. It outlines the necessary institutional changes that pave the way towards a European Constitution,describes Federal policies in major political areas, it pictures the role of a Federal Europe in the world and finally envisions the role of JEF in this framework. The full document is available here: https://www.jef.eu/about-jef/political-platform/ 8
THE PEOPLE
Photography © European Union
EXECUTIVE BOARD JEF Europe is guided on a daily basis by the Executive Board (EB). The EB is responsible for the management, coordination and daily actions of the organisation. The EB meets at least 4 times a year and every 2 weeks through online meetings.
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CHRISTOPHER GLÃœCK President
LEONIE MARTIN Vice-President
JACOPO BARBATI Vice-President
SIMON DEVOS-CHERNOVA Treasurer
EMMA FARRUGIA Board Member
SEBASTIANO PUTOTO Board Member
CAMILLA WALSTAD Board Member
CELINE GEISSMANN Board Member
FEDERAL COMMITTEE OPHÉLIE OMNES Presidium Member
IOAN BUCURAS Presidium Member
CHRIS POWERS Presidium Member
ABDUL KERIM AYDEMIR
BENJAMIN FIEVET
DILETTA ALESE
DOGUKAN JESPER GUR
DRENUSHA SUKA
HANNAH CORNELSEN
JUHO MAKI-LOHILUOMA
JUUSO JÄRVINIEMI
KEVIN KRISTIANSEN
LAURIN BERRESHEIM
MAIJA MAUNU
MARIASOPHIA FALCONE
OLE KRAFFT
THEVAGAR MOHANADHASAN
VERENA KAUN
VICTOR THÉVENET
The Executive Board implements the decisions taken by the Federal Committee (FC), which supervises the work of the EB. The FC meets twice a year and formulates the political and organisational policies. The FC is composed of 15 members elected by the Congress and one representative for each national section. FC members also actively contribute to the work of JEF Europe and participate in at least one Political Commission (PC) or Task Force (TF).
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JEF EUROPE SECRETARIAT The Secretariat, under the leadership of the Secretary General, is in charge of the daily management of JEF Europe: organisation of statutory meetings, European projects, lobbying and advocacy in Brussels, finances and administration, coordination with sections, communications. You can meet the Secretariat when you visit Brussels.
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MILOSH RISTOVSKI Secretary General
ALEJANDRA ALMARCHA Policy Officer
MICHAŁ RYBACKI Project Officer
MARINE BETRANCOURT Communication Officer
EMILIE VANDAM Administration Officer
MAR SÁNCHEZ Communication & Project Assistant
ARBITRATION BOARD
JOHANNES BOERMANN
KARDELEN GUNAYDIN
KLEMENS KOBER
MIRIAM POSTIGLIONE
SIMON PAETZOLD
The Arbitration Board is composed of 5 members elected by the congress. Its function is to settle statutory conflicts between members, sections and statutory bodies.
AUDITORS COMMITTEE CHRISTELLE SAVALL
ELISA SELINUMMI
EMILIA CHEHTOVA
The Auditors Committee is composed of 3 members elected during the congress. They verify JEF accounts and smooth financial running of the organisation. 13
PROJECTS, EVENTS, CAMPAIGNS
FEDERAL COMMITTEE MEETING // SKOPJE, NORTH MACEDONIA March 23-25, 2018
FEDERAL COMMITTEE MEETING // STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN & TURKU, FINLAND October 19-21, 2018
The first Federal Committee meeting (FC) took place in the Parliament of North Macedonia, in Skopje. One of the key points of the agenda for this FC was the appointment of the new Secretary General of JEF Europe, Milosh Ristovski. The end of Valentin Dupouey’s term was celebrated and he was thanked for his great work and commitment. Beside the usual agenda, the FC consisted of political discussions, Policy Commissions and Task Force work and adopting new resolutions. Adopted resolutions: The FC adopted resolutions supporting the timely integration of the Western Balkans, advancing the EU’s social pillar, strengthening European citizenship education, the future of the Commission’s structured dialogue with youth, strengthening the transnational dimension of the European elections, free, fair and sustainable trade policy and on the citizens’ consultations..
