Executive Board Member

Below, you can find the current published candidacies for an Executive Board Member position in JEF Europe.

Flavia Sandu

Flavia Sandu

Contact Details: Email: [e-mail] Twitter: @SFlaviaGabriela Facebook: Flavia Sandu

About Me

Hey everyone! I am Flavia, 23 years old, born and raised in a city in Romania that you probably never heard of (it's okay, no one ever does). I joined JEF in 2017 when I moved to Aalborg for my bachelor studies. Yes, I became a federalist in Denmark out of all places, which is itself an achievement. Throughout my time in the organization, I have been board member, vice-president, and international officer of my local section, as well as national deputy board member in JEF Denmark.

My first encounter with the European level took place as I was still a starry-eyed baby JEFer, in November 2017, when I attended the European Congress in Malta as an observer. Maybe it was the Mediterranean weather. Maybe it was the adrenaline- inducing anxiety of counting votes at the Congress when people would just not keep their hands up long enough for it and we had to do it all over again. Whatever it was, JEF got me hooked and the rest is history.

I have attended many events of JEF Europe throughout my four years as a member, including but not limited to Boat FC, Ventotene Seminar, Europe@School: New Directions. I am currently serving as one of the Co-Chairs of Political Commission 2 (Internal European Policy) of JEF Europe, and I also try to participate in other initiatives such as the MINDSET project, the migration working group, or the sessions of Task Force Empowerment and Diversity.

I have a BA in Language and International Studies, and I am currently pursuing a MA in European Studies, with a specialization in public policy, in Maastricht, where I moved to in August 2021. I am employed in the Green Office of Maastricht University.

Other than JEFing, I enjoy travelling, watching video essays on sociological issues as well as fashion history, and drinking tea. I promise I am not as pretentious as this makes me sound.

Motivation for the position

I am a federalist, I have experience in JEF, and I have enough time to dedicate to the responsibilities that come with being an executive board member. That's it, more or less.

With the risk of sounding dramatic, JEF truly helped me become the person I am today and discovering a goal I truly believe in and wish to work towards. Becoming a board member is, for me, just another step in the journey, to contribute even more than I currently am to the federalist cause.

As for what I would like to do, I have a few preferences in mind. I would love to work alongside the Federal Committee and international officers to get JEF to be better known on local levels across our sections and get JEFers to be involved in the work of the Political Commissions and Task Forces. Another goal that I would like to help with, is working towards making our organization greener and improving our links and work towards climate advocacy. Moreover, I also believe in diversifying our member base and helping JEF become more resilient.

The tasks I mentioned above are quite broad and general, mostly because I believe with being a board member, sometimes you have to tackle challenges as they come, and we must have some level of flexibility with our responsibilities. To be entirely fair, when asked what I'd like to do, I can say 'Anything, really (except economic policy)'.

My Vision for the Future of JEF

As we know, 2022 is going to be a very important year. We have JEF’s 50th anniversary, the ending of the Conference on the Future of Europe, the European Year of the Youth, the European Year of Defence, the European Year of Green Cities... you get it.

Short term, I am thinking of the end of CoFoE. JEF Europe had a very strong start, proposing some of the most voted ideas on the online platform. It is important we do not lose this momentum and keep being a loud voice throughout the process and do our best to ensure the CoFoE will have the most federalist result we can push for.

Long term, I have a few things in mind. Firstly, there is the European Elections in 2024. While right now it might seem like a world away, we must set the foundation for the next EB to have a solid action plan for the elections. The European Elections in 2019 were the first ones with a raise in participation since the '90s, and as JEF, it is important we work to keep the trend ascending, and get more people involved in European politics.

Secondly, JEF has been developing some connections to influential media, such as our partnership with Euractiv on MINDSET. We also got some extra media exposure because of our role in CoFoE. I believe it is important to nourish these relations and make JEF better known to media outlets, as it will help us get the federalist message to wider audiences.

Finally, JEF needs to grow sustainably, and I am not only talking about our internal efforts in making the organization more environment-friendly. Federalism is for all of those who believe in it, regardless of their identity.

