Work done!

Given the particular situation that for the first time in the Youth Forum's 16 year history we have the current President re-standing in an election allow me first to provide you with an overview of what do I consider the main achievements of my presidency so far, where do I believe to have made a difference and why do I consider that my work is not yet done as well as where I get my motivation from to continue being engaged in the youth work and youth policy field in Europe.

In my election speech almost two years ago I said I wanted to first focus on the organisational culture of the Forum: equal participation, open, transparent, inclusive and democratic decision-making processes and promotion of cooperation and mutual respect at all levels. I believe to have worked a lot on this:

• by improving the level of communication with members on what the Board does in a transparent manner (monthly overviews/updates);
• by creating working structures that support the implementation of the work-plan objectives agreed by omember organisations (MOs) (ensuring a maximum possible equal distribution of MOs involved in these structures based on competence but also geographical balance);
• by keeping little distance between the leadership and the members and by working closely together with member organisations giving them ample opportunities to be consulted on processes early on I tried to ensure the feeling of ownership of the work done (e.g. I'm very proud of the inclusive process that led to the adoption of the Forum's new Strategic Priorities 2013-18);
• by motivating members to get more active in the work of the Forum through my presence in their numerous activities and visits to MOs I've undertaken.

My second electoral promise was to focus on how the Youth Forum can bring added value to its members and young people in Europe by being a strong advocate on their behalf. I think a lot was done in this respect by investing our energy in areas of common importance to youth organisations and young people: funding for youth NGOs and youth employment to mention the most prominent examples. Of course it wasn't always easy to manage the different expectations of our members as well as external partners, the roles and responsibilities among Board, Secretariat, working structures and member organisations etc. Yet despite these occasional hick-ups we managed to achieve tangible success vis-a-vis the future EU youth programme (designated youth chapter, operating grants, user-friendliness) though this is still very much an ongoing process and something I want to work on also in my second mandate to ensure continuity and finish the job started. In the field of youth employment we managed to be the agenda setter, especially on the issue of internships but also in visibility of the Forum as reliable partner of the Commission and other important stakeholders such as the OECD, proposing an array of measures (youth guarantee, quality internships charter etc) and demonstrating a strong joint Board work and dedication of members in this area.

Within the Board I also took on specific responsibility for two working areas: notably the role of chairing the European Steering Committee on Structured Dialogue and the area of New Media. I'm glad that under my watch Structured Dialogue has become a standard, that the process successfully involved 27 Member States' National Working Groups and a significantly increasing number of international non-governmental youth organisations (INGYOs), and that it strengthened the cooperation with the Presidencies and the Commission. However, it is a process that is ongoing and still has many flaws, especially when it comes to its understanding, expectations towards it as well as its implementation in practice. Despite being convinced that the decision to take up this responsibility was the correct one and my facilitation skills helped the Forum to be recognised as a reliable and deserving chair of such a committee. In the new media field I managed to further develop presence, events and policy of the Forum always acting together with our members and increasing the voice of representative young people in the discussions on the role of social media and internet governance at European (European Dialogue on Internet Governance - EuroDIG) and global level (Internet Governance Forum - IGF), including high visibility within CoE and EU.

The most important measurement of my successes or failures for me personally is based first and foremost on what I set out to do and what kind of president I wanted to be. I'm certain I did a very good job and personally I can look back and be proud of the work. However, it was also a big learning process for me since the Youth Forum works and behaves very differently from JEF and it wasn't always possible to do everything in the way I envisaged.

There is room for improvement and I now have the 2 years of experience in this platform at the highest level and would be a shame if I didn't build on this. Especially when it comes to one of the most important challenge I faced: the setting up of a proper team-work spirit, leading and motivating a team of dedicated volunteers given the very different nature of backgrounds, expectations but also the style of working and understanding what it means to be part of a YFJ Board. I've learned some valuable lessons and when asked what I find the most important qualities of a Board member to be I have to say: availability, motivation and competence. My sincere hope is that all the candidates for upcoming elections are wiling to maintain these three qualities throughout the next 2-year mandate. And if entrusted with the mandate I will strive to create an open and inclusive working atmosphere with the new team so we could jointly face the plenitude of challenges ahead.