The second Federal Committee Meeting was organised in two European countries, Sweden and Finland. The host sections did a great job organising a very packed meeting, making it the first statutory meeting that was organised in two countries. One of the main discussion points were the decision piloting a full time employed President and preparations for the upcoming European Elections in 2019. Other general points were political commission and task force discussions, political debates and sharing updates among JEF Sections. Adopted resolution: The FC adopted resolutions on the future development in differentiated integration, strengthening and safeguarding free movement and the Schengen zone, EU support for Ukraine and for a common EU migration and asylum system.
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FEDERAL COMMITTEE MEETING // LONDON, UK
EUROPEAN CONGRESS // PARIS, FRANCE
March 22-24, 2019
October 25-27, 2019
The spring Federal Committee meeting 2019 was organised in London, UK, one week before the first announced date of Brexit. The decision to have the FC in the UK was a political message, underlining that the United Kingdom is part of Europe and that its place is in the European Union. The participants of the FC meeting also participated in the People's Vote March which was organised in London on the 23rd of March. JEF Hamburg (Germany) was selected as the host of the FC in Spring 2020.
Every two years, JEF Europe gathers for its general assembly. Around 200 participants will come together in Paris to decide on the organisational and political strategy of JEF Europe, to elect a new leadership and statutory bodies and to exchange about good practices and new projects.
Adopted resolutions: The FC adopted resolutions on the EU’s foreign policy towards Russia, the protection of the rule of law in the EU, the future of the UK after the Brexit referendum, on the creation of a Fiscal Union in the Eurozone, circular economy and a united digital Europe. It also adopted resolutions on setting up a Pool of Trainers as well as committing itself to diversifying the network.
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I CHOOSE EUROPE In March 2019, JEF Europe launched its “I Choose Europe” campaign to strengthen young people’s political participation before and after the European Elections in May and encourage them to make Europe their choice while voting in the European Elections. The project, funded mainly by the Erasmus+ Programme, was coordinated by JEF Europe with eleven national sections and eight partner organisations.
PHASE 1 // BEFORE THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS 2019 The preparations for the campaign started in September 2018 and included several events throughout winter and spring 2019: An expert meeting in Portugal in January gathered more than 20 international experts from NGOs, EU institutions and the private sector. During the event, JEF and partners presented their campaign strategies and tools, working with the experts to polish them and incorporate good practices from other projects` . A training for facilitators and organisers in North Macedonia in February helped 40 activists to prepare for organising electoral debates across Europe during the campaign in cooperation with JEF sections and local partners. The preparation of the campaign culminated with a youth exchange in France, in March. Here, more than 120 young Europeans from 13 countries met to debate Europe and contribute to the launch of the “I Choose Europe” campaign. Between March and May 2019, JEF members, partner organisations and interested activists carried out more than 50 national and local activities aiming to raise awareness of the European Elections among youth and increase young voters’ turnout. 18
To highlight and connect these efforts, JEF Europe coordinated the “I Choose Europe” bus tour between 10-30 Apri through 12 countries over the course of 20 days. Communications In addition, the UEF led a political advocacy campaign with the support of JEF, reaching out to nearly 1,000 MEP candidates to draw their attention to the campaign and thereby send a clear message that young people’s voices matter. The Executive Board also coordinated a series of Action Days to mobilise JEFers before the European Elections, including debate watching parties, street actions and an election night event.
The second phase of the campaign started with the Training for trainers and mentors in political advocacy organised in June 2019 in Germany. The 32 participants of the event learnt how to deliver local trainings in the area of political advocacy as well as to mentor the implementation of advocacy actions of their own trainees. The advocacy trainings and actions as part of the campaign are being organised by the Werbellinsee trainees together with JEF sections and local partners in more than 13 European countries and are expected to finish in late autumn 2019. The outcomes of the “I Choose Europe” campaign will be presented at a conference concluding the campaign in January 2020 in Brussels, Belgium. Despite the formal end of the project, the youth advocacy work initiated as part of the campaign is set to continue in the future.
