Young Greens (England and Wales)
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| Young Greens | |
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| President | None. The Male and Female Co-Chairs are the public face of the Young Greens |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | 1a Waterlow Road, London, N19 5NJ |
| Political Ideology | Green |
| International Affiliation | Global Greens |
| Mother Party | Green Party of England and Wales |
| Mother European Parliament Group | Group of the Greens and the European Free Alliance |
| Colours | Green |
| Website | www.younggreens.org.uk |
| See also | Politics of the EU |
The Young Greens (England and Wales) [acronym: YG(EW)] is the official youth wing of the Green Party of England and Wales. All members of the Green Party of England and Wales who are under 29 years old may opt to join the Young Greens at no cost and stand for election to the Young Greens Committee.
The Scottish Green Party also has a youth wing, the Scottish Young Greens, who work with the England and Wales group. Young Greens is affiliated with the Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG)[1].
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[edit] History
The Young Greens were set up by young members of the Green Party of England and Wales, rather than by the Green Party itself. The organisation aimed to build local groups at universities, colleges, higher education institutions, sixth form colleges and schools, with no lower age limit for joining.
As the Green Party's electoral performance improved, many Young Greens were elected to County or City Councils, including Cllr Adrian Ramsay (Norwich) who was the youngest person ever to be elected as a Councillor (at the age of 21), Cllr Matt Sellwood (Oxford) and others. Within the Green Party, Young Greens have slowly grown in profile, with Young Greens Cllr Matt Sellwood and Matt Wootton sitting on the Green Party Executive Committee (GPEx) and Tom Tibbits becoming Energy Policy Spokesperson[1].
[edit] Structure
The Young Greens is governed by a constitution, newly adopted at the Green Party 2006 Autumn Conference in Hove. The group has an executive known as the the Young Greens Committee, in which all positions are regarded as equal (although the Male and Female Co-Chairs are the public face of the organisation) and [1] and a legislature known as the Young Greens Council made up of the Committee as well as regional and local co-ordinators. The Young Greens Committee is assisted by the Young Greens Coordinator, currently Francesca Richards, who is employed by the Green Party and works at the party office.
At regularly held national meetings (each meeting must be held within 2 months of the last), hosted in various geographical locations to provide accessibility, all members of the Young Greens Council have one vote. The Young Greens also meet at all of the bi-annual Green Party Conferences, where the Young Greens have become increasingly active through fringes and entertainment events such as comedy sketches and quizzes[1].
[edit] Representation
| Part of the Politics series on Green politics |
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Worldwide green parties: Global Greens · Africa · Americas · Asia-Pacific · Europe |
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Four Pillars |
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The Young Greens has become increasingly involved in Students' Unions and the National Union of Students (NUS).
[edit] National Union of Students of the United Kingdom
At the 2006 NUS Conference in Blackpool, Young Green Joe Rooney was elected to the 'Block of Twelve' on the NUS National Executive Committee (NEC), although he was defeated in the race for the position of National Secretary[2].
[edit] London School of Economics and Political Science
Young Greens have been elected to positions on some Students' Union Executive Committees. The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) Students' Union Young Greens, who refer to themselves as the LSESU Green Party or LSE Green Party, are the largest political party society at the LSE Students' Union, traditionally the most politically active Students' Union in the UK. The LSESU Greens have had two members elected to the Students' Union Executive during 2006 - Aled Dilwyn Fisher as Environment and Ethics Officer, and Louise Robinson as Residences Officer. James Caspell, the Male Co-Chair of the LSESU Green Party, sits on LSE Council (the highest decision-making body of LSE) as a student representative, and is a student governor on LSE Court of Governors. LSESU Green Richard Simpson is a member of the LSE Students' Union delegation to the University of London Union (ULU) Council. Furthermore, LSESU Green Jeff Courtney is Chair of the LSESU Constitutional and Steering Committee (also known as 'C&S'), and another LSESU Green, Megan Gaventa, is a member of the LSESU Finance and Services Committee (referred to as 'F&S')[3].
