|
|
-
Find here our special Holiday Card! The year 2008 has been a year of many revelations, both good and bad. This is the case be it in politics, economy, sports, religion and even in showbizness. Surely, we cannot miss the historical significance of the triumph of Barack Obama who has become an icon for change, or the unprecedented stumbling of world economies, crashing of stock markets and the roller-coaster rise of the price of oil, and even the breath-taking opening of the Olympics in Beijing. Topping it all, the state of freedom and democracy in the world has not attained any significant ascent. The people in many of the African nations and many other parts of the world still suffer from suppression and willful disregard of one's humanity. Truly, the young freedom warriors of the world still have a great deal of work ahead of us. The challenge of 2009, the year of the Ox, is tall. While we have proven our commitment through our work year after year, we must continue pushing forth. We – all the 3 million young liberals associated with our federation - are the beacon of light that gives hope to all whose rights and freedoms are repressed. We should look forward to the challenge that we will face in the coming year, with honor and valor, like a true liberal. Considering our efforts, we can be likened to the thoughts of Milton Berle: I'd rather be a "could-be', if I cannot be an "are'; because a "could-be" is a "maybe" who is reaching for a star. I'd rather be a "has-been" than a "might-have-been', by far; for a "might-have-been" has never "been", but a "has" was once an "are'. While our mission is not yet complete, we never wane. May we all remain firm to our commitment to the cause of freedom. Happy Holidays! The IFLRY Bureau Paola, Bart, Chris, Aicha, Frederik, Jan-Argy, Jelena and Sarah Mensaje de IFLRY para éstas Fiestas! Este año 2008 ha sido un año de muchos cambios, de los dos tipos: buenos y malos. Este ha sido el caso en la política, la economía, los deportes, la religión e incluso en “negocio del entretenimiento”. Sin duda, no podremos olvidar el triunfo histórico de Barak Obama quien se ha convertido en un ícono del cambio, tampoco olvidaremos la caída sin precedents de las economías mundiales, ni la crisis de los bolsas de valores, ni los impresionantes cambios en el precio del petróleo, ni mucho menos la apertura de los juegos olímpicos de Beijin que nos dejó sin aliento. Pero, a pesar de todo esto, la libertad y de la democracia en el mundo no han tenido ningún ascenso importante y significativo. Muchas personas en países africanos, así como en muchos otros lugares del mundo, siguen sufriendo de la represión y siguen siendo víctimas de todo tipo de transgresiones de su propia humanidad. Con toda certeza, nosotros los jóvenes guerreros de la libertad en el mundo, todavía tenemos una tarea importante por hacer. El reto del 2009, el año del Buey, es enorme. Hasta ahora hemos probado nuestro compromiso con el trabajo que hemos hecho año tras año, y sin duda alguna debemos seguir haciéndolo con todas nuestras energías. Nosotros, - los 3 millones de jóvenes liberales asociados en nuestra federación – somos un faro de luz que ilumina y da esperanza a todos aquellos que tienen sus derechos y libertades confiscadas y reprimidas. Nosotros tenemos que seguir trabajando para enfrentar el reto que tenemos en el año venidero, con honor y valor, como verdaderos liberales. Para este importante tarea, podemos tener en cuenta estos pensamientos de Milton Berle: Yo prefereriría ser un "puede ser”, si no puedo ser un "es”; porque un "puede ser" es un "tal vez" que está alcanzando una estrella. Yo preferiría, de lejos, ser un "ha sido" que un "hubiera podido ser”; un "hubiera podido ser" nunca ha "sido", pero un "ha sido" alguna vez fue un "es'. Mientras nuestra misión no esté completa, nosotros nunca podremos desfallecer. Esperamos que todos mantengamos firme nuestro compromiso con la causa de la libertad. Felices Fiestas! El buró de IFLRY Paola, Bart, Chris, Aicha, Frederik, Jan-Argy, Jelena y Sarah
|
-
|
By: Bart Woord
The whole city of Mumbai seems to have been taken over by terrorists, if I have to believe the TV presenter that is shouting at me. It is 2 o’clock at night in New Delhi but due to my slight jetlag I am still wide awake. The well-known, continuously repeating images are filling the screen. After having spent several days at the South Asian Youth Summit together with IFLRY VP Jan-Argy Tolentino, organized by the Liberal Youth of South Asia, I have noticed that I am already somewhat numbed to be truly shocked. Whether you speak to Sri Lankans, Kashimiri, Afghans, Nepali or Pakistani, the story is the same: violence, ranging from terrorism to outright civil wars, is the burning scar that stretches all throughout the South Asian region.
