WE ARE ONEL E T ’ S G O F U R T H E R T O G E T H E R .

A PLAN FOR YEPP’S ROAD TO 2017

MADE WITH A HIGH SENSE OF UNITY FOR THE GENERATION THAT LEADS OUR ALLIANCE TODAY AND WITH EYES ON LEAVING SOMETHING BEHIND FOR THE NEXT ONE.

Konstantinos Kyranakis

A MILLION VOICES UNITED AS ONE.

Dear friends,

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Europe made it through its hardest challenge since its very foundation. The crisis is over. Not all problems are solved, but here we are, still together, still united. Ready and thirsty to write Europe’s next chapter.

I come from a country that is currently governed by people who want to destroy the European dream, and the sacrifices of all Europeans for the last 5 years. But the weakness of a government is not to be confused with the power of the people, with the power of a new generation that keeps our movement strong all over the continent.

YEPP is part of European history. Our decisions may not change people’s lives from day one. But these past two years, your ideas made it into EU Council documents, European Parliament legislation and in some cases even national reforms. We were part of the campaign of the first-ever elected president of the European Commission. We are building a YEPP that is becoming stronger, more engaging with its members, more powerful in Brussels with more access to decisions and more stories to tell.

Without wanting to talk too much about what I did, I am hereby announcing that I am running for a second term as president of YEPP. As this will be my last stand in youth politics, 10 years after I started, I am ready to give all I have to the organisation I love.

You know me by now. You know where I stand. You know I was there when you asked me to. You know that I never tried to hide or to be liked by everyone. This is politics, and you have to be ready to stand for what you believe and make hard decisions even when you know it won’t make you popular.

There were good and bad moments these two years. There were also moments when I let fights stand over unity. That was a mistake, I am not afraid to say it. And I am glad that some were not afraid to criticize this as well. This is what makes us better.

I am a person full of emotions. I get inspired by the little things that make a big difference. I am inspired by people who don’t give up. I am inspired by stories that prove the power of possibility. And I feel proud, very proud, every single time I tell the story that we wrote together these two years. Now it’s time to go further. Now it’s time to go together.

Now it’s time to stand as one.

Konstantinos KyranakisCandidate for president of YEPP 2015-2017

KEEP YOUR PROMISES

I promised a few things in 2013 while presenting my programme for YEPP. Talking about the past is not my favorite thing, but as a conservative I like to keep my promises.

The YEPP Missions, the Transatlantic Youth Summit, the YEPP Campaign Days, the Election Roadtrip, the Brussels Group, the Reinfeldt Club are some of the things that we worked hard together to achieve.

That programme was the basis for a clear direction. Let’s decide together on where we want to go now.

YEPP NEEDS A TEAM THAT CAN GUARANTEE THE UNITY OF THE ALLIANCE.

WE HAVE BECOME MORE POLITICAL AND MORE EXTROVERT IN THE LAST YEARS. THIS MEANS WE NEED TO MAKE SURE OUR MESSAGE KEEPS REACHING THE RIGHT PEOPLE, THE YOUNG EUROPEANS WE REPRESENT.

OUR MISSION IS TO SERVE THEM, NOT OURSELVES.

RENEWING THE EUROPEAN CENTRE-RIGHT

The rebirth of the European centre-right needs someone to raise a new rhetoric.

YEPP can be that someone.

The centre-right is not attractive anymore. Although there are more and more young Europeans who are interested in politics, they express themselves through the populism of the left or the extreme-right and through non-political NGOs.

This is happening because the centre-right simply does not speak their language. We do not have enough answers to their questions.

For too long, fiscal consolidations and technocratic terms have been the most used terms of our vocabulary. In my opinion, the centre-right needs a more people-driven message, one that will make Europeans feel their identity again and believe in the limitless dream of our Union.

YEPP TAKING THE LEAD

YEPP should help in every way the small organisations become big and the big ones become bigger. Working on the ground with a strategy and benchmarking the next two years can enlarge our alliance and make our youth organisations more powerful.

Groundbreaking policy

We want young Europeans to identify YEPP with issues, not just with faces. We want them to know that YEPP will raise their voice on things that nobody else will. This is why we should campaign harder on fewer but bolder issues and get our message through. One big campaign every 6 months. Leaving a legacy is about being consistent on what you believe and don’t stop until you change something.

A bold move in the EPP

We have already submitted an amendment to the EPP Statutes for an ex officio seat in the EPP Presidency and Summit. This is a bold move and it won’t be easy to go all the way. But I will be very proud to take on that fight with you and get our voice stronger in Europe’s most powerful political party. We need to be there when decisions are taken.

