“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
When we decided to try and recruit 140 European Youth Ambassadors to become supercharged ONE members and drive our ONE VOTE 2014 campaign to victory, I don’t think any of us realised what lay ahead.
Would we get enough applications? Is EU politics too boring for anyone under 25? Would they abandon us for fun times or paid employment a few months in? We needn’t have worried.
This formidable group of people devoured our campaign briefings before emailing, phoning and visiting candidates for the upcoming European Elections, and then after that, the elected Members of European Parliament too. They got themselves featured in the media over 150 times, wrote fantastic blogs, organised events and used social media to keep the pressure up.
Our big aim for the ONE VOTE 2014 campaign was for more than half of all MEPs to sign our pledge, committing to support the fight against extreme poverty from within the European Parliament. Our Youth Ambassadors made sure we did it: 389 MEPs are now on record and ready to act.
As this year’s programme wraps up and we reluctantly wave them off to tackle other exciting projects, we thought we’d give them the last word. Here’s just some of their best, hardest and most valuable bits.
If you like the sound of being a ONE Youth Ambassador, the good news is we’ll be recruiting our 2015 tem very soon. Stay tuned to the blog to find out how to apply.
Here’s an idea of just some of the things you could get up to:
-
ONE Youth Ambassadors converge on the European Parliament in Brussels to lobby MEPs to sign the ONE VOTE 2014 pledge. Photo: ONE -
UK Youth Ambassadors visit 10 Downing Street, home of the UK Prime Minister, at their national campaign launch. Photo: ONE -
UK Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg meets UK Youth Ambassadors. Photo: ONE -
UK Youth Ambassadors raising awareness about the Trillion Dollar Scandal campaign at the Conservative Party Conference. Photo: ONE -
UK Youth Ambassadors campaigning for MPs to support the International Development Bill in Westminster, London. Photo: ONE -
The French Youth Ambassadors had the privilege to meet with Bill Gates on the day of their campaign launch. Photo: ONE -
French Youth Ambassadors with actor and activist Jacky Ido. Photo: ONE -
Pierre Moscovici, European Commissioner for Economic Affairs, signs the ONE VOTE 2014 pledge with French Youth Ambassadors. Photo: ONE -
ONE Youth Ambassadors converge on the European Parliament in Brussels to lobby MEPs to sign the ONE VOTE 2014 pledge. Photo: ONE -
The Belgian Youth Ambassadors at their national campaign launch in Brussels. Photo: ONE -
Belgian Youth Ambassadors meet with Dramani Mahama, President of Ghana, at their national campaign launch in Brussels. Photo: ONE -
Lobbying Members of European Parliament is tiring work! German Youth Ambassadors take a break in Brussels. Photo: ONE -
German Youth Ambassador Sascha with Employment Minister Andrea Nahles. Photo: ONE -
German Youth Ambassadors collecting signatures for the ONE VOTE 2014 petition at Hakuna Matata Afrika Festival in June. Photo: ONE -
German Youth Ambassadors at their national campaign launch in Berlin. Photo: ONE -
German Youth Ambassadors Ida, Asif, Katharina, Lydia and Lea at the studios of TV show Morgenmagazin. Photo: ONE -
The Greek Deputy Foreign Minister signs the ONE VOTE 2014 pledge with Italian Youth Ambassadors. Photo: ONE -
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation Lapo Pistelli signs the ONE VOTE 2014 pledge with Italian Youth Ambassadors. Photo: ONE -
Valeria Fedeli, Vice President of the Italian Senate, with Italian Youth Ambassadors. Photo: ONE -
Dutch Youth Ambassadors at their national campaign launch. Photo: ONE -
Dutch Youth Ambassadors with signed ONE VOTE 2014 pledges collected at their campaign launch. Photo: ONE