PHASE 2 // AFTER THE EUROPEAN ELECTIONS 2019 Based on the premise that democracy is not only about voting, the campaign “I Choose Europe” did not end with the European Elections. Its second part builds on the created momentum to ensure that the newly-elected decision-makers place young people’s issues high on their agendas, developing the capacities of youth organisations to work for the future of Europe together with decision-makers. 19
EUROPE DAY 2018 On the 9th of May 2018, local, regional and national sections where invited to do the 70 #ourEurope challenges during their 2018 Europe Day activities. These 70 challenges commemorated the 70 years since the Congress of Europe (7-11 May 1948, The Hague) and the creation of the European Movement. That is, the first federal occurrence in European history! The aim of these challenges was to give a little visibility-boost within our own network by giving an #ourEurope twist to the wide array of activities each section planned on organising for Europe Day 2018. The challenges ranged from singing, acting, artistic creations, fun facts, memory games and a test of academic knowledge definitely suited for everyone. Sections could choose to do the challenges on their own or create alliances with other sections from outside their own country to gain maximum points. An updated map of all the local sections within the network was also shared in order to facilitate sections reaching out to others that they have never worked with before. This kind of cooperation fostered a deeper relationship between different sections and a sense of belonging within the wider network while encouraging a healthy dose of competition. While many sections had taken part in this activity, the winners of the Europe Day 2018 Competition were the ‘Spinelli-Challengers’ alliance made up of JEF Strasbourg, JEF Steiermark, JEF Croatia and JEF Slovenia.
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DEMOCRACY UNDER DIVE PROJECT Supported by the Erasmus+ Programme KA2 PRESSURE Gagging statutes, mobilising JEFers to be active for the freedom of speech, democracy and the rule of law - sections have participated in the pan-European annual campaign “Democracy under Pressure”. Since 2006, JEF Europe has been organising the “Free Belarus Action” pan-European campaign to raise awareness about the Lukashenko regime, characterised as the "last dictatorship" in Europe. Since then, March 18, one day before the 2006 Belarussian presidential 'election', has become one of the key dates in the agenda of JEFers.
In 2017, JEF Europe, ESN International and AEGEE Europe, along with six of their local and national members and with the support of YES Forum, started to work together on the topic of diversity and inclusion in European volunteering. The project aimed at identifying these barriers to participation and at collectively reflecting on how to take them down in order to, ultimately, make sections of JEF, ESN and AEGEE more diverse and make European volunteering more accessible and inclusive. Between 2018 and 2019, three trainings took place in Sofia, Athens and Malmö. The final result is three tools for youth organisations:
The threat to democracy is unfortunately not only coming from dictators in post-Soviet states, but from various groups and situations all over the continent. That is why the “Free Belarus Action” was rebranded in 2014 to the “Democracy under Pressure Action” to include the alarming developments that put pressure on fundamental democratic values such as freedom of speech and rule of law in other European countries. The overall goal is to draw attention to the systematic weakening of democratic values, to raise awareness about the situation in several European countries, as well as to show solidarity within our own JEF family.
1) The Organisational Assessment Tool: the first step to take on your path towards inclusion. This tool aims mainly at raising awareness, triggering reflection on how inclusive we really are. 2) The Training Session Outlines: a series of outlines for youth workers to implement workshops related to social inclusion in their local sections. 3) The Guide of Best Practices: We exchanged and collected good ideas and practices that already exist in our organisations. These cover the different barriers that were identified and offer easy steps to implement practices aiming at diversifying membership. Following up on the project, JEF Europe intends to make sure that the topics of inclusion and diversity remain priorities. 23
SEMINARS 2018 // FIGHT BACK! YOUTH CIVIL SOCIETY IN ENDANGERED DEMOCRACIES The general aim of this work plan was to develop skills, knowledge and competences about the shrinking of civic space and about the means of resistance against attacks on civil society rights among participants and further through a large campaign and dissemination. Specific objectives included: - Raising awareness on the situation of civic space and democracy in Europe. - Developing knowledge, competences and skills to resist attacks on civil society rights. - Fostering exchange of experiences, good practices and ideas in the context of endangered democracies between participants. The work plan was developed in a cycle of four international seminars tackling different dynamics of shrinking civic space to better illustrate its solutions: Fight back! Setting the scene // 31 January - 4 February. Skopje, North Macedonia 24
Fight back! Communicating in a hostile environment // 2-6 May, Jena, Germany Fight back! Rallying forces and getting into action // 30 June - 4 July, Saariselka, Lapland, Finland Fight back! Defending democracy in Europe and beyond // 31 October - 4 November, Sevilla, Spain Closing event: Fight back! Youth civil society in endangered democracies // 7-8 December, Brussels, Belgium
SEMINARS 2019 // FAKER FIGHTERS: MEDIA LITERACY IN A EUROPEAN PERSPECTIVE In a context where low levels of media literacy and critical thinking are becoming a prominent issue, the “Faker Fighters� project aims to increase the level of media literacy among young people in Europe.
