Sam Coates, co-chair was at Millbank (Conservative headquarters) yesterday, he said:

“The anger at yesterday’s protests was remarkable, especially towards the Lib Dems who have left so many students feeling betrayed and unsure where to turn next. Students have begun the fight against the Coalition’s dangerous and damaging policies. This is what you get when you condemn a whole generation to a lifetime of debt, unaffordable housing and a lack of decent jobs.

Obviously we abhor violence against people, but the events at Millbank were a totally understandable response to pent up anger of young people who feel they are being jilted at every turn. Many of the protesters at Millbank were younger college and sixth form students worried they will be priced out of university by a trebling of fees. Hundreds of people went inside the building and thousands more were cheering from the courtyard. This was a spontaneous action uniting thousands of ordinary students.“

He concluded by calling for an escalation of student protests:

“What happened yesterday generated momentum in the student movement that must be harnessed if these cuts are to be defeated and the movement escalated. We fully support direct action, occupations and other activities that utilise sensible tactics to show the Government we will not accept higher fees, and we will not accept cuts to higher education funding.

The Green Party opposes cuts to public services and is calling for investment in hundreds of thousands of green jobs to kick start a low carbon economy. With money markets desperate to buy government bonds, there is absolutely no reason to panic about Government debt in the short term. In 1945 public debt was 5 times greater than today and our grandparents managed to build the welfare state. The Tories have always tried to argue that we cannot afford decent education, health and housing, and they’ve been proved wrong every time.“

For more info contact Sam Coates sam.coates@walesgreenparty.org.uk or +44 (0)7590008249

Alternattiva Demokratika Zghazagh praised the words of Dr Carabott (GU Clinic) who said “The role of an education programme should be to teach students to live their sexuality in a mature way. Sexuality is more than sex. There is no harm in teaching them about contraception but students should be given all the information: how safe, how unsafe and the health hazards.”

ADZ spokesperson Dirk Urpani added “It is irresponsible of Grech to accuse the education system of being abusive to students for educating them on the theme of contraception. Malta is among the countries with the highest teenage pregnancy rate. And this is only one side of the coin since sexually transmitted diseases among youth are also on the rise among youths in the Maltese Islands, Clearly more education needs to take place with regards educating youths to use contraception.”

It is the responsibility of the state to include the theme of sexuality in the educative system since sexual health is part of youth development. Currently sex education includes information on contraception as well as other themes such STDs, self-respect, and other themes on sexuality which may not necessarily be directly reflecting the theme of sexual intercourse. Accusing teachers of abuse shows a lack of understanding of the positive educational experience in schools around Malta and Gozo.

ADZ – Green Youth Malta

With her latest announcements at a congress of Junge Union, the Youth organisation of CDU/CSU in Germany, Angela Merkel has shown her lack of insight into the reality of the German society. Germany is and has already been for a long time a multicultural country. Once again in history, it is apparent that the concept of German “Leitkultur” has failed. Nobody really knows what it means, but “Leitkultur” as a term is frequently used in the discussion in order to pretend that there is such a thing like a German culture.

With this statement Merkel gets involved in an absolute aimless debate about integration that is taking place in Germany at the moment. Merkel is obviously trying to show that the Christian Democrats are still the “right” choice for racists. Her xenophobic rhetoric is leading nowhere in the current debate on integration of “foreigners” in Germany and just links in with the many racist stereotypes that are still reproduced in German society.

The French Young Greens and the Federation of Young European Greens (FYEG) support this ongoing mobilisation in France which may have implications throughout Europe. Facing the economic crisis and budget restriction requirements, many governments are trying to curb social standards. Together with the French Young Greens and the youth collective RAJE (la Retraite est aussi une Affaire de JEunes – Pension also concerns Youth), FYEG denounces the attack made on the poorest, youth and women.

Rising the age of pension cannot be a solution until a problem is found to unemployment. In France, unemployment in the age group 18-30 years old has risen to 25%, more than 35% in poor districts and more than 50% in some Ultra-Peripherical Regions! The level of unemployment is also detrimental to women (part-time, maternity leaves) whom level of pension is already 38% under the level of men.

What’s more, no step can be undertaken towards a reform of the pension system without changing our conception of work: to take into account internships, social activities (NGO, political parties, volunteering or sports) or any other activity that is useful to the society without bringing remuneration as a necessary step towards a more equalitarian society. The length of studies rising as well, it should be included into the point counting for the pensions.

