Motions

Motions can be submitted at our semi-annual congresses. Below is a list of motions passed at past congresses. Motions can be an appeal to all members of DWARS, a particular committee or body within DWARS, or to the board. If a motion is a call to the board, the board member(s) in charge of implementing the motions is also listed on this page. Do you have questions about the implementation of a motion that lies with the board? If so, please contact the board member responsible!

Winter conference 2025

[Current] ‘New generation’ not only in words, but also in deeds

Responsible board members: Gijs Broere, Soesha Sandker, and Mads Bonten
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Commit to critical reflection from the party leadership on the campaigns of recent years. This means that consequences will also be attached to this reflection.
  • Set up a roadmap to quickly and strategically counterbalance should membership democracy and internal debate within the current party or the new party come under (further) pressure
  • Work to ensure that the diversity of society, with special attention to age, level of education and cultural background, is represented in the party organs, such as the party leadership
  • Indicating that DWARS would like to see space made for only new members in the party executive committee of the new party

Summer conference 2025

East West Home Duration

Responsible board member: Gijs Broere and Rik Bresters
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Taking the points below to the group:
    • Include democratisation of housing in the party manifesto to ensure tenants and homeowners have decision-making power and oversight over housing management.
    • Introduce a progressive tax system for speculative investment firms by introducing higher corporate tax rates for these firms as they accumulate more rental properties, so that those who benefit the most from the housing market contribute fairly.
    • Restrict speculative investment companies from buying newly built houses, allowing them to expand only the overall housing stock.
    • Introduce possession limits on how much of a city's rental housing market a single investment company can control, to ensure diversity and avoid monopolisation, as seen in Berlin.
    • Introduce a speculation tax by applying a capital gains tax to companies and individuals who resell homes after purchase.
    • Introduce a levy on companies owning more than 50 rental properties to ensure that large investors make a fair contribution to public housing funds.
    • Introduce full transfer taxes for speculative investment companies whose main assets are real estate when shares are sold or acquired, to prevent tax avoidance, as seen in Belgium.
    • Requires all rental deposits to be held in accounts independent of landlords' personal or business finances to protect tenants from abuse, as seen in Belgium.
    • Limit excessive rents by investment companies. Link rents to fair, objective criteria such as the property's qualities, characteristics and condition, and reform the current point system (WWS) by excluding unit valuation (WOZ) from the system to counter segregation.
    • Increase protections for room rentals. Ensure room tenants have proper legal rights, fair prices under the WWSO, and individual contracts so as not to depend on roommates for payment. Extend the scope of the “rent supplement” to non-self-contained living spaces.
    • Require long-term vacant properties to be brought back into use, and reintroduce squatting as a legal mechanism to combat housing shortages and prevent speculative vacancy.
    • Apply a rent freeze for all properties in the housing market.
    • Strengthen anti-discrimination laws for tenants and increase enforcement on landlords who exclude young people or students.
    • Introduce mandatory renovation plans for all government buildings and housing associations to meet zero energy standards by 2035.
    • Subsidise sustainable renovations for homeowners, small housing cooperatives and residents' collectives.
FYEG is the cool way

Responsible board member: Cerisa van Kesteren
Speaks out that:

  • DWARS finds it crucial that the new merger PJO remains a member of FYEG!
Slack is fun! (and also very nice for LB and other executives)

Calls on organs within DWARS to:

  • Also for communication within their own body via Slack.

Calls on executives of DWARS to:

  • Making sure they are easily accessible via Slack by checking their Slack several times a week;
  • Do not use WhatsApp for content communication.
Sh*t posts & Left-wing media

Responsible board member: Merel Buizer
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Be able to make our online presence more spontaneous and recognisable through memes and especially reposting memes and other relevant posts,
  • Further explore with interested members how DWARS and a possible future merged youth party can strengthen our online presence,
  • In doing so, query whether members could and would like to set up more of their own media production, as OverDWARS already does with its Podcast, but also, for example, in the form of tiktoks, reels, or other media,
  • To explore in what forms members can support or relieve the national board in this task, for example, by looking at who can or should have access to which social media channels, or how the process of posting can be made streamlined and spontaneous.
[Topical] Controlling is only done from 1 role

Responsible board member: Merel Buizer
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • To table an amendment proposal at the upcoming winter congress making the following positions incompatible with the GoA:
    • Finance Committee

