Dear Jeffers,

I’m Pauline Gessant. I’m 27 years old. Member of JEF since 2004, I’ve been active at different levels of our organization. I have been President of a local section and currently I’m President of JEF-France till the beginning of December. I‘ve taken part in all JEF Europe FC since two years and have actively participated in several international seminars : Finland 2006, Athens 2006, United 2006 and 2007, Ventotene 2007.  I’ve also been cochair of Branding working group. Keen to share practical experiences and contribute to the political reflexion, I’m running for this FC term to face the external and internal challenges of our organization and meet our goal of a federal Europe.
I think we should use even more the advantages of an umbrella organization : exchanging experiences between sections, launching transnational campaigns, supporting sections in their projects, contributing to the training of our members, discussing the future of Europe by taking advantage of diverse points of views … That’s why it’s important for JEF-Europe to have a strong structure, a balanced budget and an involved FC.
Our organization should moreover develop its political reflection and I’m willing to contribute to this task by chairing a PC.  Some important events in the following months should also be well prepared such as the European elections in order to make sure that our positions will be promoted and taken into account.
To conclude, I would like to paraphrase Jean Monnet : Don’t be optimistic, don’t be pessimistic, be determined to reach our goal of a more democratic, efficient and united Europe, having the ability to act on the world scene: in a word, a federal Europe.

Pauline

Email : paulinegessant@yahoo.fr