Regional,
thematic and cross-pillar cooperation
Recently
I was asked during exchange of views about my candidacy with a member
organisations what I think about regional cooperation within the
European Youth Forum.
I
believe there is an added value to such cooperation and want to share
my thoughts on the importance of cooperation between member
organisations and elaborate some personal ideas on how similar
cooperation could be done even better to maximise its value for MOs
and the platform as a whole.
First
we need to be aware of the specific nature of the YFJ as a platform
based on two pillars, the National Youth Councils (NYCs) and
international non-governmental youth organisations (INGYOs). Within
these two pillars there are several cooperation initiatives of a more
or less structured nature. On
the NYC side we have four regional cooperations, namely:
- the Nordic-Baltic cooperation featuring national youth councils from Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden;
- the Southern Youth Cooperation (SYC) featuring national youth councils from Catalonia, Croatia, Cyprus, France, the French-speaking Community of Belgium, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia and Spain;
- the Bodensee-Benelux Cooperation plus (BBC+) featuring national youth councils from Austria, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Slovakia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom;
- the Eastern European Youth Cooperation (EEYC) featuring national youth councils from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russian Federation and Ukraine;
On
the INGYO side we have a few thematic or issue-based cooperations,
such as the so-called “exchange group”, the cooperation between
faith-based organisations or the party-political youth organisations
(PPYOs). Moreover, we have a so-called cross-pillar cooperation
initiative called CP2
that aims to promote exchange of views and ideas between the two
pillars. Others might cooperate among them on a ad hoc basis.
I'm
convinced that nobody will dispute the fact that cooperation is a
good thing. But let's look at why different types of cooperation
between MOs are not only beneficial to those participating in a given
cooperation but also for the YFJ as a platform. Any type of
cooperation has at it base a certain common understanding on the
importance of the region in which and/or topic on which they are
working together. They
feel they are bound together by different ties, be it for
geographical, cultural, linguistic and/or specific issue-based
reasons. The good part of the different cooperation initiatives
within the YFJ is that with their joint proposals and initiatives,
common positions with regards to policy positions and activities of
the YFJ, they help achieve a broader consensus within the YFJ on a
given topic but also assist each other in ensuring their voice be
heard better.
It
is understandable that it might happen that different regional and/or
thematic cooperations might have contradictory positions on a given
topic between them. But despite apparent dialectics and
differences among them, all MOs are not only pursuing the same or
similar goals but are also complementing each other. This
complementary function is not only within a cooperation initiative
but also between the different groups. Personally I think it would be
great if the different regional cooperation initiatives would explore
the possibility of working together on a bilateral or multilateral
basis. This is currently happening among and between many MOs on a
more individual/bilateral basis. But just imagine an entire regional
cooperation such as for example the BBC+ having a joint meeting with
the EEYC on a set topic. It could create new synergies and increase
the exchange of experience and knowledge between regions. Of course
this is something that YFJ as such can only welcome and potentially
assist with expertise and know-how on the chosen topic if asked to do
so, while it is the MOs or regional groupings themselves responsible
to explore such an idea.
At
the moment the closest we come to inter-regional cooperation or
inter-bloc cooperation within the YFJ framework is every two years
prior the General Assembly in order to try to secure better chances
of their own candidates for elections. Albeit understandable it
shouldn't be the only reason for closer inter-bloc cooperation.
Especially bearing in mind that many MOs, especially on the INGYO
pillar are not in any specific group. It would be great if we could
see more exchange and cooperation between MOs that might not come
from the same region nor pursue the same issues but have certain
basic values and ideas in common. This could be in terms of promoting
active citizenship, youth participation, different experiences with
youth volunteering or involvement in decision-making process.
A
concrete example of where such cooperation would have an added value
for the YFJ as whole is the discussion on the future of the Youth in
Action programme. More exchange between different MOs but also
different existing cooperation initiatives/groupings and more joint
cross-pillar initiatives could provide
a fresh impetus and contribute via better mutual understanding of our
work and needs.
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