Statement condemning King Mswati’s proposed Chairpersonship of Southern African Development Community (SADC)

IUSY condemns the proposed ascendency of Swaziland’s King Mswati who is set to Chair Southern African Development Community (SADC) in August 2016 when the SADC heads of state Summit is held in Swaziland. King Mswati’s dictatorship in Swaziland is against the very same principles and values such as democratic governance that SADC espouses to. Mswati’s rule continues to suppress political parties, as political parties remain banned in Swaziland since 1973. Imprisonment of activists who are against the regime is the order of the day under his rule.

 

The taking over of SADC by a despot in Mswati does not augur well for the region’s endeavour in promoting democracy, respect for human rights and good governance. The region is currently facing political problems that need a decisive leadership that believes in democracy, tolerance and the value of transparency in settling internal disputes facing regional member states. The dictatorship in Zimbabwe cannot be solved under the leadership of Mswati as SADC chair. The people of Zimbabwe shall continue to plunge into economic abyss and repression when another dictator is at the helm of SADC.  The ‘armed’ insurgency impasse in Mozambique is does not inspire a brighter future for the region. Mswati’s leadership is not capable of tackling the challenges confronting the region. The political crisis in Lesotho also needs a credible leader who can ensure that the work done under the outgoing SADC Chairperson President Khama is not reversed.

 

IUSY calls upon all the democratic states in the region not to endorse Swaziland’s ascendency to the Chairpersonship of SADC. We further call for action to be taken by all progressive forces in the region and the world to pressure Mswati’s regime to allow political freedoms and stop human rights abuses.

Invitation to Training of Trainers: Structural Empowering

Dear Comrades,

We are glad to invite you to the

IUSY Capacity Building:

STRUCTURAL EMPOWERING – TRAINING FOR TRAINERS

19th – 25th September 2016, Mollina, Malaga (Spain)

In IUSY we organise many international events, whether they are regional committees, seminars or political schools. We regularly meet to debate and discuss, and more often than not we’re the ones facilitating such exchanges and dialogues. Therefore we believe we must have an active role in the preparation, delivery and evaluation of the methodology we use for these events.

We see non-formal alternatives to formal education being increasingly used in our society, in all sorts of different environments. Non-formal education methodology offers us the chance to develop opinions and skills through experiential learning, is inclusive to different learning styles and provides variety in programme. This is why we believe we should mainstream diverse methodologies into the activities of IUSY. Through this training we aim to position ourselves in the challenge zone in order to offer greater diversity on our events and obtain richer outcomes from our meetings and discussions.
In this Training for Trainers we aim to provide active members of IUSY the chance to acquire and develop training and facilitating skills. We’ll think about how non-formal methods can improve our activities, explore the different ways non-formal education can be utilised as a tool in our programmes, and, in addition, we will also create a network of trainers to help us deliver future IUSY activities.

We encourage you to disseminate this call for participants among the members of your organisations. Please be aware it is unlikely that more than one member per organisation will be selected to participate in this event, therefore we would encourage you to discuss internally who to put forward from your organisation before applying. Please keep in mind that the application deadline is Monday 1st of August 2016.

Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the IUSY Secretariat at: iusy@iusy.org.

– – – – –

OBJECTIVES  

  • To promote the concept of non-formal education as a working tool among the participants and, as an extension, their member organisations
  • To provide participants with knowledge, tools and confidence to pursue training in their local organisations
  • To bring the global perspective to the local level by providing training and facilitation skills to the participants
  • To train members on the concepts that are relevant for youth political activism/campaigning training in order to be multipliers in their organisations (such as advocacy, speech drafting, communication skills, etc.)
  • To develop the IUSY Pool of Trainers by improving the training capacities of young activists and youth organisations

The workshops will be facilitated based on the core values of participatory non-formal education/learning and on the basis of global education. The programme will promote critical analysis and be tool-oriented to improve the capacities of young activists and youth organisations at the national and local levels.