Obviously, the challenges that are being faced by the governments in the region – comprising more than 1,5 billion inhabitants – are diverse and perhaps even incomparable, and the prospects for peace diverge. In Nepal there is certainly a peace agreement between the government and the communists, but the progress is still marginal and fragile. The monarchy has not just been overthrown, it has been fully dissolved and an alternative national symbol has yet to be found. In a country with more than hundred ethnic groups and where the government has over many years not been able to take effective control over its territory, new instability might be looming. Already now there are regular conflicts between governmental forces and separatist groups in the south of the country.
Whereas in Nepal the government eventually had to accept a compromise with the communist guerilla, the civil war in Sri Lanka seems slowly but steadily to be concluded by military force alone. That is, on the surface. The governmental troops have been proceeding far into the Tamil territory and it only seems to be a matter of time until they take over the headquarters in Kilinochchi. However, conflicts are never solved by the point of a gun only and continued violence is very likely, primarily in terms of terrorist attacks. As long as the Tamils continue to feel discriminated against and do not receive the necessary autonomy that is required for them to give effective meaning to their right of self-determination, resistance will remain.
As a consequence of the attacks in Mumbai, the verbal battle between India and Pakistan has once again been fired up; a battle that unfortunately has already went out of hand twice and led to outright war. India doesn’t only present a pivotal role in the region due to its geo- or demographical size; it is also already for decades the only functioning democracy which makes it an inspiration for many. The threat transpiring from the terrorist attacks is therefore more than just physical: it also undermines the country’s democracy, both through the direct effects for religious tolerance between Hindus and Muslims, as well as indirectly via the potential domestic, repressive reactions to the fear. The question is now whether Pakistan, so clearly failing in its handling of the Taliban in the border regions with Afghanistan, can take effective action in order to appease the Indian worries to at least a certain extent.
It was thus slightly ironic that just two days before the Mumbai attacks, the delegates at the South Asian Youth Summit had held an outside picket at the National Monument in New Delhi against terrorism…
|
-
Sarah recently attended the European Youth Forum- Youth Event
and the 8th Conference of European Ministers responsible for Youth,
8-11 October 2008 in Kiev, Ukraine. *** I recently attended the European Youth Forum- Youth Event and the 8th Conference of European Ministers responsible for Youth, 8-11 October 2008 in Kiev, Ukraine.
The youth event prior was attended by many young people representing different international Youth Non-Governmental Organisations and National Youth Councils. The event prior represented a great opportunity to network and work along side other organizations who promote youth work.
The Council of European meeting saw Ministers responsible for Youth from across the region set a declaration illustrating "The future of the Council of Europe youth policy: AGENDA 2020" which stated that they "are committed to actively promote, in all the member states of the Organisation, the development of youth policies which are likely to result in the successful integration of all young people into society."
The declaration listed priority headings such as:
- Human rights and democracy (with a new dimension added for promoting awareness education and action amongst young people on environment and sustainable development)
- Living together in diverse societies
- Social inclusion of young people
With this message, the young people were asking the Ministers for a co-management system to be considered, that young people be included in the development and implementation of policies for young people.
The Conference was an example of a lot of talking…so now we need to see that states follow up and are successful with the integration of the declaration. Many of the youth representatives asked how they [as ministers] were to follow up from this declaration…and the response was not clear. It was also noted that it's one thing to talk about integration and intergenerational dialogue, but it's an other to engage in it....
Pictures of the event
For more information from the Council of Europe
|
-
Dear IFLRY Members, I would like to inform you that I am standing as IFLRY candidate in the election of the Advisory Council (AC) of the Council of Europe (CoE), which will be taking place at the upcoming European Youth Forum (YFJ) General Assembly in Rotterdam, the Netherlands on 14. November 2008.
On behalf of the IFLRY Bureau, I am responsible for following the work and policies of the CoE and the YFJ. I have had the opportunity to attend the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Meetings and the meetings of the INGO, which has given me an insight into the work of CoE and also INGO work within CoE. Last year, I had the opportunity to attend two Advisory Council meetings as substitute and a CoE DYS Summer School, which was a great opportunity for me to familiarize myself with all current policies and development processes in the Directorate of Youth and Sport. These experiences have provided me with an understanding of the structure and work of the CoE related to the youth sector, which is very relevant to the work of the AC.
