Consultation: | FYEG General Assembly 2022 |
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Agenda item: | 2. Plans |
Proposer: | FYEG |
Status: | Published |
Submitted: | 04/28/2022, 18:49 |
P2: FYEG Strategy 2022 - 2025
Structure
FYEG Strategy
2022 - 2025
Introduction
FYEG has been growing steadily in terms of organisational capacity and political impact since 2014 and the Green Wave of the EU elections in 2019 has rapidly amplified the process. In 2020, the FYEG Executive Committee started a process for organisational change aiming to ensure that FYEG will continue to develop and grow in a coherent and sustainable way in order to be able to continuously work for a stronger young green European movement.
The Executive Committee, Advisory Committee and Secretariat worked on this organisational change process together with a consultant (the European Activism Incubator). They assessed FYEG’s internal structures and processes, evaluated the organisation’s main challenges and then selected three key priorities to improve FYEG’s capacities and impact. Two of these priorities were linked to FYEG’s strategic planning and aimed to (1) create a more focused and actionable strategy and (2) implement processes and tools to ensure the Executive Committee and Secretariat’s work is more focused, efficient, manageable and in line with FYEG’s strategy and through better delegation systems.
This Strategic Plan is the result of the organisational change process. It is based on a Member Organisations Survey and workshops gathering the Executive Committee, Secretariat and Advisory Committee. It highlights FYEG’s core vision and mission, as well as the organisation’s strategic focus and objectives for the coming years, setting a clear mandate for future Executive Committees. The Strategic Plan will be implemented through FYEG’s Activity Plans and Financial Plans and monitored via a Strategic Framework with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
FYEG’s main goal is a feminist, diverse, democratic, sustainable and social Europe. In order to achieve our goal we use different channels, political arenas and tools.
Background
FYEG is the European umbrella organisation for Young Green organisations from all over the European continent, from Azerbaijan in the East to Ireland in the West and from Cyprus in the South to Norway in the North. FYEG’s member organisations have various backgrounds: local ecological groups, student unions, youth wings of Green political parties and Young Green civil society organisations. They were created and are developing in different political and institutional contexts. They also vary in size and impact, from small or newly established organisations who focus on recruiting members to large and well established organisations who have parent parties in government and focus on putting forward the youth voice in the legislative agenda.
One of FYEG’s main roles and challenges is to bring these very heterogeneous member organisations together and support them in bringing forward a common vision. In order to better understand the needs of our member organisations, we launched a Member Organisation survey. The survey aimed to evaluate FYEG’s current work and set priorities for its future activities in line with the needs of FYEG Member Organisations. 20 member organisations responded to a set of 22 questions across 7 topics.
The results of the survey showed the following key points:
FYEG’s main strength is seen as capacity building for its members and young green organisations in general. Member organisations are most interested in training related to the development of their organisation (such as volunteer management and fundraising) but a lot of respondents also report that their organisation lacks the capacity and time to attend FYEG’s training;
FYEG’s main added values are seen as pioneering new and radical ideas through activities engaging young people and coordinating public campaigns across Europe;
In line with FYEG’s analysis, member organisations identify the political activation and recruitment of members from racialized communities as the most relevant priority to improve the inclusion and representation of racialized communities within our movement.
Along with FYEG’s monitoring and analysis of members' engagement with FYEG activities, the results of the survey were fundamental in understanding the needs of the member organisations and incorporating them in FYEG’s strategy.
Vision, mission and strategic focus
Vision
FYEG’s core vision is a just, feminist, diverse, democratic, sustainable Europe where people are happy and free. Run by young people, for young people, FYEG’s core mission is to empower young people to bring forward their perspectives in order to realise this vision, in line with green values.
Strategic focus
In order to realise its vision and mission, FYEG strategic focus for 2022-2025 will be on:
Strengthening the FYEG Network and Membership Coordination;
Capacity building;
Bringing forward the youth perspective;
Organisational growth.
In addition, FYEG will make inclusion and diversity an overarching focus of its strategy and activity plan, with the aim of building a more inclusive and diverse network where racialised communities and other underrepresented groups are better represented.
Practical implementation
To realise its mission, FYEG is led by its Executive Committee and run by its Secretariat. The FYEG Executive Committee is elected by FYEG’s member organisations at the annual General Assembly. The FYEG Secretariat is based in Brussels, Belgium and is managed by the Secretary General, who is elected at the General Assembly. In realising its mission, FYEG is guided by its Political Platform that is adopted by Member Organisations at the General Assembly and lines out the organisation’s political positions and values in detail.
Strategic objectives
Find below the strategic objectives for each strategic focus:
Strengthening the FYEG Network and Membership Coordination
The first strategic focus of FYEG is strengthening its network and membership coordination. For more than 30 years, FYEG’s Member Organisation have joined forces at the European level, uniting their collective aspirations to learn from each other, to debate, to campaign together and to make the green Europe we wish to see become a reality. FYEG will continue to coordinate its network and member organisations to best serve both the federation as a whole and individual member organisations.
FYEG’s long term goal is to maintain and develop a strong and well coordinated federation where member organisations are actively engaged and where FYEG’s work complements the work of its member organisations.
Based on this goal, FYEG’s priority will be to focus on its current members rather than expanding and growing its membership. This means expansion will only be pursued with organisations that are already connected to other Green family actors such as EGP, GEF or CDN, in countries where FYEG is not yet represented and when FYEG Executive Committee and Secretariat have the capacity to implement a meaningful welcoming process for and with the incoming organisation.
