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Excerpt of the book
Press Release
+++ Note +++
This campaign collects dollars instead of euros, as that will allow for contributions to be both done via PayPal AND credit card. Euros allows only for PayPal to be used.
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Overview:
What
This Is: Who, if not us? is an essay, written by young Europeans for
young Europeans. It seeks to motivate our generation to become active agents
for change in Europe. In order to do so, we only need one thing — funding
for the printing and distribution.
Who We
Are: We are a group of 12
individuals with backgrounds from 11 different countries. We are all part of
'Generation Y.' We are all Europeans. However, what unites us most of all is
the motivation to make a difference in Europe and empower others, who share the
same ambition.
What We Want to Achieve: We all believe that
our generation has the power to define our continent's future. We are aware
that one key challenge when striving for this aim might be the lack of a shared
vision. However, we believe that before we can even start negotiating this
vision, we need to overcome another obstacle first: the lack of belief in our
own abilities. This is where our text comes in. It aims to tackle this
motivational challenge and encourage our generation to become
change-makers.
What
The Text is About: The idea for this essay derived from the way we all
first met: on a journey through Europe. We realised that what fascinated us
most about our continent is the people you meet on the way. We found that a
shared vision and belief can come out of the exchange of experiences, thoughts
and inspiration. That’s why this essay – rather than being a theoretical
analysis of the current state of Europe’s youth – utilises a story-led approach
that’s taking the reader on a journey with a European destination. This story
brings together our different backgrounds and personal experiences to address
the most common complexities of being young Europeans whilst showing that
despite all differences we also share similar challenges and opportunities.
On his or
her journey through the text, the reader will be guided along a framework of
four steps that help all of us to unfold our potential and empower our
generation:
- Be truly critical — think for yourself,
independently and without limits.
- Overcome your fears — fears will never be a good
guide. So let's cast them out.
- Realize your power — we all have power to make a
difference. We just have to find it.
- Become a change-maker — this is where we take
action. Everyone can do it. Start small and keep going. You will see the
impact of your work in your own and other people's lives. It's the best
feeling.
The
purpose of going through this journey is to illustrate how we can all do more
and better than we think. Thus, beyond functioning as a motivational piece, the
essay, most importantly, is also a call to action.
Why We
Need You: The text is all
written and edited. It is ready to reach Europeans and people near and far.
What we still need are the means to do so. We want to print 2,000-3,000 copies
and distribute them all over Europe and the globe. We need your help in making
this possible. By donating you are becoming a part of our vision and goal: To
activate young Europeans' potential, to interconnect them, and to take part in
shaping our continent's future.
Find out more about our team and project here: www.whoifnotus.eu
Project Details:
How The Text Will Be Delivered:
We believe in the power of the written word. For centuries, printed books and pamphlets have helped to facilitate the democratic spread of
great ideas and inspired people across and beyond Europe. Yet,
one might wonder why our group – being digitally native – thinks it’s
particularly important to provide a printed product rather than simply
distributing the essay online. Additionally to reaching a significant number of
people, we also want the reader to qualitatively engage with the text. In our
fast-pasted contemporary society, we suffer from a limited attention span and
an oversupply of stimuli. We believe that physical copy of a text can help us unwind
and personalise the reading experience and thus allow us to properly engage
with, reflect upon and respond to an idea. In the spirit of the theories of the
French anthropologist Marcel Mauss, one could argue that our essay thus becomes
similar to a gift: being exchanged as a physical item it can create a bond
between young Europeans. After all, one of our key aims is for our story to be
passed on and connect people through the exchange of ideas and inspiration. And
in order to make this sharing process as easy as possible, we will naturally
also provide the text as an e-publication in a next step.
What Are Our Strategic Objectives: There are two key pillars to our
strategy: Firstly, we want to share the mutual story of young Europeans in
order to motivate and activate our generation to participate in shaping
Europe’s future. Secondly, we want the text to serve as a vehicle to connect
young Europeans in order to start negotiating this future within a broader
debate.
How We Plan To Achieve This: Our main goal is to distribute the text to as many young Europeans as possible. The book is meant to go on a journey across and beyond in Europe. We call this the Read and Pass On principle. After reading a copy, one passes it on to another young European. The donors will be vital in achieving this goal. They help us gather the funds to print and ship the text, and will also be the first readers of the text, before sending the copies on their journeys through Europe. Additionally,
in order to facilitate an even
broader reach and extend our audience, we plan to distribute a number of copies
to targeted individuals and organizations such as newspapers, politicians, NGOs, refugee shelters, and other places in order to maximize its impact. We hope that this additional coverage in combination with the Read and Pass On principle will motivate young Europeans to get in touch with each other and ponder similar ideas. Whilst we aim to reach as many people with our text as possible, we also believe that the process of readers interacting with other readers will create dynamic networks and exchanges that go beyond the book and its words. Our group will work hard to follow up on the impacts and ripples created by the text, and will always be there to help connect readers and those interested in making a change by facilitating dialogue and exchanging ideas.
Who Supports Us: We were able to write and finalize the essay thanks to the great support of the Mercator Foundation, which funds the work-meetings of our group. Additionally we have been working with a wide array of supporters and experts in various fields from design, marketing and distribution to political and social multipliers, who have been so kind to help us out to get this far. Printing and distributing the book is the final step for which we now need your support!
How Much We Need: We are aiming to receive €10,000. This amount is our estimate to pay for designing, printing, and shipping 2,000-3,000 copies to various parts of Europe, and to circulate the essay amongst all those interested in its message.
If we'll be gathering more than the €10,000 ($11,000), we will simply print more copies and send them on their way to European youth.
What Are The Risks & Challenges: We have never done anything like this before, nor do we know of a similar campaign. Therefore, this entire idea will be a first for all of us, and likely for you, too.
However, we believe that having worked together as a group, which connects so many different cultural, personal, economic and political backgrounds, over the course of several months, we believe in our ability to address core questions of our generation and propose answers that will be relatable to many young Europeans.
We want to keep learning, and we see this campaign as an opportunity to connect with other young Europeans in order to positively impact our generation, and Europe.
Perks:
You can take a look at our perks on the right-hand side. The general rule is — the more you donate, the more copies you get.
Other Ways to Help:
As part of this campaign, we would be happy to hear from you, and always appreciate any help, support, ideas, and inspiration. This process to us feels like Europe at work — we are coming together with a shared goal to embrace our diversity, and you are a part of this, too.
If you like this idea, but are unable donate at this time, we totally understand. You can still support us by sharing this campaign and talking to those who might be interested, but haven't heard about it yet. To do so, please share this campaign through Twitter and Facebook. You can also send information about the campaign to local newspapers, favorite websites, politicians, and to journalists.
The more it circulates, the more people will see it!
Timeline:
Thursday, September 17th, 2015: Press conference and public presentation of our text in Berlin, Germany.
September, 24th, 2015: Crowdfunding campaign will end.
September 2015: Printing first copies of the text.
October/November 2015: Shipping the perks and books to donors and supporters.
