User:Martinmarechal/Young European Federalists (Belgium)

The Young European Federalists – Belgium (JEF Belgium) are the Belgian national section of the Young European Federalists – Europe (JEF Europe). JEF is a trans-partisan youth NGO present in more than 35 countries in Europe. For JEF, federalism is the first step towards a more free, just and equal society. In Belgium, JEF works closely with the European Movement Belgium and its “youth committee”.

The JEF Belgium team is currently headed by Anna-Lena Sender. JEF Belgium is committed to being a multilingual organisation, where everyone may speak French, Dutch or English with translation as necessary. JEF Belgium organises numerous debates with Belgian politicians, people working for the European institutions or Members of the European Parliament. They also organise exchanges, trips abroad, street actions, information stands, training sessions in schools with the programme “Europe@School” as well as the yearly JEF Belgium training days.

The Board
The board is responsible for the day-to-day management of JEF Belgium. It designs the programme of activities and implements them. The board is also the organ that represents JEF Belgium at the national level, at the European level in structures such a JEF Europe and the Union of European Federalists, and at the international level during meetings and seminars.

The board is responsible for JEF Belgium’s media presence via press releases, articles, and its website. It seeks to actively recruit new members to be involved with JEF Belgium in a local, national and European context.

Board Leadership 2005-2020

 * 2020-present: Anna-Lena Sender
 * 2019-2020: Ine Tollenaers
 * 2017-2019: Martin Maréchal
 * 2015-2016: Joke Minnen
 * 2014-2015: Jeremy Van Gorp
 * 2013-2014: Conny Hoffmann
 * 2012-2013: Peter Oomsels
 * 2010-2012: Angelique Vandekerckhove
 * 2008-2010: Elisabeth Velle
 * 2005-2008: Alexander Hoefmans

The Federal Committee
The Federal Committee is an advisory organ which supports JEF Belgium in developing its political positions. The committee is comprised of the board members, plus one-two representatives from each local section, plus three JEF members directly elected by the General Assembly. The Federal Committee is consulted especially when determining the strategic positions of JEF Belgium, either at an internal level or in preparation for the twice-yearly Federal Committee meetings of JEF Europe, during which resolutions are presented by different national sections are adopted.

The local sections
JEF Belgium currently counts five local sections: Brussels, Ghent, Leuven, Louvain-La-Neuve and Liège. These local sections are at the heart of JEF in Belgium and they organise local events and activities for young people and students, as well as supporting national-level projects and campaigns. They are the most important level of the organisation since the local sections have the greatest link to the general public and can recruit members. This ensures the growth of JEF and increases its visibility.

JEF Cross Border Network
JEF Belgium is one of the founding members of the JEF Cross-Border Network established in 2012 with JEF sections from The Netherlands, North-Rhein Westphalia, Luxembourg and Lille. The network allows these JEF sections to organise activities together and to share experiences. Each year, a cross-border seminar is organised between the sections. The cross-border section has recently been extended to include JEF Rhineland-Palatinate.