Run a large recruiting campaign with our members at the national level.

YEPP is turning into a powerful policy-maker.

These two years we started unleashing YEPP’s immense potential in Brussels. By working with the young advisers of the MEPs and by electing more young MEPs in the 2014 election, we have already passed more than 20 of your ideas in the Strasbourg plenary. This is big.

The new board needs to be more committed in working with the Brussels Group. I suggest a plan that focuses on less, yet more specific policies that concern the majority of young Europeans.

The Brussels Group can substantially help us tell that story to our members. That a good idea, no matter where it comes from, can become a voted EU policy if we work together. This is what matters to them and the people they represent.

GETTING YOUR IDEAS IN THE PARLIAMENT’S PLENARY

The YEPP team conducts relevant research and internal polling through national boards on a specific topic

Setting the end goal and a timeline to achieve it (example: voting in EP or adding points in EU Council Conclusions)

YEPP Council debates and votes on a White Paper with specific policies

The Brussels Group tasks relevant people with amendments to go into specific reports.

The Councils receives a follow-up from the Brussels Group representative before and after the targeted plenary.

This is the only way to measure how successful are our policies and how much we can help the young Europeans we represent

BG

SOLID STRUCTURES

“Nothing will be achieved without individuals, nothing will last without institutions”.

This part of my plan is less about inspiration and more about reality.

I would never imagine it would be that hard to fundraise and organize events at the European level. As the number of youth organisations increase and the available funding remains the same, it is harder every year that goes to make sure YEPP will access the necessary funding to keep going.

This is why my plan suggests establishing long-term partnerships with foundations, institutes, the EPP Group and the EPP in order to secure the proper functioning of the organisation.

2 Council of Presidents / year

2 Council Meetings / year

1 Transatlantic Youth Summit / year

1 YEPP Parliamentary Assembly / year

1 Thematic Summer School / 2 years

1 Training Summer School / 2 years

1 Campaign Days event / 2 years

1 YEPP Mission / year

The required fundraising for this workplan would be close to 300.000 € annually. Planning and agreeing on our partnerships by the end of 2015 can help YEPP secure its structures until the end of the current EP mandate in 2019.

The new board needs to take this matter very seriously and find new sources of income if we want YEPP to keep growing and being able to focus on policies.

FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

Working with today’s teenagers to build the next generation of young leaders

I don’t believe we are in YEPP to serve just ourselves or even our generation. We are here to make sure the next ones are better of.

This is why I think a part of YEPP’s workplan needs to focus on today’s teenagers who are interested in politics. We can do this through a bi-annual training summer school and some permanent online and offline structures.

Our size gives the advantage of a large network in 40 countries. Let’s use it to engage and build the next generation of young centre-right leaders.

Training Summer School for 16-22

Young Writers Forum

Freshman of the year - Award by YEPP

Once every two years, YEPP should organize a

camp where over 200 teenagers would get

training for a week. Debatecamps, policies,

team-building, new ideas.

YEPP together with the European Pupils

Association should be the curator of such an initiative

and help teenagers become active young

politicians.

We get new members all the time, it’s time to award their dedication. This person exists among your members. He or she is one of us. There is someone who dedicates time and energy to achieve something extraordinary. We should champion such examples and get Europe to know about it.

It was one of the things we tried in the last term unsuccessfully. Maybe because we did not try hard enough. There are thousands of teenagers with bright ideas. I know it, you know it. Let’s find them and get their ideas into YEPP policies.

YEARS1919151 0199720

IN TWO YEARS TIME, YEPP WILL BE CELEBRATING ITS 20TH ANNIVERSARY. FROM

OUR FOUNDER, FREDRIK REINFEDLT TILL THE BOARD THAT WILL BE ELECTED IN 2017, OUR ALLIANCE HAS GIVEN A LOT TO EUROPE.

THE MOMENT TO UNITE THE 5 GENERATIONS OF PEOPLE WHO SERVED THE GREATEST POLITICAL YOUTH ORGANISATION IN THE WORLD IS COMING UP SOON.

THIS WILL BE MY LAST STAND IN YOUTH POLITICS AFTER MORE THAN A DECADE. I AM WILLING TO WORK HARD TOGETHER WITH YOU TO LEAVE A STRONG LEGACY FOR THE FAMILY OF YEPP THAT WE LOVE SO MUCH AND THAT HAS MADE OUR LIVES BETTER.

#TeamYEPP2017

LET’S KEEP GOING FAR.UNITED AND STRONG.WE ARE ONE