I always had an enormous interest and respect for the Council of Europe as the institution which actively promotes Human Rights Education. I think it is important to invest in a structural youth policy and active youth organizations and I believe that IFLRY needs to show an active profile in this forum. I see my membership in the AC as a great possibility to help in the development of youth policies and as an opportunity to integrate liberal views in to those policies.
I expect the position to be highly challenging and I know I am ready to make the best out of it and I believe that I will represent IFLRY in the best possible way.
If you have suggestions for me or you need more info please contact me jelena@iflry.org. Jelena
|
-
Keeping yourself on
the right track – or we should say in the right corridor is definitely an issue
when visiting the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Keeping the
main agenda in mind also turned out to be a challenge for the delegates
attending the meeting in question – due to delaying quarrels about the order of
matters. I kept longing for more drastic actions and more belief in the values these
delegates are to hand over to our generation one day.
The fourth part of the
2008 Ordinary Session of the PACE was held in Strasbourg the 29 September to 3
October. I had the honour of assisting at the ALDE group meetings and was
thereby also welcome to view the plenary discussions. I also met with delegates
from Azerbaijan, discussed
life and politics with young liberal initiators from Belarus and took part in a dinner
celebrating a hopefully growing Finnish-Polish cooperation.
Monday started with an ALDE group meeting, where a new young initiative for
a liberal party in Belarus
was introduced by Pavel Morozau, the Leader of Belarusian Ruch International -
a network of new generation leaders for democratic Belarus. Also, ALDE enjoyed the
visit from the former Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and leader of
the “People’s Democratic Union”, Mr. Mikhail Kasyanov. During his visit,
Kasyanov expressed his concerns for democracy in the Russian Federation, the sliding
towards totalitarianism and the present as well as possible future aggression.
Kasyanov discussed the case of Georgia
and pointed to the similarities to Sevastopol
– the demilitarization of military bases and Russian territorial claims on the
Crimean peninsula. The Russian irritation recently shown towards Ukraine
was also an active topic during Kasyanov’s press conference at the PACE. Kasyanov
called on ALDE and the PACE to condemn the Russian actions in Georgia. Mátyás Eörsi, President of
ALDE, also presented his views on the Georgian conflict as a co-Rapporteur for
the monitoring of Georgia
and member of the PACE delegation that visited Moscow and Tblisi in September. On Wednesday,
the result of a thorough investigation in Georgia carried out by Human Rights
Watch was presented to ALDE – pointing to discrimination of the human rights on
both sides and a need for intervention. The group failed to reach a unison
conclusion for action in the conflict and the final decision of the PACE, to
put the Georgia
conflict under further investigation before taking any further actions against
either part in the conflict, was in deed disappointing.
The main focus during the Tuesday sessions was
on the development in Bosnia and Herzegovina
and Cyprus.
The concern regarding Bosnia
and Herzegovina was that the necessary
constitutional reforms have yet not been executed, resulting in ethnical
prerogatives still creating political hinders. On Cyprus, a final solution has
still not been reached though both parties are showing real commitment to
reunification – especially Mr. Demetris Christofias, President of the Republic of Cyprus, and Mr. Talat Leader of the
Turkish Cypriot Community, both speakers at the PACE. The same terminology is
used on both sides, yet numbers are working against a solution – the Turkish
Cypriot community, 20 per cent of the total population, insists on an equal
sharing of powers, while the Greek Cypriot population favor a relative
representation at a shared government which in turn does not add up to the
Turkish Cypriot expectations. A lasting solution is however in the hopes of all
parties.
On the agenda of my last day at the
PACE, Wednesday, was the refreshing of the youth agenda of Council of Europe –
which was discussed in a circle Joint Councils on Tuesday evening. Both
delegates from the PACE and the youth organizations present cherished the
important role of CoE in Human Rights Education and described a will to
maintain the important work carried out by the European Youth Centers but, yet
a certain worry for future funding was present in the discussion.
Personally I enjoyed observing the climate at this event and I am thankful
for the experience and contacts gained, but my confidence in world politics and
an indisputability of law and human rights (in practice) was sadly to some extent
lost in the corridors of Council of Europe.
|
-
|
On September 28th, the Belarussian citizens are going to cast their ballots for the parliamentary elections. Whether this will have any effect on the outcome of the vote is of course always doubtful in the 'last dictatorship of Europe'. At previous elections, hopes for some democratic progress have always been shattered by obvious and widespread vote-rigging and unequal opportunities for rivals of the governing clique, not just at the election day but particularly so in the run-up to the elections. Judged in terms of media neutrality, registration of opposition candidates or the inclusion of representatives of the opposition in the electoral commission, the upcoming election does not seem to become any improvement at all.