With a core focus on media literacy, critical thinking and combating disinformation in a European perspective, the work plan mainly took the form of a training for facilitators and trainers, followed by several regional and local activities. It also incorporated citizenship education actions throughout the course of the year, and will be followed up with an event to present the results to relevant partners and stakeholders involved in the project. The main aim is to increase the level of media literacy among young people in Europe. Specific objectives included: - Developing the capacities of JEF members and other youth workers interested in delivering high quality media literacy and critical thinking education in a non-formal education context; - Initiating the development of a pool of trainers in political youth work and citizenship education with a media literacy focus; - Advancing high quality youth media about Europe through our volunteer-led online youth media (The New Federalist); - Contributing to a better understanding of the fields of media literacy and critical thinking within the European perspective through engagement in advocacy activities at the European level; - Reaching out to different groups of young people and raising awareness about fake news in Europe today and their impact on democracy. 25
EUROPE@SCHOOL
PIMP MY JEF
Supported by the Erasmus+ Programme KA2 In 2017, JEF Europe decided to boost ‘Europe at school’ initiatives by supporting its national and local sections in implementing the programme. ‘Europe at school’ activities refer to all interventions in the formal school system and in non-formal learning contexts carried out by youth organisations, based on non-formal education and learning methods in order to raise awareness of European citizenship and to encourage active European citizenship among young people. Some of our sections already organise regular civic education-related actions within primary and secondary schools and have already developed their own tools and methodology for these actions. Our project aimed at expanding those practices and at providing voluntary young youth workers with the right set of skills and material to design and perform themselves Europe at School activities directed at young people from primary, secondary and Vocational Education and Training (VET) schools. Training #1 focused on Primary Schools // 23-27 May, Lyon Training #2 focused on Secondary Education // 25-29 October, Lisbon, Training #3 focused on Vocational Education and Training // 5-7 April, Brussels
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The “Pimp my JEF” programme is a pilot specifically developed with the aim of guiding and helping sections to grow in terms of organisational skills, abilities and competencies of its executive board and members. The programme was initiated by the Executive Board, and was implemented together with the Secretariat and the Task Force on Capacity Building. Interested sections were invited to apply for the programme, supported with an analysis of their section’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The three selected sections, JEF Sweden, JEF Bulgaria and JEF Netherlands, were offered a series of online seminars and meetings throughout spring 2019 with the aim of learning and building organisational capacity. Three different webinars with external experts were organised: - Membership recruitment: How can my section grow? - Volunteer and knowledge management: How can we motivate and empower volunteer JEFers? - Project management: How to organise projects and events in order to reach our goals? After the webinar trainings, the programme culminated in the sections developing a work plan consisting of different activities and priorities in order to reach their wanted goals. JEF Europe supported the work plan with grants. The plans will be implemented and evaluated during autumn 2019.
SECTIONS PROJECTS
JEF FRANCE // EUROPE EN VACANCES Europe on holiday (Europe en vacances) is a project started by the French national section Jeunes Européens France in 2018. During the first edition of the project, a group of volunteers of different nationalities spent two weeks travelling around French coasts and summer camps to exchange with locals and tourists about their ideas for the EU, the European elections and the EU citizenship. In 2019, the project was reconducted through street actions in France, also based on interactive games and exchanges on the European Union. This summer project has met a huge success, and we are looking forward to the third edition in 2021.
Y-FED Y-FED is an innovative simulation of institutions of a federal European Union. Taking place in Strasbourg and in Ortenberg in June 2019, this five day event gathered 120 participants from all over Europe and beyond. The simulation included both, ordinary deliberations over resolutions and a simulation of a crisis situation. The participants had the choice between four roles: they could choose to play the role of a member of the European Senate, a representative of the House of Citizens, a lobbyist or a journalist. This project was organised by JEF national sections of Germany and France, and the local section of Strasbourg.
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JEF BELGIUM // FEDERALIST SUMMER Since the summer holidays are not an excuse to take a break from the federalist fight, JEF Belgium organised three federalist summer picnics in a park in Brussels. With some snacks, drinks and sun, JEFers discussed a federalist institutional structure with JEF Europe VicePresident Leonie Martin, the Spitzenkandidaten system with JEF Europe Executive Board Member Sebastiano Putoto, and youth political activism with JEF Belgium President Ine Tollenaers.
