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The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible – and achieve it, generation after generation.
Pearl S. Buck

Between 18 and 25, each of us must build their future and find their place in social life as active and responsible citizens. Citizens have rights and duties to contribute to the good of the community and to the unity between its members. But citizenship is not only defined in legal terms, it is also a feeling of belonging and an active involvement into community life. John Kennedy in his inaugural address said: “And so, my fellow americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.“

Today, our future is at stake at world level. The world is no longer a collection of nation states only, it became a system, a web of relationships. Changes in any one part of this system has effects on the whole as it was shown by the recent financial and economic crisis. All big current problems – the protection of the environment, the social progress, peace – cannot find sustainable solutions but at world level. Therefore, we must learn how to become citizens of the world: acting at local level while thinking at global level.

This is a huge challenge but also a set of new chances for everybody. In this new world, how to choose the best road to become agent of change and not only spectator? How and when should we start? What steps should we plan? How to get equipped for the journey?

Indaba-Network supports young adults  in developing social change projects at local community level with reference to global challenges: international and intercultural understanding, protecting the environment, showing solidarity beyond borders, education for all and sustainable development.

Every day the news shows us how cruel world we live in: earthquake in China, cyclone in Burma, hunger riots in Egypt and Haiti. Hundreds of thousands of young people are victims of AIDS, which destroys their families and threatens their lives. Tens of thousands have no resource but to work when they are 5, 8 or 12 year-old for a pittance in creepy “sweatshops”. Thousands and thousands are seeking a better life through emigrating and often find themselves “undocumented”, clandestine immigrants, chased and exploited in large European or American cities. And of course, our country is not immune to social problems: unemployment, social exclusion, poor housing …

Thousands of young people in the world, develop actions to fight against these problems and make the world a little better. You can join them ; there are many opportunities of action. We can neglect problems and crises and tell ourselves that we will have time to react, but this is the worst solution. We should rather analyze events and trends, anticipating their possible consequences, and act immediately to avoid future disasters.

TWO LEVELS OF POSSIBLE ACTION

Solidarity begins at the most local level: village, neighborhood, city. It extends, of course at national level because we have a natural feeling of solidarity with people from our country. But nowadays, the development of means of transport and communication reduces the distances. We are informed daily of what is happening in the world and we realize that no country can solve most of the problems it faces  but within the framework of international cooperation. Global solidarity is gradually becoming an inevitable reality. There are therefore different levels of solidarity.

Local action

It is primarily at local level that we can act. If we take the time to go out and explore the local situation, we quickly discover many opportunities for action:

• Providing children from disadvantaged families with school support

• Giving psychological support to elderly living in isolation

• Helping immigrant workers integrate into the mainstream society

• Helping settlers improve their housing

• Creating a playground for children in a disadvantaged area

• Voluntary service in a charity organization

• Awareness campaign for preventing youth risky behaviors (sexually transmitted diseases, alcoholism, smoking, substance abuse, road accidents, etc.).

We should resist against the temptation to invent everything from scratch. Many organisations are active in local community projects and have irreplaceable expertise. Do not hesitate to contact them: they can provide you with guidance, partnership, even opportunities of action.

International action

Previously, students were taught to see the world as a collection of nation states that only occasionally came into contact with each other. Today, the world must be seen as a web of relationships, a system of interdependence. Changes that occur in any part of the system will have effects on the whole.

Problems that affect developing countries have causes in industrialized countries and vice versa. For example in Senegal, the poultry farmers cannot sell their products because the local market has been flooded with cheap imported chicken from the European Union and the United States (see http:/www.corpwatch.org) . At the same time, European farmers are suffering from this situation because the food industry put pressure on them to buy their products at a very low price. Young Senegalese farmers who can no longer earn a living risk their lives to enter Europe illegally in search of a better future. European governments, which try to close the borders and send home illegal immigrants, do not tackle the real causes of the problem.

To counteract the harmful effects of this global interdependence, we must help people understand how the system works and develop international solidarity actions. Thus development organisations organized a dialogue between European farmers and African farmers to act together and put a pressure on their governments and on the food industry to find a solution. Developing countries do not need charity, they need justice and solidarity.

Here are some possible ways of international solidarity action:

• Develop a partnership with a group of young people from Africa or Latin America to help them carry out a development project or create a small business.

• Assist immigrant associations to support development projects in their countries.

• Support fair trade to help developing country producers to sell their products at a fair price in industrialized countries.

• Organise a work camp in Africa or Latin America to build a community school.

• Raise money to invite young people from a developing country in Europe to give a testimony on their lives and contribute to development education.

• Raise money to help young Africans pursue their studies.

• Share the life of a local community in a developing country to testify about their lives and create a solidarity movement in Europe.

There are two ways to act as local/global citizens:

1. Act directly to solve an identified problem

The first way is to engage in direct action. That is what most young people prefer to do spontaneously. A few years ago in Geneva, young people, challenged by the problem of homelessness, have decided that they could not remain passive. They raised funds in their neighborhood and transformed an old bus into a mobile restaurant. Since then, the bus travels through the city streets and distributes hot meals to homeless people.

2. Raise awareness and put pressure on decision makers

Engage in direct action is necessary and that’s good. But micro-projects have limited effect. A restaurant-bus will not solve the problem of social exclusion. After having identified a problem, it is often more effective to raise awareness among public and policy makers so that political decisions are taken. This is called ”advocacy”: we take the floor through media on behalf of those who cannot speak.

Sometimes you can mix direct action and advocacy. Thus, during the winter of 2006/2007, members of the NGO ”Children of Don Quixote” organized a citizen camp beside the canal Saint-Martin in Paris, to offer shelter to homeless. The row of colored tents installed in the city captured the imagination of the public and accelerated awareness. The Government responded by promising a new policy for the poorly housed.

Whatever the form of action chosen, it takes time to identify causes of problems. Too often, adults confine youth action at the level of symptoms and leave them in ignorance of real causes. For example, mobilizing hundreds of young people to clean up a forest or a beach from litter without any reflection on the causes of pollution.

All environmental, social, international problems, have causes that it is important to discover if one wants to become a responsible citizen. Social commitment has necessarily a political dimension.