Nevertheless, at least superficially, some things do seem to have changed recently. Quite remarkable was the sudden release of former Presidential candidate Alexander Kazulin, as well as that of two other political prisoners that had been imprisoned on political grounds. Also, a shift has been observed in the attitude of the regime of President Lukashenka vis-a-vis the West. When speaking at the European Parliament last week while representing a signifant amount of democratic forces in Belarus, Mr. Kazulin believed that these were signs that the current government "is tired of being at war with enemies it itself had helped to create".
There are also other explanations to be given. With Mr. Kazulin's release in August, his chances of staging a convincing campaign for the elections were already very low. In addition, with an opposition that is unfortunately still not sufficiently united, throwing Mr. Kazulin into the arena might actually result in a more chaotic situation. A different rationale was given by the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies in a report titled 'The Game with Risen Stakes: Official Minsk's Quest for Legitimization in the Context of the Geopolitical Mess in the Region'. They argue that the Belarusian's warming up to the West could also be partly the result of the growing tension between the West and Belarus' political friend, the Kremlin, "nudging Russia towards more lenient deals on energy price issues by threatening with 'normalization' of relations with the West".
Either way, whether the Belarusian prefers West over East, the other way around, or neither, it should first and foremost start respecting the basic and universal principles of freedom and democracy. In that respect, the release of political prisoners means nothing if the elections in which they are supposed to play a role remain rigged.
|
-
Durante la última Asamblea General del FLAJ (Foro Latinoamericano de Juventud) realizada en Panamá, IFLRY fue elegida por primera vez como miembro del Comité Directivo y fue asignada a la Vocalía de Fortalecimiento Institucional. Este es otro paso que damos en el aumento de la visibilidad y la relevancia de la Federación y de los jóvenes liberales en el continente Latinoamericano. Además de lo anterior, las actividades políticas y formativas que se llevan a cabo en FLAJ, también nos permitirán continuar con el mejoramiento y fortalecimiento de IFLRY y JULIA en este continente. En la Asamblea General de Uruguay en 2006, IFLRY fue aceptada como miembro pleno del Foro, y desde ese momento hemos venido trabajando en el desarrollo de esta plataforma regional y en su influencia en temas de mucha importancia como es el derecho a la libertad de expresión de los jóvenes en esta parte del mundo. Nuestra principal responsabilidad en la Vocalía de Fortalecimiento Institucional es tratar de iniciar y desarrollar plataformas nacionales de juventud en todos los países de América Latina como una forma de promover los derechos de los jóvenes en los diferentes países. Este nuevo triunfo de IFLRY es también una oportunidad para continuar difundiendo los valores liberales y fortaleciendo una perspectiva liberal desde los jóvenes en este continente, donde todos sabemos que existen muchas restricciones en derechos básicos como la libertad de expresión y la libertad de pensamiento. Además, esto se convierte en una nueva fuente de actividades y le da la oportunidad a la Federación de trabajar más de cerca con las organizaciones socias y de contacto en los países donde los derechos individuales están continuamente amenazados y en muchos casos ni siquiera están garantizados. Adicionalmente a este proceso IFLRY ha venido promoviendo el establecimiento de una nueva plataforma Iberoamericana en un esfuerzo conjunto con otras organizaciones internacionales con presencia en América Latina, así como algunos consejos de juventud. Este escenario será presentado en Octubre durante la Cumbre Iberoamericana de Jefes de Estado que se realizará en El Salvador.
|
-
During the last General Ordinary Assembly of FLAJ (Latin American Youth Forum) held in Panama, IFLRY was elected for the first time as member of the bureau and was appointed as Commissioner of Institutional Strengthening. This is a further step in the increasing visibility of the Federation and young liberalism across the Latin American continent. The political and training activities held by the Forum also work to improve and develop IFLRY and JULIA throughout. In FLAJ’s General Assembly of Uruguay in 2006, IFLRY was accepted as full member and ever since we have been working on the development of this regional platform and its influence on the core liberal values such as freedom of speech for youth. Our main responsibility as Commissioner of Institutional Strengthening is to try to develop national platforms all along the Latin American continent as a way of promoting youth rights in the different countries. This new success and engagement for IFLRY is another opportunity to spread liberal values and further a young liberal perspective on this continent, where we all know there is a huge number of restrictions on rights like freedom of expression and freedom of speech. Also, it is a new source of activities and gives the Federation the chance to work closely with partners in those countries where individual rights are challenged and in some cases not even granted. Alongside this process IFLRY has been promoting the establishment of a new Ibero-American platform together with several international youth organizations and youth councils. This scenario will be presented in October at the Iberoamerican Summit held in El Salvador.
