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Local Ambassadors of Youth Attend
World Festival
By Robert E. Martin
The World Festival of Youth & Students was first held in 1947 and is the biggest international event organized by progressive and democratic youth & students geared towards sharing understandings of global problems with youth around the world.
This August the 16th
World Festival will be held in Caracas, Venezuela and draw
over 15,000 youth from over 100 countries.
Tri-County Action for Peace (TCAP) has the distinct honor of sending four young people from the Tri-County area to the Conference as U.S. Ambassadors for Peace. Amy Seaver, Todd Fillion, Erin Barlow, and Crystal Lee have all been chosen to receive the distinct honor of representing the Mid-Michigan area at the Conference.
The nine-day festival includes special
events with delegations from Japan on the anniversary of
Hiroshima/Nagasaki, a bi-lateral meeting with Vietnamese delegates on
the 13th
anniversary of the end of the Vietnam conflict, and a special meeting
with Cuban and Iraqi delegates.
Youth from nearly every country on the
globe will assert together the determination to build a world of peace,
equality, justice and dignity at the Conference. At a time when many
American youth are viewed as apathetic, the four delegates TCAP is
sending are excited to be addressing issues such as cuts in education,
soaring incarceration rates, U.S. foreign policy, stagnant low wages,
and a commitment amongst youth of the world to unite to fight against
these conditions.
Moreover, all of the local delegates are
excited that the Conference is being held in Venezuela. Delegates to the
Festival will have the extraordinary chance to be in the thick of a
revolutionary process in that country, as the people of Venezuela are
currently working for social and economic justice hand-in-hand with a
democratically elected government.
The Festival movement grew out of the
ashes of the Second World War, when thousands of youth and students
assembled in Prague, Czechoslovakia to proclaim that the youth would
never again allow the horrors of fascism to terrorize the world.
TCAP leader Mark Kraych attended
the Festival back in 1985. "At that time I was an unemployed labor
activist in Milwaukee and went over with about 300 people," he explains.
"When I arrived there were 40,000 people from all around the world
representing 150 countries sharing information and articulating common
goals about different cultures."
"The premise for the Festival is that
once you start to know other people from other countries, you realize
we're all connected. The Festival happens every 4 years, much like the
Olympics, depending upon world conditions. Each country sends a
delegation, however if a country is at war, the chances of sending a
delegation are slim. But this year Iraq is sending a delegation, even
though a war is on, so it depends upon the world climate at the time."
"I hope to learn more about Venezuela out
of this Conference," notes Amy. "A lot of progressive movements are
happening in that country right now and my goal is to learn what other
cultures think about community government."
"My chief goal is to compare views on
world issues," explains Erin. "I want to know how other cultures view
the U.S. right now, especially with the War in Iraq going on. I want to
see the world through other peoples' eyes as opposed to seeing it as a
tourist."
"I'm excited at the thought of being able
to witness the revolutionary process going on in Venezuela right now,"
comments Todd. "I hope to learn how to build coalitions between other
peace movements from other countries with youth that wants to stop the
madness that is happening now in the world."
"My interest in the Festival stems from
my interest in international aid," states Crystal. "Every country needs
things. America needs things that other countries could give us, but
because we're Americans, we don't ask for a lot. I'd like to hear from
the people of each country what their primary needs consist of and then
come back to the United States and write letters and lobby."
Given the fact that its rare to find
young Americans interested in global studies these days, what piqued
each delegate's interest in the conference?
"The War in Iraq has involved youth and
opened their eyes to what the U.S. is capable of," states Todd. "The
fact that we're living in a time of war makes me want to study past wars
in order to see the parallels. This Festival is a good way to fight back
for peace."
"My father was very interested in global
impacts when he was involved with the Union," notes Amy. "We stopped
getting the mail when the mailman started driving a foreign vehicle, so
I want to learn about working conditions in other countries."
"Through my geography classes, I realized
there is a whole world out there," comments Erin. "My desire is to find
out what we have in common and discern what areas we view differently."
"Volunteer experience galvanized me,"
explains Crystal. "At the age of 18 I worked with armed services case
workers and it was a scary experience, dealing with all the family
members of loved ones who died in war. I also researched for a school in
Mexico, which got me interested in global studies."
"My friends think I'm weird because I
care about what's going on in the world," comments Erin, "but they don't
think they can changes things, which is concurrent with all age groups."
"Nobody wants to listen to the other
side," interjects Mark, "because they think you're either for or against
the war. But I think youth today could bring people together. I see more
division among older folks. I think people are confused and we need to
talk more to get things out in the open."
The cost for sending these delegates to
the World Festival is $1,000 per person and TCAP is trying
to help them defray costs. To do that they are planning a large yard
sale at 1688 Brockway Street on July 22-23rd. If the
weather is bad, it will be rescheduled for July 29-30. People interested
in making donations should drop items off by July 20th.
Pick-ups can be arranged by phoning 989-790-8280. Monetary
donations are also encouraged. Make checks out to TCAP and note
on the bottom left corner it is for the World Festival of Youth &
Students Fund. Send to TCAP, P.O. Box 20036, Saginaw, MI 48602.
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