ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017
EDITORIAL ABOUT US THE PEOPLE PROJECTS, EVENTS, CAMPAIGNS SECTIONS PROJECTS POLICY, ADVOCACY AND EXTERNAL REPRESENTATION A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE EXTERNAL RELATIONS MEMBERS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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EDITORIAL
CHRISTOPHER GLĂœCK JEF Europe President 2015-2017
Dear JEFers, dear friends of JEF Europe We are glad that you are interested to hear more about the work and activities of the Young European Federalists and we hope you will enjoy browsing through this report on our core activities in the last two years. If it conveys a bit of the enthusiasm, inclusiveness and optimism that is so characteristic for this organisation, we call it the #JEFspirit, it has already achieved its purpose. As the last two years were difficult years for the European project, it was all the more important for us to make a positive and strong case for the benefits of the European idea. The year 2016 started with a strong campaign for free movement in Europe, #DontTouchMySchengen, which engaged thousands of young activists across Europe and triggered remarkable media attention. After Brexit and with view to the rise of anti-European populism everywhere in the Union, we then decided that an optimistic and forward-looking campaign, setting out our positive big-picture vision for Europe, was needed. What followed was #OurEurope, the largest and longest campaign of JEF Europe to date, including hundreds of events, big and small, by our network across Europe and culminating in the March for Europe, a 10,000 participants demonstration in Rome on the anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. In addition to our political campaigns, JEF Europe continued to have a strong focus on capacity building for our members. Beyond practical skills, we focused on the fight against xenophobia in the context of the migration crisis in 2016 and on e-democracy and new ways of re-engaging youth for the democratic process in 2017. Our message remains relevant and building on the work of the past years, JEF Europe will continue to make its case for a free, democratic and united Europe in 2018. And we will focus specifically on topics where democracy is under pressure in Europe - the role of young people in endangered democracies and the inclusion of disadvantaged youth in established democracies. It remains for me to say thank you. Thank you to the Executive Board for their hard work and their team spirit. Thank you to the secretariat, whose commitment blurs the line between work and activism and thank you to our members for the countless hours of voluntary work over the past two years. I believe it is fair to say that Europe would not be the same without you. With federalist regards Christopher GlĂźck
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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/ 10 10
THE PEOPLE
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 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
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.
CHRIS POWERS Presidium Member
ABDUL KERIM AYDEMIR
BENJAMIN FIEVET
DILETTA ALESE
DOGUKAN JESPER GUR
DRENUSHA SUKA
JUHO MAKI-LOHILUOMA
JUUSO JÄRVINIEMI
KEVIN KRISTIANSEN
MAIJA MAUNU
MARIASOPHIA FALCONE
OLE KRAFFT
THEVAGAR MOHANADHASAN
VERENA KAUN
VICTOR THÉVENET
LAURIN BERRESHEIM
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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VALENTIN DUPOUEY-STERDYNIAK Secretary General
SONJA AFANASJEVA Project Officer
CHLOÉ BERTHELEMY Policy Officer
MARINE BETRANCOURT Communication Officer
CASEY MCKENZIE Policy and Project Assistant Intern
ZOEY STAMBOLLIU European Voluntary Service
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. 15
PROJECTS, EVENTS, CAMPAIGNS
FEDERAL COMMITTEE MEETING // CRACOW, POLAND
FEDERAL COMMITTEE MEETING // COLOGNE, GERMANY
April 1-3, 2016
November 4-6, 2016
The first Federal Committee meeting (FC) of the year took place in Krakow, hosted by JEF Poland. Besides the usual work of the Political Commissions discussing and adopting new resolutions, and the work of the Task Forces developing new projects, this FC saw the appointment of the new Secretary General of JEF Europe, Valentin Dupouey. Ioan Bucuras, former Secretary General, was warmly thanked by the network and by the Executive Board for his work and dedication.
The second Federal Committee meeting of the year brought a record number of JEFers to Cologne. In cooperation with the European Youth Forum, and within the framework of the New Narrative for Europe Process, JEF Europe hosted a debate between the Political Party Youth Organisations during the FC. Representatives of all sides of the political spectrum debated and engaged in dialogue around the topic of “Europe in the World”. JEF Malta was voted as the host of the upcoming JEF Europe - European Congress, having run against two more excellent bids from JEF Macedonia and JEF Essen.
