The countdown to the International Exchange and 16^th International Council of the International Young Christian Workers (IYCW) has begun.

From the 4^th to 22^nd of October 2026, young leaders of the IYCW from different continents will gather in the Philippines to share their experiences, listen to the realities of young workers around the world, assess the journey of the movement, and collectively define its orientations and priorities for the years ahead.

Taking place in a particularly complex global context, the International Exchange and the and 16^th International Council are both a call to action and a strong affirmation: together, we build tomorrow!

Today, August 25, we celebrate another year of the International Young Christian Workers movement.

For generations, young workers around the world have come together to look at their reality, to understand it, and to act to transform it.

From the beginning, the YCW has been more than an organisation. It has been a movement built by young workers themselves — young people who refuse to accept that injustice, exploitation and exclusion are simply the way things have to be.

Distinguished Chairperson, Director-General, delegates,

The International Young Christian Workers welcomes the Director-General’s report on artificial intelligence (AI) and the future of work.

The report reminds us that AI is not neutral, we are reminded that the impact it has will depend on the choices we make as societies. Technology is deepening the inequality and insecurity, but it should contribute to decent work and human dignity.

From late 2020 and throughout 2021, the easing of lockdown restrictions in the wake of the pandemic spurred a massive revival of employment in high-demand retail and service sectors. This trend not only strengthened but also broadened the commercial sector’s impact on both overall economic activity and the employability of the economically active population.

In the specific context of Venezuela, this phenomenon was reflected in an increase in domestic economic activity, driven significantly by the boom of trade, which manifested itself in the emergence of the so-called ‘bodegones’ and the rapid revival of the retail sector.

In the face of this reality, the Observatory for Dignity in Work (Observatorio para la Dignidad en el Trabajo, an initiative driven by activists from the labour and popular movements, and particularly by former members of the JOC) deems it essential to deepen our understanding and analysis of wage labour relations in these sectors.

On this May 1st, International Workers’ Day, we, the young people of the International Young Christian Workers (IYCW/JOCI), raise our voices together across the world.

We speak from our concrete realities — from factories and homes, from streets and digital platforms, from rural communities and urban neighbourhoods. We are part of a living history of more than a century of struggle, where generations of young workers have organized not only to defend the dignity of work, but to transform society through solidarity, collective action, and hope.