Partij 020
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020 on the political spectrum
020 does not want to brand itself as either left- or right-wing. We encourage you as a progressive thinker not even stay neutral, but to entirely dealign yourself from the concept of the political spectrum. 020 does not approve of the constructed bipolarity of the current political landscape and would not want to enforce it furthermore. Moving beyond arbitrary labels, people can find more common ground on issues that truly matter and collectively work towards decreasing them.
The Organization
020 is both a student party and a student association established around the Universiteit van Amsterdam. It advocates for the student body in the university’s Student Council, championing its own perspective of ‘pragmatic progressivism’. On the other hand, it provides the student body with information about university life and studies, information about life in Amsterdam, with events (whether online or in-person), and other social opportunities with fellow students.
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Unlike other associations or parties, the scope of 020 requires an extensive organisational structure, consisting of a Board, Departments, and Teams within each department. These bodies each serve different, yet essential, functions of the party, and provide skill development opportunities for those students involved with them.
Internal Department
The Internal Department is at the heart of the organisation. Its duties range from recruiting new members, facilitating communication within the Party, and ensuring the well-being and personal development of 020 members. In addition, the Department handles technical and organisational tasks such as creating member profiles, improving programme cohesion, conducting yearly internal evaluations and establishing communication and coordination within the party. Internal also provides new members with the primary and necessary technical information to get started in 020 and supports them along the way through regular check-ups. We are the first point of contact and have made it our core responsibility to ensure that our members are thriving in an environment that recognises and encourages their talents, listens to their concerns, and acts in their best interest at every stage.
Politics Department
The Politics Department is responsible for two major areas of 020: the Party’s policies and managing our representatives. Meaningful policies are at the heart of any election bid, including 020’s. The Policy Writing Team comes up with, researches, and refines our policies. Following that, the representatives present them in various UvA student councils to improve students’ experience at the University.
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The Department also oversees the daily work of our representatives. They work with 020, their councils, and UvA staff to ensure that our goals are fulfilled. Working with representatives also includes selecting new candidates during election season and maintaining the connection with them after they have been elected into their respective seats. Supporting 020’s representatives in their daily effort to create a better educational and personal environment for all of us students lies at our department's heart.
External Department
The External Department is responsible for several aspects of 020’s outreach: (1) campaign management for student council elections, (2) managing social media, (3) reaching out to outside organisations and peoples, and (4) the general writing of much of 020’s published content. Through campaign management, the External Department aims to elect candidates from our party. This is done by focusing on methods of social media and internet outreach and enhancing our presence on campus. By having our candidates elected, we aim to provide solutions to existing problems within the UvA and throughout Amsterdam. Another goal is informational, which we achieve by engaging students through the use of booklets. Finally, the External Department is responsible for researching topics such as housing and cultural activities, collecting information pertaining to the student experience at UvA, and collecting information regarding overall life in Amsterdam.
Financial Department
The Finance Department, as the name suggests, handles 020’s finances. This includes managing membership fees, allocating budgets, arranging merchandise, contacting other organisations for partnerships, and even obtaining sponsorships. Unlike other departments, Finance is not composed of various Teams with handfuls of members. Instead, the Finance Department is more tight-knit, operating with fewer members that work closely alongside one another to ensure that the Party’s finances flow smoothly. Besides, the team takes care of the legal matters for the party, from drafting contracts to maintaining legal compliance for the party as a legal person.
Social Department
The Social Department is focused on organising events for 020 and the UvA student body at large. This includes arranging social events or trips for party members where we get to relax and talk to each other informally, and entails creating events centred around current events, academics, or the Party’s values. But their work does not end there. It also extends to surveying what students at the University are actually interested in so that 020 knows how best to serve the student body with its events. The Department also reacts to more important societal questions through its very own Social Works Team. To that end, the team hosts party information evenings and cooperates with initiatives that advocate for sexual misconduct prevention and counteraction, amongst other crucial topics.
Pillars
Diversity and Inclusion
020 strives to not only superficially advocate for diversity, but to actively integrate it in its policies and practices. We believe that the environment offered by the University should reflect this—it is only possible to accurately understand the world around us if we learn about the different perspectives that shape it.
Housing
For students to function at the best of their capabilities, it is imperative that they have a suitable and stable living environment. We are currently facing a chronic lack of living spaces, and we see it as our and the University’s responsibility to find ways to solve the issue.
Jobs
It must be acknowledged that there is an ever growing gap between the skills gained through our University education and the ones required by the current work environment. It is our conviction that instead of undermining the academic relevance of the University, a deeper connection to the professional world will make students appreciate the skills they learn and the societal relevance of their studies.
Mental Health
The mental stability of students should be one of the main priorities of the University, so, it should bear a responsibility to not only change the study environment which have become to big a source of distress, but also facilitate those in need of help with the necessary means to improve their state.
Quality of education
020 is aiming to ensure the highest quality of education possible for students, so they can grow academically and professionally in the best possible way.
Democracy
020 believes in profound democratic ideals on both a societal and organisational level. This permeates everything we do and what we stand for.
Sustainability
While UvA as an institution is relatively sustainable, 020 finds it crucial to advocate for individual incentives and dedication to sustainability policies on and off the campus. As the climate crisis continues to worsen, we believe it essential to raise awareness and tackle this issue on not only an institutional level but communal and individual levels as well.
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