Therefore, for JEF to grow even more influential, we need to reach out of our comfort zones, out of the political science classes, out of the student cities, and out of the Eurobubble. We need students from non-traditional fields, we need young people in rural areas and from groups who the EU often overlooks. We know federalism is the best way to improve Europe. We need to get everyone out of our echo chamber to see it too.

Opinion on needed Political Commissions and Task Forces/Working Groups

The question of Political Commissions and Task Forces is for the incoming Federal Committee to decide. However, I can plaster my bias for everyone to see here. I believe the current Political Commissions are working well and we should keep them as they are. I think Task Forces are generally building on a 'what do we need to work on' basis. Therefore, when the incoming Federal Committe and Executive Board meet, it can be discussed what JEF needs.

Knut André Sande

Knut André Sande

Contact Details: Email: [e-mail] Mobile: [phone]

Dear friends of Europe,

It is remarkable how a few coincidences can completely change your life. For me, it happened back in the spring of 2013. Back then I was an active swimmer. Unfortunately, I had begun to develop chlorine “allergy”, so I had to quit doing what I loved the most. Luckily for me, a friend of mine brought me to a political meeting one of those nights I had to stay home from swimming practice. It was an EU debate between Europeisk Ungdom (JEF Norway) and Ungdom mot EU (Youth against the EU). That same night I joined JEF – and it is one of the best decisions I have ever made.

A few facts about me:

Name: Knut Age: 24 Hometown: Sandnes, Norway Study: Law, University of Oslo Part-time job: Legal consultant at the Norwegian Data Protection Authority Favorite TV-show: Eurovision Song Contest

My Experience:

I have had the pleasure to experience most of what JEF Norway has to offer. At first, I got involved in JEF Sandnes (my local section) and JEF Rogaland (my regional section). Since 2014, I have been a member of the National Board. This includes being a member of the International Office for one year, being Vice-President for one year and being President for four years. I have also been an Executive Board member of Europabevegelsen (the European Movement of Norway) for four years. In JEF, I have attended almost all the FC meetings since 2015 and several of the working groups and other JEF events.

My Motivation

After I handed over the leadership of JEF Norway to Kristine in August, I realized that I still have a lot more to give. In recent years the rise of populism and Brexit has painfully reminded us that we cannot take the EU for granted. Let’s stand up for the Europe we believe in, because if we don’t – then who will?

So, there are three main reasons why I am running for the Executive Board of JEF:

1. It's meaningful: I can’t think of any political issue that is more meaningful

2. You – the members: I really enjoy the people of JEF and want more people to find themselves at home here

3. I want to contribute: With me a bring experience, new perspectives, and enough time to do a good job

What I want to contribute with (if elected):

• Seeing every member of JEF: I love meeting new people and getting to know them. As President of JEF Norway, it was always important to me to see each member regardless of who they were or how long they had been active in the organization. If elected, I will be the board member who pays a little extra attention to new members at JEF events

• Strengthening the national sections: JEF has a potential to grow bigger. Most of the National Sections are of small or medium size. I want to work with sections, listen to their needs and help strengthening them. In my view, national sections and the EB will always be equal partners.

• Reducing the gap between the EB and the rest of JEF: Regardless of where you live in Europe or to which section you belong, it is an objective to me that you feel included in JEF. It is important to remember that the EB is elected by the members of JEF, and that we are there for our members.

• Celebrating JEF’s birthday: JEF was founded in 1972, meaning that it turns 50 years in 2022. In JEF, we are impatient to develop the EU for the better, but let’s use this jubilee to take a moment’s break and remind ourselves about everything that has been achieved during all those years, and motivate ourselves for the next 50 years to come

• Bringing the non-EU perspective: When I first joined JEF Norway, only 10-15 % of the Norwegian population was pro a membership in the EU. I know what it’s like to see the EU from a different angle and from an outside perspective. When the EU makes decisions, non-EU countries are often ignored or forgotten. Related to this, I also want to focus on enlargement of the EU

• Democracy Under Pressure / Free Belarus: My favorite JEF campaign. Now more important than ever.