Adopted resolutions: The way to differentiated integration in the Eurozone with the United Kingdom within the EU; On the creation of a fiscal union in the Eurozone; Strengthening Free Movement within the European Union; For a European solution of the refugee crisis and a new EU strategy in the Southern Mediterranean region; The Human Right for Privacy in the Digital Age; For a common European response to the Ukraine crisis and the Ukrainian transformation process.
Resolution adopted: JEF Europe on the idea of the Free Interrail Ticket; The Structure of a Federal European Parliament; The re-negotiation process of the British status vis-à-vis the European Union; Regarding the protection of the Rule of Law in the European Union; Recalibrating EU-Turkey relations and continuing the constructive dialogue after the attempted coup; Promoting Youth Labour Mobility and Tackling Youth Unemployment in Europe; For a United Digital Europe; How can the EU react on hybrid challenges posed by Russian Foreign Policy 17
FEDERAL COMMITTEE MEETING // ROME, ITALY
EUROPEAN CONGRESS // VALLETTA, MALTA
March 24-26, 2017
November 10-12, 2017
The celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome were complemented by the FC in Rome thanks to the support of JEF Italy. During this packed weekend, the Political Commissions finalised a series of important resolutions, while the Taskforces updated JEF members on their latest projects. JEF Macedonia was appointed to host the Spring FC 2018 unanimously.
Every two years, JEF Europe gathers for its general assembly. Around 200 participants will come together in Malta 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.
Resolution adopted: Youth mobility for all! On the Visa Code; Establishing a European Security and Defence Union; Promoting Sustainable Growth in Europe - New Priorities for Economic Policies on the European level; Protecting the value-based partnership with the US; For a more connected and diverse Europe: Cycle V of the Structured Dialogue; Environment does not stop at borders: Towards a Sustainable Europe
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#DONTTOUCHMYSCHENGEN In the context of the migration crisis in 2015, many EU countries decided to suspend the Schengen agreement, thus limiting citizen’s rights to free movement within the EU. JEF Europe underlined that the solution is to be found in coordinated European processes and policies on external migration and asylum rights, rather than limiting internal movements. This was converted into the “#DontTouchMySchengen” campaign, that saw more than 25 street actions in eight European countries and a huge social media engagement, with 2000 tweets with the hashtag, generating more than 2 million impressions. This successful campaign was mentioned by several newspapers and magazines, amongst which “Il Corriere della Sera”, “Süddeutsche Zeitung” and “Der Spiegel”.
#OUREUROPE “It’s our future, it’s our Europe!” - with this slogan JEF Europe created the framework campaign from mid-2016 onwards. After the British referendum many politicians were unable to state a vision for Europe. The campaign explains the vision of JEF and calls for young people to actively campaign with us. More than 10 press statements, analysing and reacting to the Future of Europe debate, have been published as part of the campaign. Furthermore, many different projects of national sections were part of the #ourEurope campaign, e.g. the European Youth Convention, the Torremolinos Seminar and the March for Europe in Rome.
MARCH FOR EUROPE For 60 years, since the signature of the Treaty of Rome on March 25th 2017, the European Communities and then the European Union have helped ensure Europe’s peace, prosperity and progress. Europe has guaranteed peace and the rule of law after centuries of wars. The March for Europe was not only the opportunity to celebrate these achievements but also to launch a strong call to European leaders to complete Europe’s economic and political unity. More than 10 000 European citizens gathered for the march, joined by several major European leaders. The day before the march, JEF Europe hosted a conference in the Italian parliament where JEFers had the opportunity to debate with Federica Mogherini.
SEMINARS 2016 // EUROPEAN Y.O.U.T.H. YOUTH FOR OPENNESS, UNITY, TOLERANCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS FOR ALL Our 2016 cycle of seminars, funded by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe, focused on the recent refugee crisis and on the subsequent surge of xenophobia. We believe that a more united Europe is impossible if racism, intolerance, extremism and nationalism are not defeated. Through various activities that are part of this plan we aimed at raising awareness and tackle these issues. The young people attending our activities built knowledge and developed appropriate competences in order to fight against the those worrying tendencies and to influence European societies towards a more tolerant Europe.
