JEF Presents: Federalist Academy

We are the Young European Federalists. But what is (European) federalism? Federalist Academy is a JEF-Europe initiative designed to deepen your understanding of federalist thinking.

In 2023, we have two initiatives in store for you: a chance to attend a seminar at the Jean Monnet House in May, and an online Book Club that runs throughout the year.

In 2022, we organised an open online course on federalism, an assembled an online library on federalism. Moreover, we arranged a Federalist Academy seminar in Prague. Resources from 2022 are still available – this page is your hub for all the Federalist Academy resources!

European School on Memories 2023

From 21 to 24 May 2023, the European Parliament together with the University of Barcelona’s European Observatory on Memories (EUROM) and the Altiero Spinelli Institute is organising a European School on Memories. JEF-Europe is invited to send a group of participants to the seminar.

All the information is available through the call for participants on the JEF website. Applications are open until 25 April at 23:59 CEST.

Federalist Academy: JEF Book Club

In 2023, the JEF Book Club is an opportunity to discuss books, articles and other written works about federalism. Running from April onwards, the Book Club is looking for JEFers to co-lead sessions by presenting texts that they have read.

To present a text, you can sign up by using the registration form.

The online sessions are announced on JEF-Europe’s social media channels and on this space!

The next session is the following:

• 25 April at 18:30 CEST: The Shift to the Rights Model of Disability in the EU and Canada (see Zoom link + Facebook event for more information)

Federalist Academy: Open online course

In 2022, JEF-Europe hosted a series of thematic webinars on federalism. From history to political science, political philosophy and beyond, this open course introduced participants to the concept of federalism, and to applications of the idea at the European and global levels.

Recordings from all the sessions are available. If you would like to access the recordings, you can contact the Federalist Academy team in the JEF-Europe Executive Board.

The course consisted of the following sessions:

• “Federalism in practice: Federal systems of the world” with Oliver Sóto Sainz, Complutense University of Madrid
• “What is federalism? History of federalist thinking” with Tommaso Visone, Link Campus University (Rome)
• “Federalism at European level: Visions of a federal Europe” with Tommaso Visone, Link Campus University (Rome)
• “Alternative perspectives on a federal Europe” with Visnja Vukov, Pompeu Fabra University (Barcelona)
• “State of the Union: Is the EU a federation?” with Olivier Costa, College of Europe (Bruges)
• “From a currency union to a federal union? Federalism and the euro” with Diane Fromage, Sciences Po Paris
• “Federalism at global level: Visions of a world federation” with James Thompson, Co-convener of World Government Research Network
• “Regional integration outside Europe: Following the federalist model?” with Fernando Iglesias, Co-President of World Federalist Movement/Institute for Global Policy
• “Federalism on the streets: European federalist organisations since WWII” with Antonio Argenziano, President of Young European Federalists (JEF-Europe)
• “Being a federalist: A personal testimony” with Richard Corbett and Pauline Gessant (JEF-Europe Presidents 1979/81 & 2011/15)
• “Federalism as a way to tackle 21st-century problems” with Yannis Karamitsios (author of “Time for a European federation: How Europe could remain relevant in the century of globalization, climate change and the fourth industrial revolution”)

Federalist Academy: Online library

Throughout 2022, JEF-Europe assembled materials for an online library on federalism, including European and world federalism. You can access the resources below.

We are open to your suggestions for resources to be added to the library. To suggest useful reading materials, videos and other resources, you can contact the JEF-Europe Treasurer Robin Mudry at robin.mudry@jef.eu.