|
-
|
IFLRY is now also expanding in cyberspace. A Liberal Web Team has been formed by six young liberals from different parts of the world: John Jaisey (Ghana), Tuomo Jarvela (Finland), Jeff Leanna (United States), Aleyda Ortega (Colombia), Lazaro Ramirez (Colombia) and Bart Woord (Netherlands - IFLRY Bureau). The LWT has as its objective to promote IFLRY and the young liberal message at large on the Internet, the biotope of an ever increasing part of the world's youth population. While the LWT's work scope is wide, the first projects that are currently prioritized concern the strengthening of IFLRY's (active) presence on several social networking sites (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.) and the various ways of increasing the visitor rate to our website, e.g. by improving the news feature of the Liberal News Center. An IFLRY YouTube channel is also under construction.
Being part of an IFLRY team is a great experience of combining valuable work for the liberal cause with the possibility of getting to know many people from different parts of the world. If you are interested in joining IFLRY's Liberal Web Team, please write to webteam@iflry.org with a short motivation and CV. Membership of a liberal youth organization or liberal political party is highly recommend, though not strictly required.
For any other questions regards the Liberal Web Team, feel free to write to webteam@iflry.org or to IFLRY Secretary General Bart Woord (bart@iflry.org).
|
-
I am writing this on board my flight to the IFLRY EC in Manila. Well, actually this plane is only taking me to Hong Kong - from there I will then proceed to Manila and hopefully arrive in time for the opening ceremony.Unfortunately I wasn’t able to write this earlier, as pilot strikes in Germany had a lasting effect on my travel plans and required me to make it to Frankfurt on my own (by car and train, not by plane) - eventually, I arrived and made it on this flight. For the last two weeks I was in the Southern Caucasus again, organizing seminars and international workshops in cooperation with JuLis Germany and the Friedrich-Naumann- Foundation for Liberty. We brought together participants from young liberal organizations from almost all different countries and regions and especially our cooperation workshop in Bakuriani, Georgia had some remarkable results, that I will write about in detail in a separate post during the next days. From Bakuriani, Lasse Becker, the president of JuLis in the German state of Hesse, and I continued to a short fact finding visit in Armenia together with Dr. John from FNF.Since the IFLRY/FNF/VVD seminar on election observing during the fraudulent presidential elections in mid-February (please have a look at our IFLRY statement and my previous blog posts on that matter in case you have not read them yet), this was the first time for foreign liberals to officially return to Armenia. After the violent actions by government forces that were taken against peaceful protesters on March 1st and that resulted in 10 deaths (according to official sources) and hundreds of arrests, Dr. John and I myself had discussed many times when to return to Armenia to continue or work there. I was glad that he decided to join us when I suggested to show support to our mutual Armenian partners from the National Movement Youth after conducting the workshops in Azerbaijan and Georgia.Already entering the border took longer than usual, and we were convinced that at least one of us would be not allowed to enter. However, after long phone conversations by our visibly stressed border patrol representative we where finally let in the country. Probably, the respective officials in the regime have realized that not letting us - especially Dr. John - into the country would cause far more unwanted attention and thus harm them more than our activities inside the country (I might be corrected on this assumption when I try to enter Armenia next time). Fortunately, Germany’s ambassador to Yerevan, her Excellency Mrs. Andrea Wiktorin, had agreed to meet us in the embassy in order to discuss the recent developments and events in Armenia and confer about the impediments on our cooperation with opposition forces. We had a very interesting discussion with her. While ambassadress Wiktorin’s analysis of the situation is very keen, intelligent and insightful, I think that the conclusions she is deriving from it are somewhat problematic, especially for me as a representative of IFLRY. I do see the positive effects of Germany’s activities in Armenia, such as supporting youth exchanges, and I am happy that my country is using our tax money for so many beneficial projects for the Armenian youth. However, while it does help to open up the eyes of the Armenian youth to what is possible in democracies by sending them abroad and involving them in international exchanges, no one takes care of them once they return and start to wonder why their home country is so far from democracy and why they are not allowed to participate actively in the political life of their country if their point of view is not in line with the governing regime. For me it is not a surprise, that the majority of the people that I worked with in Armenia are not only extremely intelligent, astute and very well educated, but also frustrated because the regime actively hinders them to transform their society into a place where not only one’s connections and political affiliations matter, but the personal skills and excellence.Also this time, I met with a lot of members of the opposition - despite the fact that I stayed in Yerevan for less than a day in order to make it to Manila