Winter conference 2024

MOTION: He curves, he curves, the dear good... donor association

Responsible board member: Simon Osnabrugge
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • KROM to support its establishment;
  • KROM to give a gift worth €1000 for its establishment.
  • Establish a covenant with KROM to establish agreements between the two associations, including the agreement that 80% of member dues to KROM will be donated to DWARS.
ClaDiTy

Responsible board member: Simon Osnabrugge
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Purchase board telephones for all board members.
Less Work, Less Pressure (for the Board)

Responsible board member: Joshua Paans
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Add a new checkbox on the website page where motions are submitted, indicating that the submitter is aware that submitting the motion will create additional workload and that the motion is the only solution.
No Activities Without Shared Responsibility

Responsible board member: Cerisa van Kesteren
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Not allowing non-emergency activities to go ahead if there is no (international) activities committee.
Communicating You Can Learn

Responsible board member: Merel Buizer
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Cadres on DWARSe matters to be contacted only on their board number, Slack, their DWARSe email address.
  • Not to approach cadres at informal activities on matters concerning their functions.
Your Silence is a Luxury

Responsible board member: Cerisa van Kesteren
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Actively facilitate this;
  • Seek out the (national) media, capitalising on relevant current affairs.
For Your Left Future

Responsible board members: Gijs Broere and Soesha Sandker
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • To convey to GroenLinks that DWARS is positive about cooperation with the Labour Party, including a possible merger, but that it is also important to seek cooperation with other left-wing parties.
  • Express to GroenLinks the importance of ensuring a proper and democratic process towards a possible merger, in which member participation is central.
  • To convey to GroenLinks that the progressive and leftist sound should not be lost in the cooperation with the Labour Party, and that talks should be held on political positions and ideology.
DWARS Becoming Young and Socialist!

Responsible board members: Gijs Broere and Soesha Sandker
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Properly prepare and examine the process towards a possible merger with the JS, even if there is still no clarity on what GroenLinks and Labour Party will decide.
  • In this process, pay special attention to the organisational structure and safe atmosphere of the possible new political youth organisation.
  • In this process, advocate that, if possible, the future youth organisation of DWARS and JS should join both European umbrella organisations FYEG and YES.
  • To officially start the process towards a merger between DWARS and JS only if GroenLinks opts in favour of a merger with the Labour Party through a member referendum.

Summer conference 2024

Green You Must Do, So Appoint the Green Champion

Responsible board member: Soesha Sandker
Calls on the National Board to:

  • To the establishment of an annual tradition naming a Green Champion, chosen on the basis of his/her exceptional contributions to promoting climate awareness, taking actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promoting sustainable practices at the local, national or international level. This green champion has an underexposed story and is also not a DWARSer.
DWARS Against Merger

Responsible board member: Soesha Sandker
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • To organise a new member consultation and substantive discussion moments regarding cooperation between PvdA and GroenLinks, and left-wing cooperation in the broad sense.
Particularly Important B1

Responsible board members: Soesha Sandker and Mads Bonten
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • To draft a policy document explaining the rules for accessible language.
More efficient Election Political Advisors

Responsible board member: Soesha Sandker
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • To use different ballot papers from the next winter congress to make the election faster, by having all elections take place at once on 1 ticket.
Create an Optional DWARS-JS House style

Responsible board member: Merel Buizer
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • To explore whether a house style can be developed that we can use when working together, in addition to the current house style. Just as there is now a GL and GL-PvdA house style.
  • If possible, develop a new corporate identity that can be used by both DWARS and the JS.
MOTION: Leave all departments free, and house style for joint statements *sometimes* dropped

Responsible board member: Merel Buizer
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • To explore the extent to which departments can be given the freedom to deviate from the house style in the case of a joint political statement, for joint mail with different PJOs
  • Granting the possible freedom to departments as well.
Broad Left Cooperation

Responsible board member: Soesha Sandker
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Provide space within DWARS for debate on broad left-wing cooperation and hold a new member consultation on this,
  • Until then, urge GroenLinks to also set their sights on working with parties such as Party for the Animals, BIJ1 and the Greens.
On Our Money

Responsible board member: Simon Osnabrugge and Merel Buizer
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Work with the Young Socialists board to establish agreements and guidelines for financial cooperation.
  • This should take into account the difference in financial resources between the associations.
  • Paying specific attention here to the sections of both DWARS and the Young Socialists.
On the A12 Stand Together

