All good things must come to an end. After having served as president of the Nordic Centre Youth for 2 years and 9 months, Erik Carter will step down at the upcoming Repskap in April.
Erik is the first president from Radikal Ungdom and has led the NCF through troubled economic times with three boards from all NCF member organisations.
New funding and activities
"When my first board and I began our work, we had no funding for physical meetings. We were really struggling with our finances, and we had lost our grant-money from the Nordic Council's committees. This was in 2014. In 2015, we got our grant back, and in 2016, it was raised further. We finally doubled it with all the funding we got for our various other activities: the Summer Camp in Umeå and the Organizational Exchange in Helsinki. We've connected people and built new networks for organizational knowledge and for ordinary members."
The 50-year anniversary in Copenhagen
"My vision for the NCF is that it's a place where networks can be built, friendships can be made and experiences can last. Our history proves it. For 52 years, we've built networks between leading Nordic policy actors. It became clear when Radikal Ungdom hosted the 50-year Anniversary in Copenhagen in 2015. Seventy participants were greeted by video by the leaders of Senterpartiet in Norway, Centerpartiet in Sweden and Svenska Folkpartiet in Finland and by many others. They all have a thing in common: a past in the NCF. It's a testament of how strong the bonds we build actually are. We need to remember that - every event is a new bridge built between our organisations."
Having our voice heard
"We also proposed a Nordic citizenship as an ambitious next step for Nordic co-operation - to remove the borders that hold our people back from each other. The Nordic Council has accepted that agenda, and is now working to remove cross-border difficulties with e-identity - as a direct result of our efforts. We can also be proud that our campaign #jegernordisk reached more than 40.000 people in the fall of 2016. Our voices were heard like never before. The NCF has also been in the national media of several Nordic countries, for example when Sweden decided re-introduce border controls at the Swedish-Danish border in January 2016, a violation of Nordic co-operation. We've also upped our social media game considerably. We've got new Instagram and Twitter accounts with more than a thousand followers. Our Facebook has double the reach than before. And we have a new website that highlights what a cool place the NCF really is."
“I am so grateful for being given this opportunity to work for one of the most incredible organisations ever. Every second was worth it, and I cherish the people and friendships I made along the way. There is nothing like the NCF. And I am sure it will stay that way.”
Erik (23) will continue his work as at Microsoft Denmark and as a treasurer of the organization Coding Pirates that works with it-creativity and preparing kids for the digital future.