• Being a “potato”: A potato can be used for anything. So can I when needed.

My Vision for the Future of JEF:

JEF is an open and inclusive meeting place where young people from across Europe find together and discuss how we can make Europe more democratic and an even better place to live. We speak with a clear voice respected by European politicians, always advocating for building bridges between peoples and tearing down walls.

Tasforces and Working Groups

I am somewhat hesitant to answer this question. There are probably many great ideas out there about which taskforces and working groups we should have in 2022-2023. If I am elected, I will listen to all your ideas, and take into consideration all the suggestions the other elected members come up with.

Thank you for reading my candidacy letter. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or just want to say hello. You can reach me on Email, WhatsApp or Messenger. Take care!

Helena Robert i Campos

Helena Robert i Campos

Contact Details:

Email: [e-mail]

Phone number: [phone]

Twitter: helenrbt11

About me

Dear JEFers, I’m Helena, I’m 22 years old, and I’m passionate about social and environmental justice, geography, economics, and philosophy. Originally from Vilanova i la Geltrú (Barcelona), I currently serve as YEM UK’s Policy & Civic Education Officer, and I wish to become an Executive Board member for the upcoming mandate.

When I think about my vision for the future of Europe nowadays, I picture my 3-year-old-self sitting on the sofa and watching cartoon series in multiple languages, including German, English, Italian, and French, which I couldn’t understand. A decade later, I started learning foreign languages with the mindset that it would open doors and allow me to break down barriers in the future, both professional and, more importantly, cultural ones. While growing up, I do not recall thinking about feeling strongly European, and I had always thought about it as something that happened outside of where I stood, somewhere abroad. Nowadays, after having had the chance to live in Paris and London, I find myself temporarily back at what had always been home, oscillating between my local and Brussels’ worlds, while still trying to get my head around the idea of how we, humans, might be able to build a home somewhere else, developing a sense of belonging to something bigger than a town, a nation, or a politically-defined territory, while not feeling detached from these. During these couple of years abroad, and while not living too far but nevertheless feeling isolated due to at-first-never-ending travel restrictions, navigating the uncertainties of a global pandemic, and trying to figure out my professional career, my future life plans, and the place I might call home next, getting involved in JEF has become an intrinsic piece of the puzzle.

Previously dreaming about becoming a journalist and writer -the second one, still, a work in progress-, my curiosity for understanding the functioning of the world led me to the BA in Global Studies at the Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona. My willingness to improve my French at an academic level and a series of bureaucratic obstacles brought me to Paris to pursue my Erasmus, where I formally became a JEFer with the JE Sciences Po. Born and raised within a Spanish- and Catalan-speaking environment where I first found little European sense of belonging, it was not until I acquired a historical and then critical awareness about our continent, followed by the international nature of my undergraduate studies and seeing such a strong commitment towards the European project while in France, that I realised there was a network of networks that extended beyond territorial boundaries, connecting young people from different backgrounds who held shared values and goals, and that I wanted to have my say in it. I was slowly growing such a common spirit, and JEF was the place to explore it.

During that year, projects included developing and promoting the Label Ville Européenne ahead of the French municipal elections, discussions about European cooperation and the cinema industry, and chance PC2 calls in preparation of the FC where we passed a resolution on EU health competencies which was incorporated into JEF’s proposals for the CoFoE. In September 2020, while embarking on my postgraduate studies in London, I took my commitment within JEF a step further by becoming YEM London’s Events Officer. With the support of the local and national Boards, we relaunched the local organisation and collaborated with sections within and outside of the UK, striving to keep a critically European spirit alive within a post-Brexit atmosphere. Following the improvement in COVID-19 trends and the ease of travel restrictions, I attended JEF Europe’s pre-FC in Barcelona and the Europe@Home training for multipliers in Berlin as YEM UK’s Civic Education and Policy Officer, as well as EYE 2021 in October. For these opportunities, I am still grateful today, as I have not only been able to challenge myself and learn by acquiring higher responsibilities but also met incredible JEFers along the way. While I am still unsure about which European country/ies might become home in the next two years, one thing is certain: I am now feeling strongly European and highly motivated to join the EB’s responsibilities in building a sustainable and cohesive JEF at all scales.

