Call for Prep Team: All politics is mental health politics

The Federation of Young European Greens is announcing an open call for members of the international Preparatory Team for its closing conference “All Politics is Mental Health Politics: FYEG Lab”, an international activity that will take place on 11-13 November in Brussels (Belgium), hosted in collaboration with the European Green Party. 

Through this final activity we want to engage a wider audience with the topic of mental health among youth, presenting the results and solutions developed during on year of work on this topic.  

We will gather around 70 people in an event that will last 3 days. The first two days will bring together 43 young activists from all over Europe with elements of a seminar and training to look back at the knowledge acquired on the topic during the previous two activities of this project. The final day will be organised as a public conference where FYEG will invite representatives of youth NGOs, party political youth organisations and movements based in Brussels to discuss how to join forces in lobbying for better mental health at various levels and establish an international network of mental health policy supporters at the European level.

The aim of this activity is for young people to learn about and debate a set of actionable pathways to lobby for mental health policies with their organisations, movements and communities.

Objectives:

1. Create a platform through which to present and debate the “Mental Health In Progress” strategy among member and partner organisations and a wider network, and establish partnerships among them;

2. Train young people on how to approach the topic of mental health internally within their member organisations, movements and groups, and especially how to push the mental health narrative in a variety of policy fields;

3. Develop young people’s skills to lobby for improved legislation on mental health at local, national and international level. 

We are looking for 3 people to join the international Preparatory Team and lead the preparation of the conference with the full support of FYEG’s Project Manager, FYEG/EGP Project Coordinator and a member of FYEG Executive Committee. Your responsibilities in this role will be: 

• Participation in a live prep team meeting in Brussels (3-4 September, 2 full working days, weekend);

• Active participation in regular online meetings, research and design of workshops prior the event (September, October, November / 3-4h a week);

• Full preparation and implementation of the programme, and programme material; 

• Invitation of and communication with guests in accordance with the project aims;

• Selection of participants and communication with them prior the event;

• Taking care of practicalities and of the general well-being of the participants;

• Full participationduring the entire event (11-13 November) and the meetings of the Preparatory Team before and after the event itself (10 & 14 November);

• Responsibility for project results and outputs to support FYEG campaign (until 1 month after the activity) in cooperation with the Mental Health Working Group.

Being a member of the Preparatory Team of FYEG’s summer camp will offer you:

• Working in a lively international environment with young activists and professionals;

• Improving your organisational, communication and trainer skills;

• Upskilling your experience with non-formal education methods and facilitating skills;

• Getting familiar with Green values and FYEG’s work;

• Extend your knowledge about mental health, oppressed people, and systemic issues linked to it;

• An unforgettable experience!

NOTE: Mental health is a personal and sensitive topic, on top of being a crucial political matter. The Preparatory Team is not expected to be prepared on the medical and psychological conditions linked to trauma. Its members will receive training on safe space and awareness team preparation.

 Practicalities:

Accommodation, food, working space, travel and visa costs for the preparatory team will be fully covered within reasonable limits and within Europe. For selection of travel means the condition is to combine the most economic and environmentally friendly way (lowest price + travel time + CO2 emissions).

COVID-19 DISCLAIMER: According to the internal guidelines adopted by FYEG for the organisation of its activities, Prep Team members will be required to be fully vaccinated and present a negative PCR test before joining the live Prep Team meeting and the summer camp itself. The FYEG’s Executive Committee and the FYEG’s Office will monitor the spreading of the virus closer to the activity, and provide additional instructions for members of the Preparatory Team and participants accordingly. 

If you are a team player interested in trying out your trainer skills, if you are willing to engage in an adventure of imagining new ways of doing politics - this project is for you!

 DEADLINE for submitting your application online: Friday 29 July at 23:59 CEST.

APPLY HERE!

This event is one of the three main international activities organised as a part of the “The Politics of Mental Health” project supported by the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe. You can find more about the project here. This event is organised in cooperation with the Green European Party.