Responsible board member: Mads Bonten
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Jointly campaign on specific issues.
  • Jointly campaign for comment on current affairs within the parent parties.
Together Europapa

Responsible board member: Mads Bonten and Cerisa van Kesteren
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Conduct joint campaign with the Young Socialists in case of a joint European candidate list of GroenLinks with the Labour Party, with the parties taking seats in the Greens.
  • In doing so, jointly promote young candidates;
  • Take into account departments' desires for flexibility in drafting joint campaign guidelines.
Together with the JS Against the Extreme Right

Responsible board member: Mads Bonten and Soesha Sandker
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Not to campaign jointly if there is no joint list.
  • Do campaign jointly to support young candidates in elections.
Stop Use of the IHRA Definition

Responsible board member: Gijs Broere and Soesha Sandker
Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Urge the GroenLinks-PvdA group in the House of Representatives, preferably both internally and externally, to speak out and oppose the use of the IHRA definition and to preferably use the JDA definition instead, especially in the context of legislation;
  • And calling on the group not to go along with (far)right narratives that instrumentalise the fight against anti-Semitism for Muslim hatred and against justice for Palestine.

Winter conference 2023

We Are the Unlucky Generation

Calls on the Country Board to:

  • To advocate to party boards and political groups that sustained efforts be made to abolish interest on student debt;
  • And insist on offsetting the debts for the unlucky generation with the full amount of basic scholarship they have lost.
Congresses Avoid on Regional Holidays

Calls on the Country Board to:

  • To try not to hold congress during regional festivals

Summer conference 2023

Mail-me-not register

Calls on the future Search Committee to:

  • Maintain a "mail-me-not register" of people who explicitly say they no longer want to be informed about new vacancies
  • Doing so in a way that safeguards privacy as much as possible
Clear language in financial statements

Calls on the treasurer to:

  • Take into account the financial literacy of the average DWARS member in the 2023 financial statements. This mainly calls for financial terms to be explained in B1 Dutch where possible.
No Against Alcohol Culture

Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Take action to make the culture around the use of alcohol within DWARS more inclusive. For example, by organising (a) meeting(s) on how people perceive the culture of alcohol within DWARS and what they see as a solution.
MBOs Involving is Important

Calls on members to:

  • To join a future MBO working group, if they feel connected to it.
  • And insist on offsetting the debts for the unlucky generation with the full amount of basic scholarship they have lost.
Demand 0

Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Continuing to express clear support for Extinction Rebellion;
  • Continue to support the actions of Extinction Rebellion also on the ground from support demonstrations;
  • To look into the possibilities of legal activities such as action training that can be organised with Extinction Rebellion.
  • Show solidarity with DWARSe rebels active at XR
DWARS, DWARSer, DWARSt

Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Make more and better use of the network of DWARSe activists, by better supporting it and ensuring that it remains active;
  • Increase promotion of the activist network;
  • Conduct training sessions on protest participation;
  • Support departments in organising protests and other actions.
A European Campaign Requires European Cooperation

Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Regarding the campaign:
    • A link was established between the Campaign Committee and DIRT, and that the board would lead and guide this collaborative effort.
    • These two committees are working together for our European campaign.
    • Our European campaign is planned taking into account FYEG's campaign and initiatives for the upcoming election year.
    • Aligning as much as possible with FYEG's campaign to avoid collisions.
  • With regard to supporting and promoting young candidates
    • Consideration will be given to FYEG's initiatives in the coming election year, including the Young Candidates Platform.
Leverage Local Knowledge

Calls on the Country Board to:

  • to support DWARSe candidates in local elections, but give departments the space to deviate from this if they consult with the Country Board.
The MMM Motion: Motions Should Be Easier

Calls on the Country Board to:

  • To look critically at the way motions are now submitted and see if that could be more accessible.
  • In future look into the possibility of making it a condition that motions should be written in B1
SearchDie Improvement for the SearchCie

Calls on the Country Board to:

  • Calls on the national board to: in collaboration with the search committee and other similar parties (think board members member recruitment and binding of GroenLinks), evaluate the current approach and tools we use to recruit and activate members, present the research at the winter congress, and based on this, adjust and sharpen the mission and visibility of the search committee to give a new mission at the summer congress.