In the Network
Key2Europe 2019-2020
Policy Office: Improving Europe One Statement at a time Written by Evita Ločmele Member of Policy Office “Policy and Advocacy” is one of the five means of AEGEE-Europe, one of the ways how we as an organisation can strive for our mission and vision. The newly established Policy Office aims to help AEGEE achieve the goal of a borderless Europe through gathering the opinions and interests of young people of our network. Policy and Advocacy have been an essential part of AEGEE since the founding of the organisation in 1985. From advocating to establish the Erasmus+ programme, Civic Dialogue between Greece and Turkey and reacting to political events all around Europe; AEGEE-Europe is ready to voice its opinion and participate. In 2019/2020 AEGEE-Europe, together with its Policy Officers has talked about various issues such as discrimination of LGBTI+ rights, Brexit and most recently the presidential elections in Belarus. During the term of 2019/2020, all of the Policy Officers, supported by Comité Directeur, started working together in a team, combining their knowledge on Policy and Advocacy and reacting to happenings in Europe on an ongoing basis. However, the work of the Policy Officers lacked a formal structure. Thus, it was decided to officially add a Policy Office to the general rules of AEGEE during Online Spring Agora 2020. By establishing the Policy Office as an official body, the main aim is to give policy work a boost and both qualitatively and quantitatively improve the synergies between Policy Officers across policy fields.
By establishing the Policy Office as an official body, the main aim is to give policy work a boost ical events, Policy Officers also write a Policy Paper - a more extended piece including the opinion of AEGEEans most often gathered through surveys around the Network. For its first term as a European Body, the Policy Office has many to-dos on its list: a structure needs to be established, which ensures that AEGEE members and locals are consulted regularly and receive more ownership over official AEGEE-Europe positions; the network needs to be closely involved in policy and advocacy work; locals need to be trained to carry out their very own advocacy and get involved in the organisation’s that AEGEE is part of. Policy and Advocacy are significant ways to voice your opinion, call for a positive change in society and get involved. Raising voices is essential for young Europeans all across the continent, and AEGEE has the potential to make youth heard throughout the Policy Office.
The Policy Office consists of Policy Officers (POs), who are appointed on the Focus Areas - Climate Emergency, Mental Health, Political Activism, Social Equity - as well as in other thematic fields that are deemed of relevance - as of now Digitalisation and Youth participation. One might ask what do Policy Officers in AEGEE do? Besides drafting statements on polit-
93
