The 4th PERC Youth Conference

The 4th PERC Youth Conference took place on 18-19th of November in Athens. During two days the delegates from different parts of Europe are debating organising practices and are developing priorities the 2016-2017.

The 1st Conference day consisted of plenary session on Youth committee activities, a panel discussion on organising and mobilising practices for young unionists of the region, as well as group work along three topics which were pre-selected by the participants during the registration:
- young people in trade unions: role and motivation;
- campaigning for workers’ rights - communication and mobilisation;
- organising young workers: where, whom and how?
Goda Neverauskaite, the President of PERC Youth Committee reported on their activities, hurdles such as uneven communication process and lack of feedback (both from affiliates and grassroot members), ways to overcome them and results: PERC YC published a brochure on Introducing unions to Young people, gathering best creative practices of organising and mobilising youth across Europe. The detailed overview of the publication was offered by Adrienn Hangonyi, PERC YC member.

Emily Paulin presented ITUC Organising Academy, ITUC approach and Organising guidebook and highlighted the key components of successful organising strategy. She also moderated an interactive panel discussion with representatives from KTR (Russia), Nezavisnost (Serbia), GTUC (Georgia), GSEE (Greece). They talked about expectations, progress and failures in campaigns run by their organisations. Besides describing “field” organising process, the speakers mentioned efforts to make union values mainstream among young people (e.g. at KTR through involvement of artists and other creative circles, at GTUC by educating and involving students in their solidarity rallies and union marches).

There was a special session for presentations of the candidates running for the Committee where they shared their vision of the PERC YC future activities and their union background.

There were two keynote addresses by ETUC on the 2nd Conference day, by Ignacio Dorreste, ETUC Youth Coordinator and Salvatore Marra, ETUC Youth Committee President on the processes affecting youth in EU countries and ETUC position towards those. They were followed by elections.

The Conference elected new PERC Youth Committee (the 4th). It consists of:

Tatiana Marian, CNSM-Moldova, President
Jacopo Raddusa, UIL-Italy, Vice-President
Olesya Bryazgunova, KVPU, Ukraine, Vice-President
Nuray Sul, Turk-Is, Turkey, Vice-President
Tural Suleymanov, AHIK-Azerbaijan, committee member
Svetlana Esaulova, FNPR-Russia, committee member
Todor Kapitanov, KNSB-Bulgaria, committee member
Raisa Liparteliani, GTUC-Georgia, committee member
Roman Zaytsev, EAKL-Estonia, committee member

The afternoon session was to brainstorm the priorities for the work of new PERC Youth Committee in groups and present the outcomes.
This formed a long list of priorities for new 4th Youth Committee to build their work on throughout their mandate of 2 years: Solidarity and International Cooperation, Youth unemployment, Organizing, Communication and networking, Quality education for youth, Health and Safety, Energizing the Youth, just transition and climate change.

After the Conference was closed, there was a joint meeting of 3d and 4th PERC Youth Committees.