International Secretariat

The International Secretariat is based in The Hague, The Netherlands. Its main function is to coordinate and implement the activities of the network and provide administrative support in cooperation with the members and in consultation with the International Steering Group and the Board (see here).

The secretariat is composed of young people who commit to the organisation for a minimum of one year (paid internships), 6 months (unpaid internships) or at least one day a week (volunteers) selected on the base of merit, qualifications, experience, language proficiency, motivation, gender and cultural balance. Whenever possible, the team should strive for geographical balance and inclusion of young people that have been active in member organisations. The team is led by 2-4 persons, (consisting of at least the International Coordinator and a Projects and Communications Coordinator) who together form the Management Team. The team is further composed of project coordinators and regional network officers. Regional network officers are interns based in the secretariat who facilitate the flow of information within a particular region and help organise events and projects. The International Coordinator can make decisions that are urgent in the frame of hours, only if consultation via email or telephone is impossible. Young people up to 30 years old can become team members and can remain involved until they are 35 years old.