JEF ITALY // SOTTOSOPRA Sottosopra has been one of the most important JEF Italy’s campaigns. With the aim of bringing federalism outside form it traditional places, Sottosopra was based on a format that local sections could easily follow, meaning a simple debate among citizens that wanted to discuss Europe. For almost a year, local JEF sections reached out to the peripheries and outskirts of the biggest Italian cities as well as rural and underdeveloped areas. In spreading federalism among “outsiders”, the sections also contacted civil society associations in order to establish a sound collaboration aimed at incorporating the discussion about federalism into other important issues such as organized crime, the use of European funds and human rights. Sottosopra events were held all over Italy
and registered hundreds of participants, some of which joined JEF Italy later on. The spirit of Sottosopra was based on two aspects: including those who felt marginalised from the debate on Europe and joining forces with local groups and associations. It was on these premises that JEF Italy organized EURevolution: Road to the Future as its starting event for the EP Election campaign be found at: www.youthconvention.eu
JEF NORTH MACEDONIA // NAME CHANGE JEF Macedonia actively advocated in the past two years for the pro-European path of the country and implemented several activities in order to engage young people in the integration process and to inform the citizens about the steps towards EU integration. JEF Macedonia together with JEF Greece issued a press release in which both sections welcomed the name agreement and called on the authorities in both countries to implement the Agreement in good neighbourly relations and on the electorate to exercise their right to vote on the referendum held in September 2018. Following the developments in the country and in the EU, JEF Macedonia in partnership with JEF Europe continued advocating for EU accession of North Macedonia. JEF Europe, on the initiative of JEF Macedonia, sent a letter to the European Commission calling for the opening of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. In summer 2019, JEF Macedonia changed its name to JEF North Macedonia.
JEF MALTA // CYCLE OF SEMINARS In the last two years JEF Malta reached new heights, expanding its membership to record numbers and making it the largest JEF section per capita in Europe, and implementing a series of successful social policy campaigns. These campaigns have mirrored JEF Malta’s exponential growth in the fields of social events for members, Europe at School campaign in primary and secondary schools where we reached 400 students in a single year, as well as contributions to local and European journals and magazines representing JEF Malta’s federalist message.
JEF SPAIN // MADRID MEU Model European Union Madrid 2019 -organised by JEF Madrid- took place in the Faculty of Law of Universidad Complutense from the 1st to the 5th of April, 2019, involving more than 120 high school students and approximately 25 university students from all around Spain. This event, which served as a complementary activity for our Europe at School visits, helped students get a closer look at how the EU works and also to get to know JEF and its work in campaigning for a Federal Europe.
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SECTIONS CAMPAIGNS
JEF FRANCE // MON VOTE, MON EUROPE
JEF GERMANY // EUROPA MACHEN
Jeunes Européens – France ran an educational campaign under two slogans: “Mon vote, mon Europe” in French, and “I choose Europe” in English. This campaign was targeting French and European citizens in order to encourage them to vote on the 26th of May, 2019. Through numerous debates and street actions our volunteers invited people to vote by showing shocking quotes of outgoing Members of the European Parliament and candidates. The campaign was concluded by conferences commenting the elections’ results announcements in big French cities, often in cooperation with other European NGOs and public institutions.
“Europa Machen” (en. Making Europe) intended to inform, invite and mobilise. JEF Germany launched its campaign for the European Elections in October 2018, together with UEF Germany and many supporting partners. For the 2019 European Elections, a mix of online campaigning, school workshops, discussions and networking events encouraged people nationwide to become more involved in European democracy. The campaign called for democratic engagement and aimed to start political discussions. Setting up its own demands for a more federal Union, Europa Machen provided space for discussion about the EU institutions and its range of policies. The events targeted young audiences, especially first-time voters. Therefore, JEF Germany cooperated with schools for its European Election Conferences and Simulations of the European Parliament. The “Grenzenlos Europäisch” bus tour made 15 stops along a route from Greifswald in the north to Passau in the very south to
engage local people in a discussion about Europe. On top of that, classic street action days brought JEF members out to promote voting for the European Parliament publicly and in the most creative ways (for example by baking a cake, talking with young voters and dressing up as a “Europamacher”). More than 1,000 people participated in events organised or supported by JEF Germany and regional and local JEF sections organised more than 150 events, dealing with the European elections and providing a wide range of information about the EU. Online communications reached more than 500,000 people via social media and the project’s very own website europamachen.eu.