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BRACE YOURSELVES, EUROPEAN Y.O.U.T.H. IS COMING
EUROPEAN Y.O.U.T.H.: WELCOMING REFUGEES!
February 2016 // Brussels
July 2016 // Malta
Participants received sound thematic training on the issues related to our work plan, namely migration and asylum, fight against racism, intolerance, extremism. In order to develop a deep understanding of these topics, we collaborated with officials from the UNHCR (the UN refugee agency) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). A specific seminar was also set up with the collaboration of the European Network for Migrant Women (ENoMW), since it was fundamental to understand the specificity of women refugees’ condition.
Building on the findings of the second activity, participants developed practical skills in order to fight intolerance against migrants. Thanks to this international activity, participants were empowered and had more competences to influence the society and the democratic processes towards a more inclusive and peaceful society.
EUROPEAN AND REFUGEES: ALL IN THE SAME BOAT
EUROPEAN Y.O.U.T.H. MEETS POLITICS
April 2016 // Vienna
November 2016 // Athens
Supported by trainers and experts, participants explored and defined the challenges and the opportunities that come with migration. They also discussed the nature and history of Europe, which has a common heritage but at the same time is composed by a multitude of cultures and nationalities. Finally, the issue of migrantophobia and xenophobia, that have been more and more salient since the beginning of the refugee crisis, were explored. Europe itself dealt with large intracontinental waves of refugees not so long ago in our recent history.
During the Seminar, participants hailing from 19 countries were given the opportunity to learn from each other and exchange experiences about different ways in which the refugee crisis has been tackled by both CSOs and governments. Many amongst them were active in NGOs themselves or had direct experience of work in a refugee camp, enabling participants to learn directly from each other during engaging group discussions.
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SEMINARS 2017 // E-DEMOCRACY: CONNECTING EUROPEAN YOUTH AND POLITICS THROUGH DIGITAL TOOLS ‘E-democracy: Connecting youth and politics through digital tools’ focused on the increasing lack of connections with society, more specifically politics, especially in the field of youth. The most recent European Parliamentary election shows a historically low turnout among young voters, but national elections in the Council of Europe members have also seen a decreasing youth turnout. A functioning democracy requires that everybody’s voice is heard in society, especially the voice of the youth, which is the future of Europe and a beacon of creativity.
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DISCOVERING CIVIC-TECH
RECONNECT: SYNERGY BETWEEN LOCAL ACTION AND POLITICS
February 2017 // Scotland
July 2017 // Malta
Participants from 15 countries were given a unique opportunity to learn about digital participation in policy-making on local, national and European level. In addition, they discussed the reasons for the disconnect between young people and policy makers, and possible solutions to improve the participation of young people in the decision-making using digital tools.
The seminar built on knowledge gathered from the previous two activities and set out to inform and train participants, who will use this knowledge to set up civic-tech actions in their local context. People with experience in the application of civic-tech tools and experts on the inclusion of young people in politics were invited to share their knowledge.
SHAKING POLITICS: CIVIC-TECH FOR THE POLITICAL SPHERE
DIGITAL YOUTH: WHAT’S AHEAD OF US?
April 2017 // Norway
October 2017 // Brussels
The second activity aimed at deepening the understanding of civic-tech and e-democracy. This seminar focused on the use of digital tools in the attempt to turn around the growing disconnection of youth in politics on national, regional and local levels. Participants were challenged to understand the obstacles and opportunities when creating local youth participation initiatives.
The last seminar allowed participants to develop a vision for the future of digital engagement and to develop additional skills and competences among participants to ensure their full engagement around digital democracy projects. Finally, participants had the opportunity to take part in the Digital Democracy Days organised in Brussels by ECAS (European Citizen Action Service).
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EUROPEAN THE NEW VOLUNTARY SERVICE FEDERALIST // EUROPE AT The New Federalist (www.thenewfederalist.eu) is our online volunteer-led magazine. Along with its four other ediSCHOOL tions in French (Le Taurillon), German (TreffpunktEuropa), Supported by the Erasmus+ Programme KA1 JEF Europe, from September 2017 onwards, is receiving an EVS volunteer in charge of developing Europe at School activities. Zoey, from Greece, will organise local Europe at School activities in partnership with JEF Brussels and will support the development of new resources and new activities all across the network.