My vision of the future of JEF & What I would like to do if elected

Envisioning the future of JEF in the next two years, there is a first challenge to confront, which is the generalised feeling of tiredness and fatigue affecting our members. A necessary step is finding and creating the spaces to collectively reflect upon both our feelings, the loss of motivation, and what would make us feel motivated again, what are our pressing needs, and how to redress our strategies and methodologies when necessary. This feeling is, fortunately, slowly improving with the ease of restrictions and the improvement in COVID-19 trends and vaccination rates. Nevertheless, it is worth taking the lessons learnt to reflect upon our coping mechanisms to build JEF’s resilience and further work on preventing another emotional downfall. In this line, a priority must be to continue working on improving cohesion by strengthening all possible connections across sections and within them. For that, I will propose to keep supporting cross-border alliances such as the JEF-Pyrenees Mediterranean. We should thus focus on fostering regional-local links favouring federalist governance to build collective resilience.

The second challenge which we are going through but we still haven’t seen the worst effects of is Euroscepticism and the trend towards anti-Europeanism. This is connected to a loss of the sense of belonging to a European community, and fuelled by disinformation, fake news, and hate speech in many dimensions, including, among others, the xenophobic, anti-immigration, and sexist discourses and attitudes. For this, we must do a collective exercise of re-examining our own behaviours, while also reaching out to those groups in the society that might not agree with or might not want to listen to us. And this is, of course, strictly linked to our goal of tackling political disenchantment, disinterest, and ensuring that the European Year of Youth and the Conference on the Future of Europe become truly effective mechanisms for the 2024 European Parliament Elections turnout. For this, we will work on the potential of civic engagement and civic education, both within and outside of the school/educational institutions’ walls. Furthermore, our efforts should go to de-mystifying the taboo that policy (and politics) are too complicated and that representative democracy is the only possible form of democratic participation and decision-making.

Finally, the third challenge is the climate crisis. We must continue with the work that has already been done throughout this mandate, both internally, ensuring sustainability in our projects and performance, and externally, by making clear our position and partnering with several other organisations striving for the same goal. In addition, we must work to ensure that all our efforts address social and environmental justice. Thus, pursuing a more sustainable JEF also means working from a multidimensional perspective. Connected to the above-mentioned points, this will require thinking out of the box and coordinating our efforts to organise events and launch initiatives -including policies- which are innovative and inclusive. For this, I would like to boost the role of research within JEF sections and within Task Forces, Working Groups, and Political Commissions, as well as further support the expansion of our connections with the wider civil society network, something which I briefly address in the following section.

My opinion on the needed Political Commissions and Taskforces / Working groups

JEF is a life-long bottom-up collective project. Thus, I am looking forward to actively listening to the experiences and proposals of past and newly elected representatives of Political Commissions, Task Forces and Working Groups. Through dialogue and constructive criticism, we will effectively reach an agreement on what the priorities should be regarding the continuity of existing PCs, TFs and WGs, and the potential creation of new ones. In this regard, I would suggest the pressing topic of digitalisation to enable in-depth discussions on issues such as the Digital Divide, the unequal access to opportunities and living conditions, and the Right to Disconnect related to the future of paid and unpaid work, including our volunteering work as JEFers. Overall, I would like to strengthen collaboration between TFs, WGs, and PCs, and pursue a stronger effort towards producing accurate data and further improving our research skills. This will positively contribute to our members’ capacity building and empowerment, in line with our commitment to better-informed citizens and tackling disinformation and political disengagement. Lastly, it would also contribute to our strategic objective of establishing JEF as an actor within the decision-making sphere, bridging connections between JEF and the policy hub.

Thank you very much for devoting your time to reading my candidacy and please do not hesitate to contact me for any questions. I wish to have raised stimulating points for discussion and I’m looking forward to hearing about your thoughts in Liège!