– – – – –

WHO CAN APPLY? PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS

This activity is not aimed towards the leadership of IUSY member organisations, it is addressed to youth activists. Please note that this is an educational activity therefore it is required that the participants stay for the whole activity duration and also to contribute to IUSY activities after the training.

Participants should:

  • Belong to IUSY member organisation.
  • Be aged 18-35
  • Have a proficient level of English (the only working language during the activity)
  • Availability to contribute to IUSY activities

Since we expect to provide all regions with trainers for their events, we’re aiming for participants from all regions and from a variety of member organisations.

According to the IUSY statutes, we’re also looking to achieve a gender-balanced training so we reserve the right to select participants based on gender criteria if needed.

– – – – –

HOW TO APPLY

Due to limited space of 12 people, there will be an application process. To apply you must complete the following by Monday 1st of August:

  1. Ensure you fulfil the above criteria
  2. Write a motivation letter, including why you are applying and your vision for the work
  3. (Optional) Obtain a recommendation letter, which outlines your interest in attending the training and/or previous experience
  4. Complete the digital application form by following the registration link.

Follow this link to complete the application form.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScMiCieFysWiZ7mUvArE30GTdPKBoBVlaBFcHmy_UwcXp1Gbw/viewform

Please note you should not buy any flight tickets before your application is approved.

– – – – –

TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT

IUSY will cover your flight ticket up to a fixed reference price. The maximum amount for travel reimbursement will be sent to you together with a confirmation letter.

– – – – –

PARTICIPATION FEE

The participation fee is set for 50 euro and should be transferred to IUSY bank account before the event starts. Bank details will be sent along with a confirmation letter.

– – – – –

CANCELLATION FEE

There will be a 50€ cancellation fee charged to each organisation whose participant withdraws after 7 August and without a valid reason.

 – – – – –

CONTACT INFORMATION

Should you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact the coordinator of the project at the IUSY office:

Eugeni Brigneti
IUSY Project Manager
Tel: 0043 699 1353 2970
Mail: eugeni.brigneti@iusy.org

11717556_943359802372966_2698645331513406370_o(Picture of a previous edition of the UYD)

                       

 

 

CALL FOR COORDINATORS FOR IUSY WORKING GROUPS – FEMINISM & POOL OF TRAINERS

CALL FOR COORDINATORS FOR IUSY WORKING GROUPS

We would want to inform you about the availability to apply for becoming coordinator for the following working groups:

– Feminist Working Group

– Pool of Trainers Working Group

 

The coordinators main role is to plan (together with the IUSY presidium) and conduct the work of the working group. The Coordinators will have a close contact with appointed Vice Presidents who will be responsibility for the groups and the coordinators will also be invited to the IUSY Presidium meetings. However, IUSY will not be able to provide any travel reimbursement for the coordinators for the presidium meetings.

To apply for becoming coordinator you should send us:

1. Letter of motivation where you describe why you are interested and your ambitions for the working group you want to coordinate. Furthermore, we would also like you to provide us with your previous engagement in the area of interest, since we would very much be interested in previous experience on the fields.

2. Nomination letter from your national organization.

Deadline for application is set for 1st July. Send your application to iusy@iusy.org. **Please share widely**

Invitation to IUSY Global Seminar 2016

IUSY Global Seminar 2016 – the future of global social democracy

14-17 July 2016 – Gothenburg, Sweden

What:                      Political gathering for leadership members of IUSY MOs and SSU districts
When:                     14-17 July 2016
Where:                    Gothenburg, Sweden
Age:                         16-35 years
Size:                         1 participant per IUSY member organisation or SSU district
Deadline:                Sunday 12 June 2016 (23:59 CET)

Participant profile

Each IUSY member organisation may send one participant and each SSU district may send one participant to the seminar. These persons should hold a leadership position in their respective organisation/district, as they must be able to take back what they have gained from the seminar to their organisation/district and use the outcomes to enact change nationally or regionally.