in time. Right now, the situation is even worse than I assumed. Currently there are still 79 political prisoners. The majority of the leadership of the opposition is either in prison, in hiding or even dead. In my opinion, our partners do a heroic job. Lasse, Dr. John and I had several meetings with young members of the opposition and finally even visited a vigil that they organize around the clock on one of Yerevan’s main pedestrian areas, the “Northern Alley”. There, they inform Armenian citizens about the state of the governmental suppression and let them know about the fate of those who were arrested, put into prison and sent to court due to dubious allegations by policemen. They stay on the “Northern Alley” day and night and try to get public attention. In some ways, they where successful already. Some of the video footage of government forces recklessly killing peaceful protesters (e.g. by running them over driving their SUVs full-speed into a group of protesters) has been shown on foreign TV stations, such as in Germany. However, most people in Europe, Asia and the other continents do not even know about what happened in Armenia and continues to happen right now. In the meantime, our friends keep getting arrested, sent to the KGB, put into prison or harassed in other ways all the time. The regime continuously shows, how afraid it is of the opposition: even young activists are constantly under surveillance by government agents in uniform and plain-cloth. Even Lasse and I experienced some particularly poorly skilled observation professionals during our stay in Yerevan. While trying to stay in the background when following us, the government thugs were not very effective and even did not managed to hide as quick as necessary when we took pictures… I was asked in Yerevan whether I would react the same way our Armenian friends do, if things like this would happen in Germany. The truth is: I seriously do not know that - but I hope that I would be able to bring up the courage that they have, and stand up every day to struggle for democracy. As soon as I board the plane that takes me from Yerevan to Munich I cannot help but think about how unfair this is. I can leave and live my life in a country that protects my rights as a citizen and not actively tries to suppress and limit them They can’t. I am currently reading an excellent new book by James Harding which is called “Alpha Dogs: The Americans who turned Political Spin into a Global Business”. In it, Harding, an editor of the London Times, describes, amongst other things, that the only foreign supporters that the Philippine opposition had to plan and execute the ousting of the Marcos regime in the 80s where a professional golf course designer and a former editor of The Economist. I cannot help but think: If they managed something that big just because they where morally right and had some great communication skills, can’t we, IFLRY, the liberal youth of the world, do something like this for Armenia? No matter how small or big the results of our efforts might be, for me the consequences are clear: we need to act. Armenia needs us.
|
-
The results of the latest
election process in Zimbabwe
can not be recognized as a democratic procedure. The recent situation where
opposition supporters were beaten or even murdered for expressing their
political views can not be considered, in any way, as a proper democratic
environment to contribute to a fair election. Zimbabwe has become a challenge for
democratic countries, democratic institutions and fighters for democracy around
the world.
The recent events of
maltreatment and abuse during the last few weeks are completely unacceptable and
have illustrated that democracy is not only to have the right to vote but also
the right to vote for a candidate with proper guaranties, without threats and
obstacles for individual believes and political views.
All these events in
Zimbabwe, have made me think that we as young liberals have to continue
our
work on creating and promoting a democratic and safe political
environment for all
young people around the world, especially within countries like
Zimbabwe where there are limited or no chances to express opinions and
political views against the current
leader, Mugabe, without putting their life in danger.
|
-
Last week I was in Strasbourg, on a trip with lot of my connections from all over Germany so it was totally a "Tim style trip". I was in Strasbourg for the Alliance of Liberal and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group meeting on Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s (PACE) Summer session. There were a lot of different topics discussed throughout the Summer session and some of them had really interesting titles such as "The fight against harm to the environment in the Black Sea". But on the other hand, there were a lot of hard debates about democratization in Europe and the double standards toward some of the member states of CoE. The ALDE group had a short but really interesting debate on the state of democracy in Europe. The group discussed the challenges of diversity, the migration challenges and the functioning of democratic institutions in Europe. The discussion kept returning to Russia and its involvement in the CoE, but like President of ALDE group and LI Secretary General pointed out: unfortunately Russia is not the only case where we can see negative trends in regard to democracy. On the discussion about democracy there was a lot of interesting inputs related to election observing missions of the CoE in Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Macedonia but also about China and the Olympic games.
