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Who we are

We are the Austrian liberal youth organisation.

We are fighting for a liberal society in the heart of a united Europe. We develop ideas and solutions for the problems of the 21st Century and in doing so always consider the next generation.

As a youth organisation, we offer young people the space they need to develop and grow as individuals. We live respect and celebrate uniqueness, because we are convinced that diversity creates the best politics and the best community.

How to get in touch

julius lajtha

International Officer

History

2009
Besprechungsraum mit JUNOS Team
Establishment

It all began with a national congress of the Liberal Student Forum (LSF) in January 2009. Together we passed a motion to become the JuLis – Austrian Young Liberals. In that same year we ran – more or less successfully 😉 – in the elections to the Student Union and to the European Parliament.

2012
Junos und Neos Teammitglieder
Connection to NEOS

No longer single – In April 2012, we took probably the most significant decision yet for our organisation. We made common cause with the newly formed political party NEOS. Nobody could have guessed that a resolution on the back of a Dutch postcard would take us into Parliament.

A year after our historic entry into Parliament, we formalised our relationship with NEOS. Since 2014 we have been the official youth organisation of NEOS and been known under the name JUNOS – Young Liberal NEOS.

2013
University Students

Full Focus on the Students’ Union: Student politics were our beginnings and has always been one of our priorities. In order to satisfy this claim, we founded our student branch in 2013, which now as JUNOS Studierende campaigns for liberal university policy in the Students’ Union.

2017
Teamfoto
Greatest Electoral Success

In 2015 we celebrated probably the greatest electoral success in our history: we doubled our number of representatives in the national student parliament. Two years later, in 2017, we achieved the best national liberal result in Austrian history with 12.61%. JUNOS is becoming #twodigitgeneration

2020
Wahlkarte
School Students

In Summer 2020 the COVID crisis brought the country to a standstill. We decided against staying still and founded a new branch for school pupils, JUNOS Schüler_innen. They stand for liberal educational and school policy and, starting in 2021, are running in the regional school council elections.

Mission Statement

We are young and open-minded people with a passion for politics.

As liberals, we see respect, tolerance, freedom, diversity and responsibility as the foundation for a modern society.

Change is our passion and the driver of our engagement.

Umbrella organizations

Iflry

On the global level, JUNOS is part of IFLRY, the International Federation of Liberal and Radical Youth. Our international umbrella organization with more than 70 member organizations, convening twice a year, supports liberal and democratic forces all over the globe, oftentimes in regions with no such tradition. Human rights and the belief in a self-determined life are at the core if this mission. 

Lymec

Europe is an integral part of our JUNOS DNA. As part of the European Liberal Youth (LYMEC), we work towards a more progressive and sustainable Europe, based on the principles of liberty and self-responsibility. Together with over 40 partner organizations, we gather twice a year to discuss policy proposals at congresses and have an impact on EU politics.

We Stand for...

Events in Tirol

Hier wird der Eventkalender platziert.

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Education

Education is the key to taking control of your life. It creates individuals who can responsibly take decisions for themselves and contribute to society. This is why an equitable education system providing for social mobility is of such importance for us.

Our Vision

Austria is a land of talents where responsible and creative citizens find an equitable, high-quality, and free education system. Parents can delegate early-years childcare and education responsibilities to one of many private initiatives. Schools are diverse, design their teaching autonomously and parents decide together with their children which school choice is the right one. Dual training programmes like the Austrian apprenticeships continue to be recognised as a success and are optimised through the creation of further progressing opportunities. In the tertiary sector, Austria enjoys several top-ranking universities with significantly extended autonomy. All universities and colleges have entered into fair competition with one another and regularly sharpen their individual profiles.

Market Economy

A liberal economic system based on freedom of property and contract represents the lynchpin of a functioning society which enables increasing wealth, employment, and self-actualisation for all people. For this process, the economy rests on cooperation between employers and employees.

Our Vision

There is a free economic system in Austria, which enables all citizens to develop themselves according to their individual interests. Wealth is generated through free markets which lead to the best possible distribution of goods through the interaction of supply and demand. State intervention only occurs when markets threaten to fail or market participants suffer grossly unfair disadvantages. Free enterprise is considered an essential aspect of the market economy. Bureaucratic hurdles which hinder enterprise and new jobs are a thing of the past. Subsidies distorting competition have been abolished. Austria actively supports global free trade, made possible by the increased dismantlement of tariff- and non-tariff-barriers.

Rule of Law

Democracy is the self-ruling of free citizens with equal rights. The pre-condition for this is liberal rule-of-law. It guarantees freedom, equality, and certainty of law. In order for such a social order to be maintained in the long term, however, a culture of responsibility, tolerance, and love of freedom is necessary. This is the only way to enable a steadfast defence of civil rights and the constant control and reform of state institutions through civil society.

Our Vision

Austria is a land of political freedom. Our democracy has been fundamentally reformed and now enables citizens to rule themselves. Parties and bureaucracy are seen as an aid to reaching this goal and are not an end in themselves. The guiding principles are of thrift and economy with public money and of not burdening future generations with current spending. Thanks to the principle of freedom of information, public spending and tenders are easily visible to everyone. A transparent state does not, however, entail transparent citizens. Liberal civil rights as a foundation of our society are comprehensively protected and recognised by all.

Sustainability

Climate change and its consequences count amongst the biggest challenges our world faces in the current era. Both an intact environment and the basis for a functioning economy must be entrusted to future generations. In particular, this includes efficient infrastructure and secure energy provision at market prices.

Our Vision

Humans and their well-being are at the centre of environmental policy. Future generations are provided with diverse nature and a balance of natural resources to enable a life of wealth and further progress. The development of new technologies accompanies continual progress to reduce environmental damage. Ecological goals are no longer discussed purely on a national basis but instead cooperatively at the European level. The stringent expansion of emissions trading leads to a drastic reduction of greenhouse gas emission. Austria is as a consequence largely independent from fossil fuels and is a pioneer in the field of technological innovation for maintaining and protecting our ecosystem.

Open Society

All people are born free and equal, in dignity and in rights, but throughout the course of life, this foundation is still not always the case in our society. Discrimination on the grounds of gender, background, sexuality, or religion is an everyday occurrence and restricts people in the enjoyment of their freedom. A liberal society has no place for this. Every individual’s rights and freedoms must be the highest good and inviable. Every person has the right to live their own life as they wish.

Our Vision

The individual is at the fore. Stereotypical social roles have been abolished and no longer restrict the freedom to live one’s life. Equal family responsibility is the social norm. Family is wherever people take responsibility for one another, regardless of gender. Children can develop their talents and interests independently of their gender, background, sexuality or religion and grow into self-determined, free individuals.

Europe

The certain losers in a progressively, inexorably converging world are states which isolate themselves and seal themselves off. Politics for the future must think internationally and be conceived cross-border. This is why we campaign for a united Europe which supports wealth development and guarantees human rights in a strong international community.

Our Vision

The international community coordinates to tackle global challenges and gets to grips with them in functional, fast-acting transnational alliances. The European Union is a strong international actor and is at the forefront of global decision-making. Immigration to the European Union and to Austria no longer represents a terrifying spectre, as difficulties with integration and increasing diversity are understood and politically dealt with as a solvable challenge and an opportunity. Work and residency permits in Europe are provided unbureaucratically as long as certain conditions are met. The human right to asylum is guaranteed and administered on the European level. Citizens of diverse origins live freely together in a secular, European constitutional state.