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EUREVOLUTION EURevolution took place on December 14-15-16th, 2018 at M.A.C.C. in Pisa. On those days, 100 participants from all over Italy attended different meetings and conferences with the main objective of preparing for the EP elections campaign. The whole EURevolution campaign was launched together with other 10 civil society associations.The participants attended a debate among many Italian pro-European associations and parties which confronted each other on their ideas on Europe. EURevolution also included an intense three days training aimed at providing the member of JEF Italy with different tools and debate format to engage with citizens over the next few months of European elections. A journalist from the TV program “Presa Diretta” prepared a service about it which was broadcasted on February 23rd on the national TV channel Rai3 and, according to data shared, the program had almost 900.000 viewers.
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EUROPÆISK UNGDOM DANMARK In the Danish campaign, the six local sections carried out about 70 events to inform about the European elections, did street actions and distributed merchandise and more than 2,000 flyers. Furthermore, JEF Denmark was involved in a partnership with the youth parties where they would arrange debates around Denmark and they would provide a moderator.
EXTERNAL REPRESENTATION AND ADVOCACY
MEETINGS WITH PARTNERS
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VISITS TO SECTIONS
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EXTERNAL REPRESENTATION MEETINGS AND EVENTS
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PRESS RELEASES AND STATEMENTS
AN AVERAGE OF
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EVENTS & ACTIVITIES / EB MEMBER / MANDATE
AN AVERAGE OF
8
EXTERNAL REPRESENTATION EVENTS / MONTH
EXTERNAL RELATIONS
JEF Europe works with a wide range of partners, stakeholders, funders. We seek to share knowledge, experience, expertise and projects with very diverse organisations.
JEF AS A MEMBER UNION OF EUROPEAN FEDERALISTS // UEF
The Union of European Federalists is a pan-European, non-governmental political organisation dedicated to the promotion of European political unity. UEF is the ‘mother’ organisation of JEF Europe and in many national sections JEF members are automatically UEF members. We are represented at the UEF board and all UEF statutory meetings and cooperate on a regular basis with UEF Secretariat and Secretary General.
EUROPEAN YOUTH FORUM // YFJ
The European Youth Forum is a platform of over 100 organisations in Europe, representing National Youth Councils and International Non-Governmental Youth Organisations. The YFJ is the main platform for advocacy and lobbying for youth rights in Europe. It also engages in various activities to develop and strengthen its members. JEF Europe cooperates strongly with the group of Political Party Youth Organisations in the YFJ and regularly organise debates and activities with them. JEF Europe is also strongly involved in different expert groups in the YFJ.
EUROPEAN MOVEMENT INTERNATIONAL // EMI
The European Movement is the largest pan-European network of pro-European organisations. It is present in 39 countries and encompasses 36 International Associations, bringing together European civil society, business, trade unions, NGOs, political parties, local authorities and academia. JEF Europe is a long time member of EMI and cooperates actively in the different activities and political committees organised by EMI.
CIVIL SOCIETY EUROPE // CSE
Civil Society Europe – the European Coordination of Civil Society Organisations intends to be, at European level, a legitimate and representative platform of civil society organisations defending the values we claim and to put them back at the heart of the European project. JEF Europe is a member of CSE since in creation in 2016 and we are actively involved in different working groups.
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OUR FUNDERS EUROPEAN YOUTH FOUNDATION // COUNCIL OF EUROPE
For several years, JEF Europe has been awarded grants from the Council of Europe’s European Youth Foundation. Our annual work plans including seminars and local actions have been co-financed thanks to the EYF. The EYF has also granted JEF Europe a multi-annual operating grant. Through the European Youth Foundation, the Council of Europe’s Youth Sector finances a wide range of activities organised by youth organisations in its 47 Member States in line with its bi-annual priorities
EUROPE FOR CITIZENS PROGRAMME // EUROPEAN UNION
The aim of the Europe for Citizens Programme is to contribute to citizens' understanding of the EU, its history and diversity and to encourage the democratic participation of citizens at EU level. The aim of this programme is to contribute to citizens' understanding of the EU, its history and diversity, as well as to foster European citizenship and improve conditions for civic and democratic participation at EU level.
