The Young Christian Workers of Peru, an organization of young workers present in 17 communities throughout the country and backed by 88 years of organic life, action and training, is a standard bearer of the struggle for dignified work and life for young people throughout the world. It focuses on training and education, action and the search for a critical, analytical and proactive spirit to promote the protagonism of young people in their lives, communities, schools and workplaces, starting out from their own realities.
Members of the Peruvian YCW meet every year in a forum where they can share experiences, reflect on the movement, propose strategies, and make responsible decisions to strengthen the YCW.
The Philippine Young Christian Workers-Camarines Norte successfully held their first ever Leadership and Membership Camp (LAMP2023) last May 13-14, 2023 in Masalongsalong, Mercedes, Camarines Norte. It was attended by 37 young people from different YCW base groups of the said region.
The two-day event included various activities such as camping, discussion with an expert from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), mangrove planting, social and solidarity night.
The DENR representative discussed the importance of and way of protecting our natural resources like the mountains, rivers and oceans, including the flora and fauna living on it and underneath. He emphasized that if we take care of Mother Earth, it will reciprocally take care of us.
As part of the co-responsibility between Peru and Chile, various activities are being carried out, as set out in their plan, with the aim of strengthening the organizational process, particularly in the Chile YCW.
This process, which began at the 2016 International Council, has undergone a long journey to define a strategy in line with the movements' needs and to strengthen the organization, training and action.
For Chile and Peru, co-responsibility rests on constant accompaniment based on real-life experience, meaning that young people in Peru and Chile were able to experiment in the field with how they organize themselves, develop their analysis and training, and carry out their actions. This experience was a great success for the YCW, as young activists and young people in initiation were able to better understand and strengthen their motivations and commitment to the movement. In the process, the Peruvian and Chilean YCWs found the very meaning of the YCW: solidarity, an in-depth understanding of each young person's reality, and a way of facing life through their actions.
On May 1st we celebrate International Workers' Day all over the world; we celebrate the achievements that the working class has made, the history of their struggle for better working and living conditions with dignity. A struggle that took the lives of many workers in history, and thanks to which we can live a different reality and have a better future.
Despite their sacrifices and struggle, and despite the different steps that labour laws have taken in favour of the working class, the reality of young workers remains the same and they continue to suffer from long working hours, low wages that do not compensate for their working hours, lack of access to social protection and precarious working conditions.
On Thursday 23rd February, more than 140 participants joined the webinar on “Future opportunities and challenges for the Social and Solidarity Economy” which was organized by INSPIR/WSM, RIPESS, WEIGO and the IYCW. We first discussed the future challenges for the different SSE actors (civil society, trade unions, small scale SSE collective and cooperative producers and employers, ILO and other UN institutions, states, regional bodies, local authorities). These discussions were based on the 2022 International Labour Conference’s General Conclusions and the International Labour Organization Action Plan.
First, we asked participants to define the Social and Solidarity Economy with one word. The answers were: “humanity, solidarity, democratic economy, social purpose, sharing of wealth, contributory, human centered, reparative, collective ownership, sustainable, possible, community, non-profit, economic sustainability, post-capitalist, cooperation, principles, equality, values, alternative, future, support, just, co-construction.”