Idriss Tchana Tchamba Rostand

Idriss Tchana Tchamba Rostand

• HELLO, I AM IDRISS A YOUNG MEMBER OF JEF-BRUSSELS. I AM A PHARMACIST INTERESTED IN NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND BRAIN DEVELOPMENT. I DO HAVE ALSO A GREAT INTEREST ON GEOSTRATEGIES, HEALTH SYSTEM AND CULTURE. FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS LIFE BEEN REALLY BUNKER FOR PRETTY MUCH EVERYBODY AND DEFINITELY IT WAS TIME TO THINK FOR ALL STRATEGIES TO MAKE OUR ENVIRONMENT A BETTER PLACE. AS A HEALTH SPECIALIST I AM REALLY INVOLVED IN THESE QUESTIONS AND HOW YOUTH CAN BE MORE PARTICIPATIVE AND EITHER COMPLIANT TO DIFFERENT PROCESS. SO THE PROJECT WILL BE IN TWO PARTS: FIRST GIVING PEOPLE MORE IDEAS ABOUT JEF AND HOW TAKING PART OF THE PROCESS WILL HELP TO CONTRIBUTE ON RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES AND GIVING A NEW SHAPE ON THE VISION OF JEF.

• MY MOTIVATION ON JOINING JEF AS AN EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER IS TO POINT OUT THE LIMIT OF THE ACTUAL EUROPEAN SYSTEM AND HOW FEDERALISM CAN GIVE MORE VALUE TO STATES AND ACTION REGARDING DIFFERENT QUESTIONS, POLITICAL STRATEGIES, GENDER AND INCLUSION, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT … IF ELECTED, I MAY FIRST CONTRIBUTE ON A LAW PROJECT REGARDING HEALTH COMMUNICATION AND PEOPLE AWARENESS ONLINE. AS WE KNOW IT’S A PUBLIC HEALTH IMPORTANT QUESTION, HOW TO MAKE THIS HAVING A BETTER EFFECT ON THE PUBLIC AND MAKE LESS MISINFORMATION ABOUT THE PUBLIC ? BY CONTRIBUTIONG TO A LAW REFERING TO THE ACTUAL WEBSITE PROVIDING THE RIGHT INFORMATION FOR EACH ELEMENT POSTED ONLINE WITH A SUPPOSED ELEMENT INCLUDING A PATHOLOGY, A PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATION OR A NY OTHER. THIS WILL HELP MAKING INTERNET A SAFER PLACE AND PROVIDING MORE EDUCATIONAL AND HEALTH AWARENESS ONLINE.

• MY VISION FOR THE JEF IS THAT IS A PLACE WHERE THINGS CAN BE DONE AND WE SHOULD PRIOTISE FIRST THE RE-BRANDING AND THE POLICIES AT THE EUROPEAN CONGRESSES AS WELL AS THE INTEGRATION AND WELCOMING PROCESS. EUROPE IS A PLACE OF OPPORTUNITIES AND WHERE A LOT OF PROJECTS CAN BE CONCRETE AND ACCOMPLISHED. UNFORTUNATELY THERE IS A LOT OF SOCIAL DIVISIONS WITCH DOESN’T HELP PEOPLE GROWING AND UNFORTUNATELY PUT A HUGE DISTANCE BETWEEN WHAT COULD BE DONE. SECONDLY AS A PERSON WITH AN IMIGRATION BACKGROUND I FEEL LIKE PEOPLE MOSTLY COME TO TAKE THINGS FROM EUROPE WITHOUT SEING THEMSELVES AS A PART OF THE COMMUNITY AND CONTRIBUTING FOR THE SYSTEM BY SHARING THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND COMPETENCES. I DO THING IS A GREAT ASSET TO SHARE THE IDEA THAT BY BEING A COMPLETE MEMBER OF THE SYSTEM, THERE IS A LOT YOU CAN DO TO MAKE THIS PLACE A BETTER WELCOMING AND TASTEFUL PLACE.