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Italian (Eurobull) and Spanish (El Nuevo Federalista), we provide a unique view on European affairs. Contributors are all young people member of JEF and are engaged around the idea of providing a fair and balanced view on European affairs. The five editions gather about 200,000 viewers per month.
YOUREP
LADDER
Active citizenship being a core value of our organisation, we joined the Youth and Social Work (YES) Forum on a project aimed at increasing social inclusion in youth political activities and raising political awareness among young Europeans with less opportunities. The “Your EP - Political games are a serious business” project serves the purpose of making political simulations and role-play games (Model European Union, Model United Nations) accessible to all young people in Europe, especially those from a disadvantaged background. To do so, the project partners designed and promoted a specific model in collaboration with young citizens with fewer opportunities. The role of JEF was to contribute to the designing phase by providing its expertise and knowledge in terms of European institutions and policies.
The project “LADDER – Local Authorities as Drivers for Development Education and Raising awareness” is a 3-year project funded by EuropeAid. LADDER has sought to enhance and increase the action of Local Authorities in EU DEAR policies, with special reference to the EU Neighboring area. More specifically, the project has sought to strengthen the cooperation between Local Authorities and Civil Society Organisations and to build their internal capacities to act as “drivers for change” in DEAR. It has also sought to inform citizens and communities on their role and responsibility on global issues, as well as about the interdependencies between the EU and developing countries, by exploring and testing the most adequate methods of non-formal education.
JEF EUROPE TRAININGS Throughout the year 2017 we have been organising capacity-building trainings in Brussels for JEF sections. These trainings covered topics such as organisational development, leadership, policy and advocacy and communication. They have been designed to strengthen the capacities of JEF members to run their sections, engage their members and achieve a stronger impact. Six trainings were organised in 2017, four further ones are planned for 2018.
SECTIONS PROJECTS
TWINNING PROGRAMME JEF’s twinning programme aims at bringing local sections of our network in a partnership to work together on common projects and activities. This year, the main goal was to consolidate our most successful twinnings: JE Étudiants de Paris and JEB Berlin-Brandenburg, Jeunes Européens Science Po Paris and YEM London, JE Strasbourg and JEF Freiburg, as well as JE Lyon and JEF Milano. The second goal was to raise awareness about this twinning programme and encourage more sections to join. As a matter of fact, JE Reims’ section, as well as JE Pro - Ile de France met respectively with JEF Saarbrücken and JEF Roma. Regarding successful twinning programme, JEF Strasbourg and JEF Freiburg may be a perfect example. From November, 17 - 19, 20166, the traditional Freiburger Gespräche took place in Freiburg. It has been now 29 years Strasbourg and Freiburg are cooperating, as part of the twinning programme, and from November, 17 - 19, 2017, it is in Strasbourg that the “Entretiens de Strasbourg” will be held on the transborders cooperations.
EUROPEAN YOUTH CONVENTION 150 representatives of youth organisations from 38 countries came together at the European Parliament Strasbourg in March 2017 to develop the foundation of a better Europe. Their ambition? Think Europe from scratch and take a fresh approach to political processes. To facilitate these objectives, the Malik Institute decided
to power the European Youth Convention with their Syntegration® method. The European Youth Convention adopted a 12 chapter strong Citizens’ Constitution, defining a better Europe, which can be found at: www.youthconvention.eu
JEF STYRIA // DISCUSSING YOUROPE Together with partner organisations from five countries (SLO, CRO, GER, ITA, UKR) JEF Styria brought together young people and decision-makers. More than ever the obvious and profound crisis of united Europe requires young Europeans to raise their voices and to contribute to a forward-looking transformation. This need and Austria’s presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second term of 2018 were reasons and a mission for JEF Styria to create and implement the project “FROM and FOR young people” to enable young people actively to contribute to the reshaping of THEIR Europe. The project started with the Kick-Off Event with 27 participants in Ljubljana (SLO) in May 2017. During the Kick-Off Event JEF Styria decided about the main subjects of the project which are “mobility within the EU and migration from outside the EU”, “Common Foreign and Security Policy”, “improvement of the EU institutions” and “tackling Euroscepticism”. The project continued with the Dialogue Conference I. in Neumarkt in Steiermark (AUT) in September 2017. Workshops, teambuilding, group discussions, an excursion and lectures of experts have been part of the program. In 2018 two further conferenc29
es are going to take place, the Dialogue Conference II. in Zadar co-organised by JEF Croatia and the Closing Event in Graz in autumn 2018.
