8 Youth on education and employment

Final Resolution for Workshop 8
Approved by the Plenary of the ILPS First International Assembly
25-27 May 2001
Zutphen, The Netherlands

Youth on education and employment

Whereas, the capitalist system is the cause of an unparalleled and embittered crisis that makes the future of the youth uncertain;

Whereas, the policies of so-called globalization of industrial countries, particularly the G-8, are creating far greater damage to the lives of the people, including the youth, and the response has been militant resistance;

Whereas, the main concerns of the youth, namely education and employment, are the targets of imperialist policies and atrocities worldwide;

Whereas, education has been used as an instrument of preserving the oppressive status quo. In most countries educational institutions are directly, or indirectly controlled by imperialist monopolies that only funnel and exploit the skills and talents of millions of youth and students;

Whereas, tuition rates are so high in many countries worldwide resulting in decreased accessibility to education, while state education is being streamlined and privatized;

Whereas, decent jobs and living wages have vanished, forcing the youth into poverty. Unemployment and underemployment in the world today are so widespread among capitalist, semi-colonial and colonial countries;

Whereas, colonial and semi-colonial countries have remained gold mines of cheap and semi-skilled workers. Graduates and undergraduates continue to suffer from inhumane wages and lack of benefits;

Whereas, flexible labor has caused so much destruction in the lives of youth today;

Whereas, to fight these conditions created by imperialist policies we must register our demands militantly and combat imperialist exploitation and oppression;

Whereas, our demands are the following: highest state subsidy for education; repeal of repressive laws on education and employment; stop the privatization of state colleges and universities; end all forms of state and campus repression; decent jobs; living wages; stop the policies of no-unions, no-strikes, and contractualization;

Whereas, we struggle towards a progressive, scientific and mass-based education in a liberated and just society;

We resolve to fight for these demands towards a just and humane future for the youth of today and the coming generations;

We further resolve that we will continue to realize the need for international solidarity in order to combat imperialism. We hereby declare our unwavering commitment to advance international cooperation and solidarity with the oppressed and exploited youth of the world in our common struggle against imperialist exploitation and oppression for the advancement of our common goals.

ACTIVE INFORMATION CAMPAIGN ON THE ISSUES OF THE YOUTH —————– The workshop recognizes the urgency of creating links for information exchange among the participants. This would include the propagation of the workshop declaration, updates on various youth issues and activities and organization profiles. The workshop resolves that it will:

1. Build a webpage that would serve as a means for regular updates for organizations,

2. Come up with a quarterly newsletter that will focus on the particular youth struggles of different countries,

3. Conduct an exchange program among the participants to the actual struggles and situations of the host countries,

4. Use existing youth platforms (ex. Asian Students Association) and other international activities as venues to propagate the workshop resolutions among a broader range of youth formations,

5. Create and maximize venues like fora, discussion groups, and others to further propagate the workshop resolutions.

MOBILIZATION OF THE YOUTH FOR SOLIDARITY ACTIONS AND WORLDWIDE CAMPAIGNS

The workshop recognizes the need for internationally coordinated solidarity actions and campaigns on local issues as well as worldwide imperialist dictates and policies on education and employment. We cite the following dates as major mobilizations for the participants:-

May 1 – International Labor day

March 8 – International Women’s day

The workshop encourages participants to stage solidarity actions in support of the struggles of various countries represented in the workshop as well as other progressive formations who are not represented yet share the same outlook as the participants. Other forms of support as deemed necessary are also most welcome.

ORGANIZING WORK AMONG THE YOUTH

The workshop recognizes the need for a continuing venue wherein the resolutions of the workshop can be coordinated and accomplished.

We agree to:

1. Continue to communicate with each other and other youth formations in regards to our situation, struggles and resistance;

2. Outreach to other youth formations and organizations in different regions to promote the International League of People’s Struggle;

3. Constitute ourselves as the ILPS Working Group on Youth on Education and Employment to come up with concrete plan of actions and common analysis and position regarding general youth and people’s issues and struggles.