Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the IYCW

Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the IYCW

“The day I had waited for had come. I was in front of different organizations and movements, church people, former national and international YCW leaders, families and friends. … Everything was ready. They were just waiting for me to start.” - Andy, Philippines

Manila, Philippines, August 25. It was 1:30 in the afternoon when Andy, the president of the Philippines YCW, launched the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the IYCW. Together with the Filipino national team, Andy had taken care of the planning and preparation of the event. This included the setting-up of committees in charge of the program, the presentation, the refreshments, the making of banners, streamers and placards, as well as rehearsals and finalizations.

Remembering the past, looking to the future

Naturally, the celebration was a moment to remember the foundation of the YCW as an international movement in Rome on August 25, 1957. Some former YCW members took the floor to express their support and motivate the new generation of YCWers. But the YCW is also looking to the future. The national movements which were represented there – Australia, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the Philippines – shared about their demands and actions. 50 dreams of young workers were presented, expressing what young people want for the next 50 years of struggle and action of our movement.

A representative from the May First Movement described what is happening now in the Philippines in terms of action in the social, political and economic fields. There was also a cultural show where the reality of workers was shown through dancing and singing.

The highlight of the celebration was the symbolic action in front of the Asian Social Institute, with 50 balloons and 1 big air balloon flying in the sky, showing the demands of the informal sector.

“I felt nervous”, said Andy. “I was worried about the big air balloon for I thought it might not fly. But it did. We were all looking up to the balloons as they were flying, hoping that the demands of informal workers for social protection would be achieved.”

An exchange on the informal sector

In the morning of August 25th as well as on the 26th, an informal sector exchange was organized in Manila with representatives from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, India, and Pakistan. The delegates shared about their actions, demands, means, and achievements in this sector in which they are carrying out a campaign. For instance, the problems of the pedicab drivers in the Philippines were explained, and the initiatives they take through the YCW were described. The national movements of Australia, Indonesia and Thailand are not directly involved in this campaign but they also attended the meeting and raised questions about the actions in the Asia & Pacific region.

A training session for regional leaders and fulltimers

A training session was held right after the exchange, from August 27 to September 4, with the participation of the same national movements. Its goal was to train the leaders so that they can contribute to developing the mass character of the movement in the Asia & Pacific region.

The beginning of real actions…

“The saddest aspect of any shared moment is the parting time,” said Andy. “How I wish that it should not end here! The celebration and activities have ended but it is the beginning of real actions. Thank you for the bountiful knowledge and experiences I gained not just from the activities we had but also from dealing with them. The 50th IYCW Anniversary, the training session and the informal sector exchange were successful. But above all, they offered us enough meaningful experiences to take more actions!”