Ada EJB Team 2020-2022 Candidate Q&A

Ada Lassen-Urdahl (NOR)

The EJB Goals are defined by the EJB Team every year, but NJRs often feel disconnected from them. How would you promote a cohesive development of the EMEA region?

If there is one thing to learn from this year’s very unique EJBM, it is that we should improve the inclusion of JBers who are not NJRs. In my opinion, the most important role and responsibility of an NJR is to their own JBers in their country. Therefore, to make the NJRs feel connected to the EJB Goals, we need to make their JBers feel connected to them as well.

This year’s goals (rethink, engage cooperate) are in my opinion very well developed and beneficial goals, but some of their indicators could have been modified to fit into a local JB level as well as a regional one – thereby making them more relevant for local JBers and NJRs. I think we should focus more on how we can achieve the indicators of the goals on a local level AND regional level, then work on them collectively as a region. This could aid the cohesive development, so that local LJRs and NJRs feel like the goals apply to them as well. The NJRs can then work with the team to achieve them, and give feedback.

Throughout an EJB Goal-period, most NJRs seem to forget about them, which is in my opinion a waste. I think the EJB Goals can be a very beneficial tool if they are used right. This EJB team did a really good job of promoting a cohesive development of EMEA by asking the EMEA NJRs for feedback when developing the goals. However, if the NJRs don’t feel connected to them or even forget about them throughout the period, there is no point. I want to make sure that the EJB team-coordinators can remind their neighborhoods more often about the goals, and request input and status updates from their respective JBs more frequently than just when they are created.

This is how I think we can use the EJB Goals to promote a more cohesive development of our region.

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How would you promote further integration between BEAM and EJBM?

The most important aspect of further integration would be to ensure a good relationship between the NAs and JBs all over EMEA before EJBEAM takes place. Even though a lot of JBs have really improved their relationship with their NA over the past few years, I think it is important to still work on developing it. I think we need to raise the quality of the NA/JB-relationships collectively, all over the region. There are NJRs and EJBM-participants that have not even met their NAR before EJBM. If we want to properly integrate BEAM and EJBM, which is something I find really important (and with lots of room to improve) we need to start on a local/national level.

JB/NA relationships has been an issue for quite some time, and it is something I would really love to work on if I was elected EJB team member. The fact that CISV Norway does not have a JB, but have rather chosen a more integrated structure, along with me being an NJR in JB gives me a unique perspective on the issue. I want to contribute to help JBs that are struggling with the relationship by producing and giving them access to tools on how to improve communication. If we want to create a more integrated and included, international JB/CISV relationship basing on mutual respect we need to work locally first. Making sure all JBs are equally represented in NAs is important.

We can encourage JBs to take the discussions in their NAs with tools that already exist in CISV international (e.g. model role profiles and model constitutions). Tools on educational content has been made accessible to NJRs and JBers, however organizational tools are harder to find. I want to change that.

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How would you promote further integration between BEAM and EJBM? (cont.)

Another, more obvious and direct way to promote further integration between BEAM and EJBM is creating sessions that are easier for NARs to contribute in. The EJB team should work closely with the facilitators for EJBEAM to ensure the sessions that are in the open slots of the BEAM-schedule are inclusive to all CISVers, not only JBers. The NARs participating may feel “too old�/not relevant to the session if every question in an activity/debrief is targeted and facilitated for a JB, when they are no longer a part of the JB. Another issue is that it is hard to know exactly how the NARs feel on the matter. I assume they also feel like the EJBEAM-integration could still be improved. An ideal situation would be to have a EJB content staff and NAR co-facilitated session on the integration of EJBM and BEAM. That way, we get to hear from both sides how they feel, and their ideas on promoting the integration further.

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What should be some lessons that EJB learns from this current crisis and how do you see EJB evolving from now on?

Working locally and all year around is always important, but in a year where all camps and meetings are cancelled it is more important than ever. We cannot let our members forget CISV exist. This is where I think JB plays a crucial role. JBs have done an amazing job so far in this situation. Digital activities and social media interactions has been initiated by JBs across the region. These amazing initiatives needs to continue and be encouraged not only until the current crisis is over, but until our camps, meetings and local activities can run normally again.

I also think we can learn something from EJBM. To be honest, I was kind of negative before this digital EJBM, but it turned out very successful in my opinion! The most extraordinary thing about this EJBM wasn’t even the fact that it was digital. The amount and the diversity of the participants was amazing.

More than 200 people participated in EJBM, which is incredible.

I was lucky enough to be able to participate in the entire online EJBM, and what I observed was that some of the most active participants were just normal JBers! People I do not think would necessarily attend the EJBM in Belgium. Some countries had more than 15 JBers participate. We even had brand new local JBers and fresh LJRs that joined the sessions, learned and shared their fresh take on things. These LJRs got inspired, and like I mentioned this year more than ever we depend on local chapters and NAs being creative and making sure there is local activity.

The range and diversity in the discussions at EJBM were because of the number of participants very unique. Usually at EJBM, the participants are exclusively the NJRs, and maybe a board member or two. In the future I hope we can work on including all JBers (and other CISVers as well) in our regional meeting and in all the work we do. We know that using digital tools works, and it would be interesting to continue doing some EJBM sessions digital (as well as physical).

I deďŹ nitely see EJB and EJBM evolving to be more cohesive, more digital and more inclusive after this crisis.

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