Personally, among all discussions in the ALDE group, I found “Empowerment of women in a modern, multicultural society” the most interesting discussion as it opened Pandora’s Box. The discussion handled quota issues and among the women in the group, we had a really constructive discussion on liberal standing points on this topic. So what is liberal: to use quota or not to use quota? Jelena (jelena@iflry.org)
|
-
The
last little bit has been crazy in the office from Barcelona
to Belfast to
the Balkans to the move and to the start of a new internship programme.
In
the beginning of May, the
European Youth Forum held the Council of Members and LYMEC had their Congress.
Jelena Spasovic was representing IFLRY,
and I was there on behalf of LYMEC. So we had a good liberal presence. The
COMEM was very interesting and had session on EU-Africa work, recognizing
training, EU Election work, and many more exciting sessions. The
representatives from the young Conservatives, Socialist, Greens, Liberals and
as well as the student political groups, all met briefly to discuss future
cooperation. It was suggested that in the future, that a fringe meeting of the
political youth be coordinated, since it’s not that often that we are all
together. To learn more of about the
COMEM, please contact Jelana@iflry.org.
After the COMEM
was the LYMEC dinner. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend any of the
congress, but from the facebook photos and stories, it sounds like it was a
grand time. The dinner reception was very nice and the tribute to Roger was
sweet.
Next up was LI’s 55th Congress in Belfast, Northern
Ireland. This was a great event where
liberals from around the world gather to discuss the theme ‘inclusive society’.
This session had great speeches by many leading liberals such as President of Senegal
Mr. Abdoulaye Wade, Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai presidential candidate of Zimbabwe, and our very own former Secretary
General and current president of Alliance of Liberal and Democrats for Europe, Graham Watson MP. I had a great time at the
workshop on the “Northern
Ireland ten years after the Good Friday
Agreement”. It was a great learning experience to engage in an open
conversation with those who lived during the conflict and members of the
audience who were invited to provide their thoughts and experiences. I asked
the question of the reception of the agreement among young people and what kind
of impact this will have on future leaders and policy makers. For more
information on IFLRY representation at Liberal International events, please contact
Paola@iflry.org
June
rolled around and we had our seminar on Human Rights: Tools of the trade. This
seminar was hosted by Young Liberals of Montenegro –YFLPMEN with sponsors from
the European Youth foundation and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. The session yielded great discussion and very
interesting perspectives. Participations created messages and projects that we
will look at a gain in manila. To hear more on the seminar, please read Bart’s
blog post.
On
my way home from the seminar, I had a few hours in the Belgrade airport due to a delay of my flight.
I had a great conversation with a man from Northern Ireland. It was like
talking to your grandfather where wee talked about all things from life, job,
family, and the good Friday agreement. I can’t seem to have a simple
conversation without politics. It was a great insight to hear his opinion and
stories.
Well,
I am back in London after Barcelona,
Belfast, and
the Balkans. I am back in the cold weather of London
and longing for the warm days of Montenegro….
Bära, in Swedish means ‘to
carry’. We just recently moved our office to a new location in the building.
We’re now self contained and have our own IFLRY office within the office we
share with Liberal International. So we have a great new space and a great new
intern ;) To keep with the B theme, I wrote the French word for volunteer. Lena
Höglund started in June as our intern for the next 6 months. Her placement has
been supported by the
Foundation for Swedish Culture in Finland
and Lena is a member of our Member
Organization SU. We are really excited to have Lena
working with us.
Next
up…Parliamentary Assembly Meetings in Strasbourg
and the Executive Committee in Manila.
Sarah
(office@iflry.org)
|
-
|
From the 2nd to the 8th of July, we held a seminar on human rights and free trade in Risan at the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. Participants from different corners of the world flocked to this enchanting place - the Bay of Kotor is apparently considered as one of the thirty prettiest bays in the world... - to discuss the relationships between these two of liberalism's most important concepts. Through guest speakers and workshops dealing with a variety of issues, from the inclusion of human rights provisions in trade agreements to the potential use of trade sanctions to punish abusive regimes, participants were encouraged to think critically and creatively on the different intersections that exist between free trade and human rights.
As part of the seminar team I had the 'pleasure' to spend quite some time in advance and during the seminar itself to prepare some of the sessions: besides some introductory remarks, I coordinated a session dealing with the trade embargos and consumer boycotts during the Apartheid regime in South Africa, as well as a session on the 'resource curse' and the detrimental effects of particularly oil and gas exports on human rights in countries with nondemocratic institutions. Perhaps more interestingly, some of the sessions during the seminar were so-called 'open spaces' where participants could themselves bring up issues that they wanted to discuss within the framework of the seminar's topic. Consequently, in smaller groups we all engaged in discussions on for example the issue of property rights and generic medicines, the role of opposition groups in exile on the human rights policies of governments and the thesis that 'the best development aid is free trade'. Our participants from Belarus and Azerbaijan gave presentations on the human rights situation in their respective countries during these open space sessions.
