ijab.de: What are IJAB’s priorities? What changes do you, the new Director, feel should be made?
Daniel Poli: I feel it is premature to identify new priorities already because we’ve only just begun to renew our profile. This is a process that involves our member organisations, the Management Board, the Federal Youth Ministry and our staff, who are going to sit down together and discuss where IJAB should be headed over the next few years. We’ll consider what makes us unique and how we can make better use of the synergies between our fields of activity. This will help give better definition to IJAB’s overall profile.
The word “international” is literally part of IJAB’s name, so we want to continue providing access to international activities for the child and youth services community in Germany. In fact this will be an even greater priority for us in the future. We will keep working with the US, North Africa and Japan and also China and Turkey, to the extent the political environment allows it. We may even start working with additional partner countries around the world; at least we would like to.
While we need to keep identifying key issues for international youth work, I believe we need to recognise them as being connected rather than standalone phenomena. I’d also like to see closer cooperation with JUGEND für Europa. The details have yet to be worked out in a process that requires input from all relevant stakeholders including our staff, of course.
A different perspective on Eastern Europe
ijab.de: Peace in Europe and the world has always been a key rationale for engaging in international youth work. Has Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine put this principle into question? Do we need to reconsider the philosophy behind what we do?
Daniel Poli: I don’t think we need to question our philosophy. That being said, we should not put ourselves under unreasonable pressure. International youth work cannot prevent war, and it certainly cannot end war. A little humility can go a long way. But what we can do is give young people a voice. We can assist and support young people and youth organisations in engaging in policy-building in the field of youth, peace and security; in fact, that is one of the priority areas of Youth7 and so we intend to step up our actions here, too.
ijab.de: Do we also have to reconsider how we approach our European neighbours?
Daniel Poli: Yes. We need to bring our perception of Eastern Europe and eastern Central Europe into sharper focus. These regions deserve more of our attention going forward. Starting in 2014, we did cooperate with the Council of Europe and later provided support to the protests against the sham presidential elections in Belarus in 2020, but nothing truly lasting came of it. We need to renew our focus here and start building robust partnerships.
A vision for IJAB
ijab.de: Now you are Director, what changes do you expect to see for you personally?
Daniel Poli: Many new challenges, a fuller schedule, and less downtime. But I really enjoy charting out new territory, preparing IJAB for the future, getting all staff on board, seeking out new opportunities and collaborating with partners around the world. I also look forward to establishing a new governance culture that puts greater emphasis on us as a team.
ijab.de: Is there something that’s particularly close to your heart? Something you want to do above all else?
Daniel Poli: That’s a hard question. Yes, there is. My vision for IJAB is that the organisation, and the work that it does, acquires greater visibility and that its significance is greater than the sum total of its individual activities.
