Dile EJB Team 2020-2022 Candidate Q&A

Diletta Salvi (ITA)

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?

To answer this question I think it’s important to understand why NJRs feel disconnected from the goals. In my opinion, this can happen because they are not fully included in the decision-making process of these goals and don’t fully understand them or because they struggle when it comes to putting them into practice.

What I believe could help, is to plan and run a session during EJBM where, first of all, NJRs together with the EJB Team evaluate the past year, what goals have been reached or not, share what worked and what didn’t (as a region, not as single NAs). Then, discuss what goals they want to set for the following year, instead of only suggesting goals and indicators in a more informal way, so that the EJB Team can take this all discussion into consideration when choosing them.

Being part of this process and contributing to the choice of the goals would make the NJRs understand them completely and therefore feel connected to them.

Another way to move forward and develop as a region is to connect our goals to some very tangible projects and initiatives to make our goals more stimulating, useful and efficient, instead of having some very abstract concepts that are harder to relate to.

The heterogeneity of our JBs, their different approaches and diverse practices are one of our biggest strengths and resources as a region. That’s something we should definitely keep, even when moving towards the same direction.

We do so many different things during the year and promote so many initiatives, sometimes unconsciously achieving the EJB goals. Gaining awareness of the process, instead, would help us be more coherent.

For this purpose, each Neighbourhood together with its coordinator could work to write down their indicators for those goals and set themselves actions (that could vary depending on the JB and its priorities) to achieve them.

Being able to identify the success of certain actions and at the same time realizing what didn’t work or what should change, makes it easier to follow the development of our JBs and of the region as a whole.

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How would you promote further integration between BEAM and EJBM? I was asked a very similar question when I was running to be an NJR in Italy and it’s curious (and gratifying) to see how the answer is different now and how much the situation has changed. Back then, I had never been to a regional meeting, I was very uncertain about the role of NARs and their responsibilities, the cooperation between these two events and roles in general.

After more than two years I can say that we have achieved so much on this matter and EMEA managed to make this work on so many levels. It feels good to see there’s a real positive interaction between the roles and notice how easier it’s become to communicate with each other; I think a very good job has been done at providing the NJRs with all the information needed to reach this interaction and cooperation.

Having EJBM and BEAM happen at the same time is a huge opportunity for all of us to feel part of the region and work as one, understand ‘who does what’, and have a wider awareness of all the different levels of our association.

So we are definitely heading in the right direction, but there’s always room for improvement when it comes to integration.

NJRs, NARs, and ReCos were challenged to work with a wider perspective, meaning not only focusing on their specific tasks but also trying to see the bigger picture.

I think we could strengthen the efficiency of the common sessions during EJBEAM by creating working groups composed of NJRs, NARs, and ReCos. These sessions would be planned taking into consideration the needs of all three roles, making it interesting and beneficial for everyone.

Moreover, the cooperation between NJRs and NARs should not be limited to the few common sessions during in-person meetings but it should be maintained throughout the year. They should be provided with platforms to carry on their projects, initiatives, debates and more general updates. Also, to guarantee a good integration at a regional level, it’s crucial for NJRs and NARs of the same NA to interact and communicate constantly, to promote cooperation with other parts of their NA and JB. The fact that many NARs are former NJRs or have somehow been involved in Junior Branch before is another proof of a very healthy and smooth flow of things.

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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?

There might have been more fortunate ways to realize it...but this crisis definitely opened our eyes on so many opportunities and ways to rethink our most deeply-rooted practices. CISV was challenged to quickly adapt to a new reality and a lot of solutions were found: these efforts should not be wasted and we can learn a lot from this situation.

EJB usually meets in person at EJBEAM, IJBC and NH workshops but other than that, NJRs (and even more, active JBers) from different neighbourhoods or even different regions rarely get the chance to meet, have a conversation about certain topics and work on some projects together. This ends up with a huge loss of best practices that could potentially help so many NAs! First thing we learnt that comes to my mind is the use of online platforms. Creating sessions online (panels, trainings, educational content activities) would connect NJRs within and between regions throughout the whole year and make it all more fun!

EJBM online showed us that not only NJRs are interested in taking part in these meetings: there were many LJRs and active JBers as well, and this means people are becoming more curious about approaching and experiencing the region. And to combine these two things, something I think could start from it, is educational content delivery online for JBers from different Neighbourhoods.

Something I’ve seen in the last period is the raising of many cooperations between chapters from different regions, which is an example of an increasing awareness of what happens at all international levels. It also shows a spring of leadership of young adults who are willing to create a cohesive web of JBers.

This emergency also highlighted the importance of creating an inclusive community for our volunteers to feel part of. After receiving the contribution of many of them during EJBM online, which were important feedbacks from those who live and experience Junior Branch from the inside, I’m positive about having the conversation about inclusiveness and sustainability (social, economical and environmental) in a more frequent, aware and successful way in the future.

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