JEF FRANCE // EUROPE AT SCHOOL In 2016-2017, more than 385 “Europe at School” interventions have been led by the volunteers of 17 different French sections, reaching about 8798 students. “L’Europe par les jeunes”, the French version of “Europe at school”, aims at going into primary school, high schools, as well as youth centres to talk about Europe. In June 2017, as part of the JEF Europe Taskforce on Civic Education, Léa Gévaudan and Ninon Lagarde, leaders of “Europe par les Jeunes” for Les Jeunes Européens - France, trained participants about the programme, shared best practices and empowered them to implement it in their sections, too.
JEF MALTA // ZERO HOUR PROJECT
them an opportunity to voice their concerns regarding issues that affect their daily life in a constructive and professional manner. Each month, a topic was selected, always making sure that it was topical and of interest to young European citizens. A workshop and debate were held to discuss the topic. These workshops and debates aimed at linking youth with relevant experts, decision-makers and prominent figures in the field with the goal of giving young citizens a voice, providing them with the opportunity to educate themselves on many topics, and to come up with constructive solutions to the problems at hand.
JEF GERMANY // EUROPAWERKSTATT Once a year JEF Germany organises its “Europawerkstatt”. The event comprises three days of workshops in Berlin, involving around 80 participants. It is aimed at connecting young multipliers from various kinds of organisations with decision-makers from politics and administration.
The event builds on the idea of an “unconference”. An unconference emphasises and encourages informal conversations between participants. Instead of setting a detailed agenda in the run-up of the event, the participants themselves can contribute proposals for sessions and decide during the event which topics to deal with and which corresponding workshops to atThrough Zero Hour, JEF Malta aimed at taking their year- tend. Topics of the sessions are widely spread, varying ly debate campaigns to the next level. The project was from “European voting right”, “European republic” and funded under Erasmus+ KA3 and EUPA. In this one year “European values”, over “TTIP” or “Climate and Energy” campaign, JEF Malta targeted young people with the aim to “allocation of refugees”, “investment strategy” and of changing their perception of the EU by getting them “EU-Russia relations”. more involved in the democratic process, whilst giving 30
POLICY, ADVOCACY AND EXTERNAL REPRESENTATION
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NEW POLITICAL RESOLUTIONS
PRESS RELEASES AND STATEMENTS
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100+
EXTERNAL REPRESENTATION MISSIONS
VISITS TO THE EUROPEAN SECRETARIAT JEF Europe has an open door policy for its members and beyond. More than 150 persons visited us in the last 12 months. In the course of the past two years, we have welcomed groups of JEFers, students, young people, youth workers, journalists and others who were eager to discover the work of a political youth NGO in Brussels. We had the chance to exchange with more than a hundred curious visitors during the last year. The Explorateurs de l’Engagement, a group of French high school student travelling across Europe to learn more about active citizenship and civic education, deserve a special mention. Not only were they the youngest group we welcomed in the office, but also the most passionate and curious about our work, our fight for a better Europe and about what Federalism means. We are very grateful that they chose to stop by our office for their project.