• REGARDING THE POLITICAL TASKS FORCES I HAVE NOT YET OPINION BUT I DO THINK THERE IS A LOT WE CAN DO BY ENLARGING OUR CIRCLE AND INCLUDE MORE YOUTH OF ORGANISATIONS SUCH AS DIPLOMATIC COMMITTEE. THIS MAY HELP TO BUILD A BETTER VISION ON THE NEXT GENERATION OF EUROPEAN REPRESENTANTS OVERSEAS.

Gergana Blazheva

Gergana Blazheva

Contact Details:

Email: [e-mail] ; [e-mail]

Phone: [phone]

Facebook/Linkedin: Gergana Blazheva

About me

I am Gergana, 23 years old, and I am from Bulgaria. I joined JEF in 2017 when I started my first year at university and have been serving as President of JEF Bulgaria since December 2018. I became more involved with the organization after participating in an International Seminar in Sofia in November of 2017. Because of the people that I met during this seminar, I became intrigued to know what is uniting young people from all over the continent together and I wanted to learn more about the challenges that people experience in other counties of the EU. I wanted to gain a profound knowledge of democracy, federalism, human rights and values, as well as what is the EU’s place on the international scene. Throughout my time in JEF I’ve not only taken part in multiple seminars and trainings all over Europe, but had the pleasure to organize some of them- most recently a weeklong seminar in Sofia about “Improving the European Democracy”. All of this made me fall in love with the idea of having an active European-wide civil society that is driven by a common goal and powered by endless sleepless nights with engaged, and highly motivated young people.

Apart of JEF, I am a student of European Studies at Sofia University, I love traveling, meeting new people, speaking different languages, doing sports, and even more than cooking, I like eating.

Motivation for the position

I have a few motivations behind my wish to run for Executive Board member.

As President of JEF Bulgaria, a section that was about to collapse, I am proud of what we have achieved. We have grown and drawn the interest of young people who are interested in European politics. During my time in JEF, I have continued gathering knowledge and experience, and I now have the tools to enter and become more involved in the statutory bodies that drive our organization forward. That is why I wish to shift from my national section to the European level of JEF. Bringing smaller and bigger sections closer together is something I believe I can contribute to. I am well connected within our JEF network and understand also the perspective of a smaller national section. Having more EB members from Central and Eastern Europe might encourage more young people from these parts of Europe to engage proactively as they would have closer contact person and someone they could rely on. JEF only stands to benefit from the inclusion of more Eastern European youth, as they are one of the demographics, we most seek to advocate for! In this role I will seek to find the channels and resources so that members from smaller sections have the same opportunity and capacity to perform equally.

Likewise, as an EB member, I want to expand the communication to sections that have yet to build this tradition of involvement. In concrete terms, this means that we, as an EB, need to strive for all sections to have access and availability to use tools developed by JEF Europe.

Overall, I believe that I’ve gained the necessary experience to shift into a more influential role and add value to sections other than my own to JEF Europe.

Finally, if elected, I’d would like to be contact person for Task Forces Capacity building and Civic Education. I have had the opportunity to take part in a few trainings organized by JEF Europe about Europe@School and most recently, organize events with JEF Bulgaria in the framework of the project “Europe@Home”. Also with JEF Bulgaria, I have done advocacy actions and I would like to continue to do so, but this time, with more people from our European family.

My vision of the future of JEF

Аs an organization, JEF needs to assure that the ideas of its members and other young Europeans are truly represented in Conference on the Future of Europe and that the Commission follows through the results, not just on paper or in conversation. My vision of JEF is one of growth and strength. JEF should continue to grow, be strengthened in already existing countries, and continue outreach to smaller villages and the countryside overall.

My opinion on the needed Political Commissions / Working groups

TF’s need to create a system through which to better communicate and integrate, so that their shared goals can be streamlined and coordinated to amplify their success and scope. A closer and more intense collaboration between the sections who experience the same or similar difficulties will be certainly fruitful. We should find a way to reach out to alumni and listen to their past experiences and insights, as they might have valuable guidance and advices.

Dear JEFers, I would be very thankful for your support and would be thrilled to shape JEF Europe over the coming two years!

Federalist regards,

Gergana