The Good Lobby has assisted the youth-led organisation YouPaN in their advocacy campaign to improve the German educational system under Covid-19.
As of 12 January 2021, approximately 825 million learners have been affected due to school closures in response to the Covid pandemic, and 47% of the world’s student population has been impacted by the move to remote learning, according to UNESCO. As a result, pupils have faced delays in their education and are forced to cope with the challenges of studying in potentially disruptive environments.
YoupaN is a German based grassroot organisation focusing on education for sustainable development, it aims to establish stronger youth participation in the German democratic process. The organisation is currently focusing on the impact of COVID-19 and its repercussions in the German education system, overall advocating for a new governmental approach to education.
In 2020, Vincent, a member of YoupaN, contacted The Good Lobby for assistance in elevating their advocacy campaign. As a young grassroot organization, their expertise with advocacy work was limited and they felt they were not able to communicate their interests effectively. The Good Lobby was happy to support the cause by matching them with Valentin Steinhauer to provide lobbying assistance.
The Case
Valentin Steinhauer is an EU Affairs Manager that helped the YouPaN campaign to address current issues in the German education system when dealing with COVID, while simultaneously advancing new approaches that could have prevented disruption in a resolution for German policymakers.
Specifically, he assisted YouPaN in establishing a strategic roadmap for their initiatives and a stakeholder mapping to break into the German political bubble and approach policymakers. Consequently, YoupaN was able to increase their audience and gain wider attention from both the political and public sphere.
The Outcome:
The impact of COVID-19 is ongoing but YoupaN hopes to use their increased knowledge in lobbying to effectively reach out to the members of the Bundestag and boost their strategy for bettering the German educational system.
Presently, the organization is meeting with Parliamentarians in Berlin where they will employ the ideas provided by Valentin. Through the work of Valentin and The Good Lobby, the German education system can begin to improve the current remote-learning environment while concurrently looking forward to education in a post-COVID world.
If you are a civil society organisation fighting for political rights of marginalized groups across Europe and looking for legal, strategic, advocacy or communications assistance, reach out to us via email or fill in the form on our website with your specific request.