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A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE
EUROPE AT SCHOOL - YOUTH TO YOU 2017-2019 // Supported by the Erasmus+ Programme - KA2
We believe education to Europe should be a core component of civic education in Europe. However, school curricula are still lagging behind. We also believe that non-formal education methods can prove very useful to trigger debate about Europe among school students. Therefore, we decided to take action. With a bunch of JEF sections and the European Association of Young Educators, we will develop new methodology to provide non-formal European civic education in schools. We will then train our members to deliver sessions and further improve our methodology. The project will be implemented over the course of two years. We expect to reach out not only to JEF sections but also to education providers and public authorities. Civic 36
education needs to be improved and we want to support that change. Along with a guide of good practices and a workshop methodology, the project will allow JEF sections to organise Europe at School activities and invite other sections and partners to discover how civic education is implemented in their own environment. Project leader: JEF Germany Partners: JEF Europe, Jeunes EuropĂŠens - France, JEF Malta, JEF Macedonia, European Association of Young Educators. Project funding: 89 975â‚Ź
DIVERSITY IN EUROPEAN VOLUNTEERING DIVE
FEDERAL COMMITTEE MEETING
2017-2019 // Supported by the Erasmus+ Programme - KA2
JEF, ESN and AEGEE and their member associations all share a common characteristic: all their activities have a European dimension. They foster ‘European volunteering’ with or without a mobility dimension. But this engagement for European causes is not yet accessible to everyone. Real or perceived barriers to join our organisations as a volunteer or as a leader should be addressed. This is the goal of the DIVE project. Through a series of seminars and the development of a new training methodology, we will raise awareness among our members about the importance of diversity and inclusion. We will encourage them and support them in developing and implementing more inclusive recruitment and volunteers’ management practices.
Skopje // March, 23 - 25, 2018 Diversity and inclusion is a topic of interest for most youth organisations. Through the DIVE project we will work with our partners (other youth organisations, youth political parties, the European Youth Forum) to ensure the results are disseminated broadly and can benefit the youth sector as a whole. Together we’ll take down the social, economic, psychological, and financial barriers to European civic engagement. #OurEurope is for everyone!
The spring Federal Committee meeting will be hosted by JEF Macedonia in April 2018. JEF Macedonia has been a very active section for the past years. In a difficult democratic context, they have established themselves as a strong and well-recognised NGO. After hosting an Executive Board Meeting in 2017 and soon after hosting our first seminar of the year, JEF Macedonia will host 100 JEFers for our Spring Federal Committee meeting.
Project leader: JEF France Partners: JEF Europe, ESN International, AEGEE Europe, JEF Bulgaria, AEGEE Cagliari, AEGEE Athens, ESN Sweden, ESN Dubrovnik, YES Forum Project funding: 150 000€
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EUROPEAN YOUTH EVENT 2018 Strasbourg // June 1, 2018
The 3rd edition of the European Youth Event, the largest youth activism festival in Europe, will be held in Strasbourg in June 2018. Co-organised by the European Parliament and the European Youth Forum, this event allows JEF Europe to carry a lot of dynamic activities, to bring hundreds of members, and to share our ideas for the future of Europe.
WORK PLAN 2018 For the fifth year in a row, we have been awarded a grant from the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe to implement our work plan composed of seminars and local activities. In 2018, we will focus on the role of young people in endangered democracies. Democratic foundations have been shaken in Europe in the recent years, affecting young people in particular and the way they can have an impact on society. Youth civil so38
ciety and young people should be equipped to fight back and defend democracy. Seminars will be organised in Macedonia, Germany, Finland and Spain. Local activities will take place all across Europe. Project grant: 45 000€
JEF EUROPE TRAININGS Our movement is based on the work of volunteer-based organisations led by young people. Our volunteers and leaders are in constant need to develop new skills and competences.In 2017, we organised a series of trainings for the first time in order to help our members develop organisational development skills and to give them the tools to run strong JEF sections. In 2018, four trainings will be again organised in Brussels in March, June, September and December. They are addressed at all JEFers and will cover topics such as organisational development, grant writing, communication, and policy development.
STRUCTURED DIALOGUE Structured Dialogue (SD) is a means of mutual communication between young people and decision-makers in order to implement the priorities of European youth policy cooperation and to make young people’s voice heard in the European policy-shaping process. It is a consultative process, implemented by the European Commission, that aims to increase cooperation with civil society and get firsthand input from young people. Structured Dialogue Ambassador Marta Junqué and since July 2017 her successor Chloé Berthélémy coordinate JEF Europe consultations. JEF will be fully engaged in the reflection process about “Youth in Europe: What’s next?” which will focus on the future of Europe. Through different activities and consultations, we will make sure JEF reaches out to a wide range of young people.
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. We recently co-organised our Federal Committee meeting in Köln and the March for Europe in Rome in March 2017 as well as regular common seminars and training events.
