Newsletter: Courage – Fight for Joy

This morning I dreamt of storey-high murals, with the words “fight for joy” painted in letters taller than me. They commanded attention from the people in cars and buses that passed by. Pedestrians and cyclists could stop to think more about the phrase. What does joy mean, and how do we fight for it? This dream helped to wake me up, something I have struggled with since being back home from the European Greens Congress in Lyon last weekend. Clearly one of the campaign slogans selected by the Young European Greens has stayed with me and means enough to get me going. As someone who has struggled with depression and other mental health issues over the past 9 years in particular, fighting for joy is very personal. There are many days when joy seems too far an achievement to strive for, and you can only start to take the smallest steps towards it. Not knowing when you will feel it again.But fighting for joy at the level of European Parliament elections means we need to recognise and define what joy might mean to people. Is it a guaranteed living income that allows you to stop living every day in fear of the next? Or perhaps the knowledge that our leadership will put our health as the utmost priority, with green transition and mental health care at the top of the agenda?

Last weekend banners across the venue in Lyon in contrasting green stripes welcomed over 900 people with the word “courage”. The European Greens slogan reminds me of the one chosen by the Young European Greens in 2019 – Be Brave Green Europe. (Of course it does, I was on the campaign team that workshopped that slogan in 2018.) As I moderated the discussions on the last points for our manifesto with delegates from across Europe, we talked about issues at different levels of policy. From choosing the right words to commit to a Europe free from racism, to the finer details for EU pensioners to be able to live anywhere they want within the EU while taking all their pension and benefits with them. With 120 days to go to the European Parliament elections, I want to ask you – what brings you joy? And do you have the courage to fight for it?

First published as a newsletter on 9th February 2024