How to apply

Participants must apply through the online registration forms by Sunday 12 June 2016 at 23:59 CET. There are separate application forms for IUSY member organisations and SSU districts.

Follow this link to complete the registration form for IUSY member organisations.

Follow this link to complete the registration form for SSU districts.

IUSY member organisations can only get one application approved after sending in application. SSU districts are only able to send one participant each. Therefore it is essential that organisations and districts agree who will be the participant rather than allowing multiple members to apply.

More information

You can view the detailed information by following this link to the full invitation. 

You can join the Facebook page for the IUSY Global Seminar 2016 here.

IUSY World Council 2015- An Equal World Is Possible

Dear Comrades,

 

We have the pleasure of inviting you to the forthcoming:

 

 

IUSY WORLD COUNCIL 2015

– An Equal World Is Possible

Yerevan, Armenia – 7th May to 10th May 2015

 

“Peace is something more than the absence of war, although some nations would be thankful for that alone today. A durable and equitable peace system requires equal development opportunities for all nations.”

    – Willy Brandt

 

2015 is an important year for the future of international development. The UN Special Summit on Sustainable Development, the UN Climate Change Conference, and the European Year for Development are just a few landmarks that will outline the work of the international community on the struggle for peace, equality and sustainable development in the upcoming years.

 

It is also the time for us to discuss together the challenges of today and tomorrow in order to propose our solutions for a more equal and fair world. Together we will make an equal world for all possible!

 

Please make sure to save this date. More information will follow in a few days.

 

We are looking forward to meeting you all again to enjoy both: fun and politics. Our hosting organization, AYF in Armenia, is happy to welcome you all in Yerevan.

 

With Socialist Regards,

 

Felipe Jeldres             Evin Incir                                 Sarkis Megerdichian

IUSY President          IUSY Secretary General       AYF Secretary General

IUSY AFRICAN (Sub-Saharan) CAPACITY BUILDING

IUSY AFRICAN CAPACITY BUILDING

IUSY Political School: Learn and Share!

 18th-22nd February 2015 – Cape Town

 

Complementary to the different regional committees, IUSY believes that one of the best ways to achieve an active and continuous strengthening of our youth organizations is to empower young people providing them with concrete and stronger tools for spreading organizational d evelopment and promotion of our values and principles.

 

In this context IUSY is now bringing to Sub-saharan Africa the youth capacity building project; IUSY Political School: Learn and Share! And we are happy to invite you to the third action of this project that will take place in South Africa with the support the Labour Party UK.

 

For more information about the activity and its content, contact the IUSY Secretariat to receive more information.

 

Please save the date of the meeting – 18th – 22nd of February 2015.

 

Each organization can send up to two participants. Please note that this activity is not specifically addressed to the leadership of the organization and that the overall group we will also ensure gender balance.

 

We kindly ask your organization to disseminate this invitation amongst your members.

 

All applications need to be sent to iusy@iusy.org by Wednesday 28th November at the latest. See registration from attached.

 

For any questions or remarks, do not hesitate to contact the IUSY Secretariat (iusy@iusy.org).

 

Best regards,

 

Felipe Jeldres                        Evin Incir                            

IUSY President                     IUSY Secretary General        

IUSY World Festival 2014

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR AN UNFORGETTABLE IUSY WORLD FESTIVAL 2014!

A week of friends, fun and politics – that is the promise the IUSY World Festival holds. This year about 1000 young activists from around the world came together on the beautiful Island of Malta.  It was an unforgettable week at the IUSY World Festival 2014 in Malta. We engaged in discussions, we experienced international solidarity, we made new friends and we did not forget about the fun. We left the Festival with new motivation, new inspiration and also a lot of new friendships.

Our thanks go to the Maltese comrades from FZL Malta 
who were a great host for the socialist youth from around the world.