12.09. – 15.09.2013, Niamey (Niger)
During its three day meeting the IUSY African Committee worked on three main thematic fields:
1) (Youth) political activism
2) Fields of activism
3) International activism
In the first part the participants exchanged information on their respective organizations activism, with a focus on programmatic work and (internal) political education (internal organizational structures, the practical work of their organizations and the political context they are working in). In plenary discussions the general political situation in Africa was explored. Special focus of the session was on security issues and its drivers / root causes (e.g. lack of equal opportunities / access, lack of freedom of oppression / speech / participation, lack of democratic control over resources etc). Another focus was on the recent elections in the region and putting them into perspective.
In the second part the delegates discussed different fields of activism, establishing common programmatic perspectives for the further joint work in the African Committee. The fields discussed were the following: 1) Human Rights / Equal Access / Democratic Participation; 2) Perspective for Future / Youth Unemployment / Migration; 3) Security / Migration / Regional Conflicts / Civil Wars / Challenges & Chances of countries in transition possible aspects to discuss
Under the headline ‘International Activism’ the delegates debated their concrete practical cooperation in the Committee and in IUSY. With inputs from former IUSY Vice-President Judicael Biaou (J PSD, Benin) and current IUSY Vice-President and European Coordinator Evin Incir (SSU, Sweden) the delegates discussed the value and practical implications of permanent regional and sub-regional cooperation structures.
Big thanks go to our hosting organization, the Organisation des Jeunesses du Taraya (OJT) from Niger, who did an amazing job on the ground, and to the Olof Palme Internatioal Center for their support in implementing this meeting.