In order to keep our minds fresh, sufficient amount of time was reserved for all of us to relax at the lake and to have a swim. This is also where we had our traditional cultural evening, which I think many of us consider as one of the best nights with some high-quality performances, tasty food and 'inspiring' drinks. We also ventured on some wonderful trips to Kotor itself and one by boat over the lake: definitely recommended!
In terms of output, video messages were recorded by the participants which will be broadcasted at IFLRY's upcoming Executive Committee in the Philippines in July. In addition, a campaign on human trafficking is currently being developed by some of the participants.
Of course, no successful seminar without great hosts: Sandra and Satka from the Young Liberals of Montenegro did a perfect job in terms of preparation as well as on-the-ground coordination. Also credits to the European Youth Foundation of the Council of Europe and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty for generously supporting the seminar!
Bart Woord (bart@iflry.org)
|
-
Last weekend, I had chance to attend the 55th Congress of Liberal International. It was a very interesting meeting with many important leader from all over the world. As IFLRY' s representatives, we had a very nice host organization, our beloved member organisation Alliance Youth. They were key to the local details and were essential to our stay in Belfast. Thank you guys!!!, it was very nice to see you and to eat at Red Panda so to have "the best Chinese food" in all of Northern Ireland. I would like to use this opportunity to congratulate the elected bureau of Liberal International who will be serving a new term and I hope to continue and improve relations between LI and IFLRY during their upcoming term. At this Congress we had opportunity to get to know from first hand about situation in many places of the world. President of Senegal Mr. Abdoulaye Wade addressed the plenary at the welcome session, as well as Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai presidential candidate of Zimbabwe, who spoke with passion about the situation in Zimbabwe and the expectations and importants related to upcoming elections on June 27th Other interesting meeting was the one between Relial (Liberal Network of Latin America) and CALD (Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats). I have opportunity to attend, at the invitation received by Relial's president Otto Guevara, and also as Colombian. During this meeting there were representatives of Thailand, Japan, Burma, Taiwan, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Perú, Paraguay and Colombia. Participants of this meetings expressed our concerns about political situation in our countries and our regions and also the meeting discussed ways to promote cooperation among there two platforms. I mentioned to participants from Asia our interest on having young representatives of all their countries in our next Executive Committee in Manila and they were willing to find ways to send them to our event. I also had the honour to be invited to attend Lunch of International Liberal Leaders, hosted by Graham Watson MP, Leader of ALDE (Alliance of Liberal and Democrats for Europe) in the European Parliament. There were about 30-35 people from all continents. During this event, I had opportunity to talk with Mr. Watson about IFLRY's activities and also about situation in Colombia and Latin America. During his speech he mentioned his happiness about new steps done by IFLRY during last years, and our improvements as an organisation. As part of the programme content of LI Congress, it was included a panel called "An inclusive society" in which I was asked to be moderator. The panel had as objective to debate about liberal perspectives regarding exclusion and discrimination in societies. Those panelists talked about discrimination of LGBT people around the world, but also about political exclusion that have been happening in Zimbabwe. Besides those interesting topics, there were also funny things: my biography was printed in event book but my name was misspelled, so I suddenly became into Paola da Silva. It sounded as Brazilian and at the end even people from Latin America who knew me for long time ago, decided to introduce me to people as Paola da Silva. Therefore, during this Congress there were many participants who came to me and to some other bureau and IFLRY representative to tell us their stories when they were members of bureau or attended an IFLRY event. Among this people it was Graham Watson, leader of ALDE and who mentioned me those times when he was IFLRY's secretary general and Roman Jakič from Slovenina who alse served as bureau member some years ago. Besides, our dearest Martin Sjögren who was a former Vicepresident of IFLRY and can not get enough of liberal politics, and of course our lovely Emilianito Kirjas who has never left the IFLRY family, just came to London to study and became LI’s Secretary General to be closer to us. The LI Congress was a great event for IFLRY to promote that there is an active youth movement. As we were a group, we often divided ourselves between the workshops. My stories here are of the sessions that I attended, but the other delegates would have other stories to share as there were parallel sessions running daily. We gain a lot of exposer at this event, and I hope it continues.
|
|
|
|