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Solidarity Appeal

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Dear Friends,

Warm greetings of solidarity!

From 4 to 22 October 2026, young worker leaders from different continents will gather in the Philippines to reflect on the journey of the movement, listen to the realities of young workers around the world, evaluate our collective actions, and define the orientations and priorities for the years ahead.

Through this letter we call for support and your solidarity to help and finance the participation of some leaders at the International Exchange and 16^th International Council of the International Young Christian Workers (IYCW).

We are living in a period marked by profound geopolitical upheavals. Fundamental human rights, the achievements of the labour movement, international law, and the rules-based global order are increasingly under threat. Military spending continues to absorb resources that are urgently needed for the humane and sustainable development of our societies.

Beyond this unstable global context, young workers today face growing challenges: high levels of informal and precarious employment, persistent gender inequality, exclusion from decision-making spaces, and the disproportionate impacts of climate and economic crises.

In response, the YCW remains firmly committed to its mission: to raise awareness, organise young workers, and empower them to transform their realities.

In this spirit,

The International Exchange and 16^th International Council of the International Young Christian Workers are key moments in the life of the movement. It provides a structured and participatory space for young leaders to analyse their realities, define common strategies, and strengthen international solidarity and advocacy. This Council is more than a meeting — it is a decisive step forward after our centenary, shaping the future of the YCW in a world where young workers face increasing precarity, inequality, and exclusion.

Seventy young worker leaders from around 40 countries will come together to evaluate the International Plan of Action 2022–2026 and define the new global direction for 2026–2030.

Through YCW, young people learned leadership, solidarity, faith in action, and a deep commitment to justice. International encounters helped shape their consciousness and understanding of the reality.

We warmly invite you to contribute to the International Exchange and 16^th International Council of the International Young Christian Workers (IYCW). Your support will help cover:

Travel costs for participants, especially those facing financial difficulties
Accommodation and meals
Interpretation and communication
Formation materials
Preparation of the new International Plan of Action 2026–2030

Every contribution is an act of solidarity. Every gift helps build the future of the movement we cherish. The voices of young workers from every continent are important. Their experiences, realities and actions are an essential part of the international reflection. This situation reminds us of something fundamental about our movement: international participation cannot depend only on financial capacity.

As we move beyond 100 years of YCW, let us not only honour its past — let us actively invest in its future and strengthen young leaders’ action from the grassroots to the international level.

How to support?

You can support the IYCW-JOCI through the official international account:

Name: JOC Internationale aisbl

Bank Account Number: BE 50 0682 2908 4018

BIC: GKCCBEBB

Bank Name: Belfius Bank

If you would like to contribute specifically to the current fundraising appeal for African delegates, you can also support the dedicated “Empower African Young Workers Reach the IYCW World Council” campaign by clicking here. Fundraiser by IYCW JOCI : Empower African Young Workers Reach the IYCW World Council

In solidarity and gratitude,

IYCW International Secretariat and International team

About the International Cardijn Association

The International Cardijn Association (ICA) is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to serve the present and future generations of young workers throughout the world.

Officially created in September 1998 on the initiative of the International YCW, the ICA mission is to provide financial support to the projects implemented by young workers in order to improve their capacities to take responsibilities and to change their living and working conditions. In this direction those young people can find the place they deserve in society and the dignity inherent in all human beings.

Throughout his life, Cardijn, who founded the International YCW in 1957, never ceased to disseminate his message that “Each young worker is worth more than all the gold in the world.” Convinced that this message is still true today, the ICA wants to help young people – apprentices or unemployed, domestic workers, workers in the informal economy, casual workers, those exploited in export-processing zones, those excluded from society – to carry out projects which will allow them to live with dignity.

For its functioning, the ICA relies on a team of volunteers who are involved in raising funds. Those funds come from donations by people or movements wishing to support a just cause: that of young workers. The capital is invested ethically and the interests are used to fund projects which are initiated by movements or groups of young workers who struggle to change their living and working conditions. Decent jobs, reasonable working hours, adequate salaries, weekly day-offs, the eradication of sexual and moral harassment, social protection for all … are the focus of the struggle to be carried out in a globalized world, where human beings often feel powerless when faced with walls of injustice.

By providing financial support to young workers’ projects, the ICA simply wants to contribute to building a society with more justice and a world with more solidarity.