2016 hasn’t been great for anyone, but young people have been hit the hardest. This year, the referendum result felt like our future was being taken away from us, but in 2017, the Young Greens will be coming back fighting. So what does 2017 have to hold if you’re a Young Green?

This past year, we have seen the success of anti-immigrant rhetoric so we were really pleased to see our convention this October, voting for the Young Greens to campaign on this issue. We will always believe in freedom of movement and the benefits of migration and so in 2017, we will be launching this campaign. With an increase in hate crimes before and after the referendum we hope that our voices can help to heal some wounds. If you want to help us with this, you can join our subcommittee.

Alongside this, we will also ensure that tackling the stigma around mental health and supporting those who need help is at our core. Mental health is becoming more and more an urgent necessity for young people, with 1 in 10 children facing a diagnosable mental health disorder, according to Young Minds. Tackling the stigma around mental health and demanding that mental health is taken seriously is important to us and the members at our convention. Already we have been sharing and producing content on these themes and the Young Greens will work further on this next year.

In March, we will see members of green parties throughout the world transcend on Liverpool for the Global Greens congress and alongside this both the Federation of European Young Greens and the Global Young Greens will be hosting some great events for our members to attend. Already a number of Young Greens have been integral towards the planning of this and we are thrilled to see what is shaping up to be a fantastic event. On an international level, we are also planning events to discuss the Brexit negotiations and working towards a partnership with other European Young Greens groups.

For us, one of the most exciting pieces of news is something coming from our place on the Green Party Executive. As promised throughout the Young Greens election period, we have been campaigning for the recruitment of a Young Greens member of staff. Recruitment for this position is due to open soon and once this position is recruited we are excited to see the number of opportunities it will bring. We hope that our new member of staff can focus further on the development of our members and in supporting some of our recently set up local groups.

The best thing about the Young Greens is that we are member led and if any of this, or anything else, sounds great to you, we’d love you to get involved! From joining a subcommittee to setting up a Young Greens group in your area, it is you who can help us campaign for a better future.

On behalf of the Young Greens Executive Committee we wish you a happy new year.

Hannah Clare and Sam Murray

Young Greens Co-Chairs

A large group of Young Greens holding official Young Greens, Federation of Young European Greens, and Climate Sense flags.
Young Greens 30u30 cohort