My vision for Volt Europa

Our movement consists of people. Our movement will succeed when the people succeed. When people are able to exchange ideas, when their potential is recognized, when they work on realizing their ideals together, and when they have ownership, they will do their best work. The role of the board, to me, is to facilitate the empowerment of as many Volters across Europe as possible. Because this is our key to success.

To be more specific, this means that we have to enable Volters who want to take on a role by giving them the tools to start and by providing them with training to develop their skills. As the former community organizer of Volt the Netherlands, I have experienced that volunteers are the backbone of our future. I have seen people grow beyond themselves when given the right support and guidance. I want Volt to support its volunteers even more and to professionalize training for them. This way, volunteers can pass on their knowledge to new Volters. This is how we can grow our knowledge, strength, and impact! 

We cannot solve today's challenges on our own. They need big solutions and cooperation across borders. This is where Volt comes in.

Traditional politics is focused on nations and individualism. It is divisive. But to shape the future of the EU, we need true European politics. This means we need a true European party. One that respects and embraces each other's cultures, and at the same time works from our shared European values. 

We have to take Volt's positive energy and make sure this voice is heard. So Volt is recognized in every country and represents new, truly European politics.

Short-term

Volt is growing. This is why we need to focus on our foundation. This means our internal culture, way of thinking, way of doing things, and also our infrastructure. Our digital infrastructure is an important first priority. We are making progress by replacing our volt.team, but also Workplace needs an open-source replacement if you ask me. A platform that works for all the chapters and aligns with our values. 

Mid-term

Volt can become the first official true Pan-European Party. To become a European party, we need to have elected officials in 7 countries, the EP, national or regional parliaments. The upcoming European Elections mark the next step in reaching this goal. 

In the next 4 to 6 years, we should be able to realize this next step in the evolution of our movement. We will do so by indicating the most potential countries and using the buildup of our capacity to facilitate them to the fullest.  In addition, we will make country-specific plans for those countries that need a bit more time. Step by step we will be represented in all European countries. Because, as I can’t emphasize this enough, Volt is only a success if we succeed everywhere in Europe!

Once we become a European party, we will benefit from a 1.5 million euro subsidy to grow our movement. This will allow us to build an EU party office in Brussels, with a stable, permanent team of employees. My wish is to create a diverse team representing the different European countries. This team can help, amongst others, all chapters, large and small, to grow to their full potential.

Long-term

In the long term, these steps will enable us to grow our chapters and get 25 MEPs elected in at least 7 counties. By doing so, we can start our own faction. This will be the stepping stone to the creation of a European parliamentary democracy. A very important step towards our EU-topia.