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.in Köln and the March for Europe in Rome in March 2017 as well as regular common seminars and training events.
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. 40
OUR PARTNER YOUTH ORGANISATIONS POLITICAL PARTY YOUTH ORGANISATIONS // PPYO
JEF Europe has a privileged cooperation with the political party youth organisation members of the European Youth Forum. Through regular meetings and events, we ensure our views are exchanged and debated with the leadership of the PPYOs. The PPYOs are: the Federation of Young European Greens, European Free Alliance Youth, International Union of Socialist Youth, Young European Socialists, Young Democrats for Europe, European Liberal Youth, International Federation of Liberal Youth, Youth of the EPP and European Democrat Students. Together we have co-organised debates on different topics. JEF Europe hosted a debate on Europe in the World in the framework of the New Narrative for Europe process. We also took part in a study trip to Cyprus organised for the PPYOs by the International Union of Socialist Youth.
ERASMUS STUDENT NETWORK // ESN
ESN is the largest network of student associations in Europe. ESN works for the creation of a more mobile and flexible education environment by supporting and developing the student exchange from different levels, and providing an intercultural experience also to those students who cannot access a period abroad. Through the DIVE project, we are now cooperating with ESN through the DIVE project. We also informally exchange with ESN on our challenges as a pan-European youth organisation.
EUROPEAN STUDENTS’ FORUM // AEGEE
AEGEE (Association des Etats Généraux des Etudiants de l’Europe) is one of Europe’s biggest interdisciplinary student organisations, striving for a democratic, diverse and borderless Europe. Through its activities, AEGEE empowers students and young people in Europe to take an active role in society. AEGEE creates a space for dialogue and learning opportunities as well as acts as their representative towards decision-makers. AEGEE strengthens mutual understanding among young Europeans and brings Europe closer to young people. AEGEE is also a partner of the DIVE project and exchanges with JEF Europe on a regular basis. In July 2017, we met with the new board of AEGEE and gave them a training on project management and Erasmus+ funding. 41
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
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. The current executive board of Friends of JEF consists of Pauline Gessant (former president of JEF-Europe), Sven Bisang (former member of the FC Presidium of JEFEurope), Simon Devos (current treasurer of JEF-Europe), Christopher Powers (current president JEM UK), Iris Aulbach (former executive board member of JEF-Europe) and Till Burckhardt (former treasurer of JEF-Europe). The Secretary General and President of JEF-Europe are ex officio members of the board of Friends of JEF as well. Friends of JEF is currently co-financing the JEF Trainings in Brussels. 42
MEMBERS
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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.
JEF ALBANIA albania@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
We also have several Candidate Sections, formed by JEF-Europe, that are active in countries where no registered section existed before. After organising successful activities, these activists can apply for candidate 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.
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 DENMARK denmark@jef.eu
JEF LATVIA latvia@jef.eu
JEF LITHUANIA lithuania@jef.eu
JEF PORTUGAL portugal@jef.eu
JEF MACEDONIA macedonia@jef.eu
JEF SERBIA serbia@jef.eu
JEF MALTA malta@jef.eu
JEF SLOVAKIA slovakia@jef.eu
JEF MOLDOVA moldova@jef.eu
JEF SPAIN spain@jef.eu
JEF AZERBAIJAN azerbaijan@jef.eu
JEF MONTENEGRO montenegro@jef.eu
JEF SWEDEN sweden@jef.eu
JEF BELARUS belarus@jef.eu
JEF NETHERLANDS netherlands@jef.eu
JEF SWITZERLAND switzerland@jef.eu
JEF ICELAND iceland@jef.eu
JEF NORWAY norway@jef.eu
JEF TURKEY turkey@jef.eu
JEF IRELAND ireland@jef.eu
JEF POLAND poland@jef.eu
JEF UNITED KINGDOM unitedkingdom@jef.eu
JEF SLOVENIA slovenia@jef.eu
CANDIDATE SECTIONS
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YOUNG EUROPEAN FEDERALISTS ANNUAL REPORT 2016-2017 COORDINATION // Valentin Dupouey PUBLISHED BY // JEF Europe DESIGN // Robert Klimacki PHOTOGRAPHY // David Pauwels, Valentin Dupouey, Katarina Erdelyiova
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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