The strikers make another statement: the financial situation does not entirely justify the current reform. Almost 10% of millionaires live in France, which means 2,2 million out of 66 million inhabitants. The contribution of the richest to the social system has been diminishing for years and no new taxes or financial tools (tax on financial flows or carbon tax) have been created to fund the fight against growing inequalities.

And while Nicolas Sarkozy estimates that he can ‘control the situation until the youth get mobilised’, the Young European Greens alert him: in universities, high-schools and beyond, the atmosphere is heating up!

The Young Greens, the youth branch of the Green Party of England and Wales, has condemned the recommendations of the Browne Review which call for the cap on tuition fees to be scrapped. They expressed concern that UK institutions may soon be charging the highest level of fees in the world, as universities such as Oxford and Cambridge compete with U.S. Ivy league institutions.

Charlotte Dingle, co-chair of the Young Greens said: “The UK already charges some of the highest fees in the EU (1). Now we’re looking at the highest in the world with the adoption of this free-market system. This will likely lead to a two tier system – one for the rich in elite universities, and a race to the bottom for the rest.”

She outlined the need to view higher education as a public good and of benefit to society as a whole, rather than being viewed merely as improving employment prospects for individual students:

“We believe education must be free, equally accessible to all, ideologically independent and of high quality as well as meeting the individual developmental needs of each student. Browne’s recommendations undermine these principles, as students from low-income households will be put off by debt. Rather than widening access to university, these proposals will make our already unfair system more elitist.

The only way to ensure an equitable system is to scrap tuition fees altogether, funding higher education through increased taxation on top earners. That way, those who benefit most from higher education pay towards the cost without saddling all students with crippling debts at a time when jobs are scarce and housing costs are spiralling out of control. The Green Party is now unique in supporting free education for all.

But it’s not just the coalition government who are responsible for this. The Labour party also need to accept their share of responsibility for the position students now find themselves in. It was Labour who introduced fees, and their failure to argue that a highly educated society benefits everyone means we now have to fight against this hike.

Young Greens are supporting the National Union of Student’s demonstration against cuts to higher education funding in London next month, and we encourage all students to join this protest.”

ENDS

Notes: The Young Greens are holding their annual Convention in London on 23-24th October, where activists from across the UK will be planning a campaign against the Government’s cuts to public spending, highlighting how these will hit young people particularly hard. For more information go to http://younggreens.org.uk

References: (1) Education at a Glance 2010: OECD Indicators http://www.oecd.org/document/35/0,3343,en_2649_39263238_45897844_1_1_1_37455,00.html

You will be able to follow FYEG activity in the council in this blog and on facebook! Give us your inputs!

Serbian Green Youth said: “We see Pride as an important civil protest
which will continue to raise awareness and increase understanding of
the LGBTQ community. We hope this will help in ending the long history
of discrimination and often violence the LGBTQ community has suffered.
Pride will no doubt inspire debates and dialog which we consider a
positive aspect of this protest. But we call for all people to be
tolerant and understanding in their discussions and not resort to any
kind of violence.”

However, FYEG is concerned that tolerance may not be respected: “The
Belgrade authorities must guarantee the safety of all participants of
this protest. On previous occasions this has not been the case with
some people abusing their positions of authority by provoking a hostile
reaction to the Pride. This is totally unacceptable and cannot continue
in a free and fair society.”

Sympathetic citizens hope to demonstrate their support and help
confront the misinformation and fear surrounding this event. Serbian
Green Youth said: “We see this as a great oportunity to create a better
understanding of the many differences which exist and hope these can be
seen not as problems but as something to be celebrated.”

Julija Basic
SGY Co-spokesperson

Delfina Rossi
FYEG Co-spokesperson

Sebastian Power
FYEG Co-spokesperson

Nikola Mladenovic
SGY Co-spokesperson

FYEG congratulates Brazilian greens as well as young greens, who participated in a strong campaign and reached a clear compromise to build a green future for Brazilians.

FYEG also feels happy that the majority of the votes went to two women: Workers Party candidate Dilma Rousseff and Marina da Silva. Concretely, centre-left candidate Jose Serra, the Social Democratic former governor of Sao Paulo state, got the 33% of the votes, and Lula’s candidate Dilma Rousseff got 48%. Ms Silvan  was the third-place candidate, with 19% share of the ballots, which was far higher than the 14% forecast for her.

The run-off will take place on the 31st of October between Dilma Rousseff and José Serra.

More information about Marina da Silva: http://marinadasilva.com/