ERASMUS+ PROGRAMME // EUROPEAN UNION
The Erasmus+ Programme is the European programme for education, training, youth and sport. It’s 14,7 billion euros budget over 7 years allows the EU to fund a wide diversity of projects and organisations. JEF Europe has been granted a four-year operating grant between 2014 and 2017 under the civil society cooperation youth programme. In addition, several JEF Europe projects are now being funded under the Erasmus+ programme (European Voluntary Service, Europe at School Strategic Partnership, DIVE project).
FRIENDS OF JEF
Friends of JEF e.V. is organised as a non-profit association under German law and is composed by former and active members of the Young European Federalists (JEF) in order to support political and citizenship education and the activities of JEF Europe. The alumni network pursues as primary goals: networking, activation of JEF alumni, fundraising. Friends of JEF organises reunions of former JEF activists about every two years. 38
MEMBERS
JEF is composed by its members working together to promote the creation of a democratic European federation as a guarantee for peace and a more free, just and democratic society. Our local and regional sections are grouped in National Sections. We also have several Interest Groups, formed by JEF-Europe, that are active in countries where no registered section existed before. After organising successful activities, these activists can apply for interest group status during a statutory meeting. If the section remains active during the next 2 years and carries out JEF’s policies and spirit, they can be accepted as full member sections during the next statutory meeting. 40
NATIONAL SECTIONS
JEF DENMARK denmark@jef.eu JEF FINLAND finland@jef.eu
JEF ARMENIA armenia@ef.eu
JEF FRANCE france@jef.eu
JEF AUSTRIA austria@jef.eu
JEF GERMANY germany@jef.eu
JEF BELGIUM belgium@jef.eu
JEF GREECE greece@jef.eu
JEF BULGARIA bulgaria@jef.eu
JEF HUNGARY hungary@jef.eu
JEF CROATIA croatia@jef.eu
JEF ITALY italy@jef.eu
JEF CZECH REPUBLIC czechrepublic@jef.eu
JEF KOSOVO kosovo@jef.eu
JEF LATVIA latvia@jef.eu
JEF POLAND poland@jef.eu
JEF LITHUANIA lithuania@jef.eu
JEF PORTUGAL portugal@jef.eu
JEF MALTA malta@jef.eu
JEF SERBIA serbia@jef.eu
JEF ROMANIA romania@jef.eu
JEF MOLDOVA moldova@jef.eu
JEF SLOVAKIA slovakia@jef.eu
JEF SLOVENIA slovenia@jef.eu
JEF MONTENEGRO montenegro@jef.eu
JEF SPAIN spain@jef.eu
JEF NETHERLANDS netherlands@jef.eu
JEF SWEDEN sweden@jef.eu
JEF NORTH MACEDONIA northmacedonia@jef.eu
JEF SWITZERLAND switzerland@jef.eu
JEF IRELAND ireland@jef.eu
JEF NORWAY norway@jef.eu
JEF UNITED KINGDOM unitedkingdom@jef.eu
JEF UKRAINE ukraine@jef.eu
CANDIDATE SECTIONS
INTEREST GROUPS
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A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE 2020 will be a year of both continuity and change: a lot of the processes that have been kickstarted will be continued and intensified whilst the newly elected Executive Board will bring in new energy and ideas for the work of the organisation during their first year. The challenge for the next mandate will be to maintain a high level of political advocacy and to make JEF Europe’s structures resilient and future-proof, taking into account the changing nature of voluntary work and the management of a now larger organisation. Within the framework of the four-year-strategy, which was implemented from October 2017 onwards, the planned activities mirror the desire of the organisation to become more diverse, more united, and more sustainable and thus ensuring that JEF remains “Simply a Generation Ahead�.
YOUNG EUROPEAN FEDERALISTS ACTIVITY REPORT 2017-2019 COORDINATION // Milosh Ristovski, Marine Betrancourt PUBLISHED BY // JEF Europe PHOTOGRAPHY // Marine Betrancourt Despite all our efforts, we have not yet succeeded in identifying the authors and rights holders for some audiovisual material. If you believe that you may be a rights holder, we invite you to contact the Central Audiovisual Library of the European Commission. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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