To realise this goal, FYEG will focus on 6 strategic objectives in the coming years:
Tailor FYEG member organisation coordination and communication to the needs and demands of the member organisations;
Improve the engagement of FYEG’s member organisations from the South, especially to ensure they are more proportionally represented in FYEG’s political work and long term planning;
Improve the engagement of FYEG’s member organisations from the East and empower them to be more active in the federation. To this end, FYEG will continue to support and cooperate with CDN, an instrumental and important partner organisation that is committed to develop and implement Green ideas in Eastern Europe;
Invest in its candidate member organisations to implement a meaningful integration process;
Increase the attention and support towards struggling member organisations;
Facilitate political exchanges at the federation level.
Capacity building
FYEG advocates for a systemic change that requires a transformation of society as a whole. In order to achieve this, FYEG strategically focuses on capacity building of young people across Europe and empowering changemakers through training and non-formal education projects. As a European organisation, FYEG’s work is centred on the European level and reaches the regional and national level through its member organisations who, in turn, reach and impact the provincial and local level.
FYEG’s long term goal in capacity building is twofold. On one hand, FYEG will invest in the capacity building of its Member Organisations to be more resilient, resourceful, sustainable, effective and efficient in delivering change at local and national levels. On the other hand, FYEG will empower young people to be skillful and impactful change-makers that are equipped and confident in developing radical ideas.
Throughout its activities, FYEG will work to develop and foster critical and analytical thinking as well as creativity and progressive ideas among young people, through quality non-formal education, capacity building and intercultural exchanges. FYEG will also encourage and promote inclusive and active participation of young people in democratic processes, especially for young people from racialised communities and other underrepresented groups.
To realise these goals, FYEG will focus on 4 strategic objectives in the coming years:
Improve the capacities and resources of FYEG’s member organisations and develop their competences in empowering young people at the national level;
Increase youth participation in electoral processes, specifically the number of young greens running for political mandates at the national and European level;
Create a space for young people to develop progressive ideas with relevant and meaningful political output;
Increase the level of inclusion and diversity within the membership of FYEG’s member organisations and at FYEG’s educational activities.
Bringing forward the youth perspective
FYEG fights for equality, inclusion, personal liberties and freedoms, social welfare and survival and well-being of our planet. As written in FYEG’s political platform, FYEG does not see a single one of these political issues as a lone priority but instead fights for all of them simultaneously.
In order to achieve its vision of a feminist, diverse, democratic, sustainable and social Europe, FYEG uses different channels and tools. We work to be present and heard at all stages and levels, be it institutions of formal politics or grassroots level.
FYEG has two long term goals for bringing forward the young green perspective: (1) Ensuring that young people can participate and influence democratic processes and political institutions at the EU and European level, especially for young people from racialised communities and other underrepresented groups; and (2) ensuring the development, dissemination and adoption of new radical progressive ideas and policies in line with FYEG’s Political Platform, especially in policy areas that predominantly affect youth.
With this goal in mind, FYEG will use its network and capacity building activities to empower young people to bring forward new radical progressive ideas and policies. FYEG will use its platform and media presence to amplify the youth voices and demands, with a particular focus on marginalised young people. When relevant for its work and objectives, FYEG will continue to collaborate with other youth organisations or progressive organisations in order to achieve greater impact and diversify its outreach.
FYEG will use its strategic partnerships with the European Green Party and the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament to ensure the youth perspective influences all parts of EU and European decision-making processes. FYEG will aim to continue its work as a member of the Advisory Council on Youth to the Council of Europe, to make sure that the Council of Europe provides democratic and transparent support to youth organisations and prioritises the relevant political priorities of the Youth. FYEG will also continue to influence the UN's climate policies through its COP delegation.
To realise these goals, FYEG will focus on 4 strategic objectives in the coming years:
Disseminate FYEG’s educational activities and political statements to a broader audience, utilising communication and media tools;
Improve the interest and engagement of FYEG’s member organisations and young people in European and EU politics through joint campaigns and communications;
Improve FYEG’s political impact at the European level by focusing on existing partnerships with EGP and the Greens/EFA Group in the European Parliament and, when relevant, by fostering networking with the European Youth Forum and other youth organisations;
Increase youth participation, both in terms of voter turnout and in terms of young Greens running for the European Parliament in the EU elections in 2024 via an impactful elections campaign.
Organisational growth
Finally, in order to better implement its work and objectives, FYEG’s last but essential strategic focus is organisational growth. Since the organisational change process started in 2020, FYEG has made a lot of progress, but there are still a lot of areas where improvement is needed in order for the organisation to be able to more effectively execute its mission. To this end, FYEG will continue to work on its internal structures and processes.
FYEG’s long term goals in terms of organisational growth are (1) to have a network and internal structures that are strong, resilient, sustainable and efficient in order to better achieve their goals and objectives and (2) to ensure that FYEG grows in a meaningful, strategic and sustainable way that benefits FYEG as an organisation and as a network.
In the medium term, FYEG will aim at improving long term planning and continuity within FYEG’s structures by developing a 5 years Strategic Plan to be adopted at the 2025 General Assembly, proposing the adoption of a 3 years mandate for the Secretary General and evaluating the possibility of extending the length of the mandate for the Executive Committee in the future.
To realise these goals, FYEG will focus on 3 strategic objectives in the coming years:
Improve FYEG’s internal management, governance processes and transfer of knowledge;
Improve the working conditions and retention of FYEG’s staff and Executive Committee;
Improve FYEG’s Strategic Framework with the aim to facilitate monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the Strategic Plan and to ensure adequate use of resources and capacities when creating the Activity Plans.
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