Are we seeing the dawn of a global youth movement for peace and sustainable development?

If Australia is an example, the answer may be positive.

In Australia, the political landscape was changed radically in recent elections that saw young people turn out to vote in record numbers to address the issues they care about most: climate change, housing affordability and the rising cost of living. The electoral “greenslide” was made mostly of wins for seats that have the highest population of young people. 

In other countries around the world, it is the new generation that has taken the lead for social change.

In Chile, the young president Gabriel Boric won at the polls in December with historic popular support that surpasses even what the candidate’s own supporters could have imagined. In this sense, an important variable for the victory was undoubtedly the participation of young people. The youthfulness of Gabriel and the team that accompanied him in his campaign was a great asset in the face of a society tired of the same old faces, where young people had been neglected. His movement represents not only a political change, but also a generational change; there is no doubt that it accompanies a process that has been fundamentally raised in recent times by young people.

In Brazil, an army of volunteers, in just a few short weeks, have registered hundreds of thousands of first-time voters. Their nationwide drive is taking aim at youth voter apathy – and may help to boost a slipping advantage for left-wing former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as he seeks to unseat far-right President Jair Bolsonaro in October’s election. “Nobody likes Bolsonaro,” said Evelyn Santana, 17, shortly after registering to vote. “Among my friends, most people are going to vote for (Lula). They want Bolsonaro gone.” Polls show the trend holds up nationally. More than half of young people aged 15-24 prefer Lula, according to a survey by pollster Datafolha, while less than 25% of that age group back Bolsonaro.

In Colombia, Gustavo Petro’s candidature for president goes into the run-off election with the support, above all, of Colombian youth, who demand changes and an improvement in living conditions. In fact, that request was shouted for months last year in the streets of Colombia, during an unprecedented National Strike. Young people are a key demographic for Gustavo Petro, who has close to 50% support among voters in that age group. The run-off election will take place on June 19.

In France, young voters are the key to the possibilities of the Left political parties, united in a coalition named NUPES (Nouvelle Union Populaire Ecologique et Sociale) to gain power the National Assembly in elections scheduled for June 12 and 19. In this context, considerable publicity was given to a speech delivered at the prestigious AgroParisTech graduation ceremony on May 10, in which eight students said they refused to perform “destructive jobs” and called on their comrades to join the ecological struggles and to work with their hands.

In the United States, it is students who have taken the lead in responding to continued school massacres by demanding that military weapons should be banned from sale. Although President Biden has said that something should be done, the US Congress continues to be dominanted by the gun lobby. “Legislators need to keep in mind that if we can’t vote now, they need to listen because we will be able to vote eventually,” said Maddie Ahmadi, a 17-year-old advisory board member for Students Demand Action. “And if they are not hearing us and they are not passing common sense gun legislation, we are going to vote them out of office.”

And in Russia, where President Putin and the Duma legislature are pushing the war in the Ukraine and suppressing any expression of opposition, young people are the only part of the population who are against the war. In the poll taken at the beginning of March, only 29% of youth aged 18-24 supported the war, while it was supported by 60% of the general population. Time will tell if their opposition can help end the war.

Despite all of the bad news (war in Ukraine, climate change, global famine, information wars, massive migrations) and dire predictions (crash of dollar, fall of Putin, civil war in the United States, danger of World War III), can we still dream of the promised land of peace? We can only hope that the new generation will provide the leadership required to survive this perilous period of history and guide us towards a culture of peace.

As we stated in last month’s bulletin the mass media is jammed with articles about the war in Ukraine, whether Russian atrocities or Western arms being sent to expand the war.

We see our role in CPNN to provide the other side of the news, the mobilization of the peace movement.

Last month we published information from the peace movement on all sides of the conflict. This month there has been an enormous mobilization of the peace movement in Russia opposing their government’s aggression, despite censorship and despite the risks of loss of jobs, destruction of independent media and imprisonment of those who protest. This has been expressed in social media, since mainstream media is government-controlled.

A relatively complete list of Russian petitions, appeals and open letters against the war in social media is published on Google docs and we have reprinted it in CPNN along with frequent updates to overcome the censureship being imposed by the Russian government.

Those aspects of Russian culture that are world-renowned are strongly represented, including science and mathematics, information technology, chess and the arts.

Thousands of Russian scientists have signed an open letter condemning the war and saying that it “means that we, scientists, will no longer be able to do our job normally: after all, conducting scientific research is unthinkable without full cooperation with colleagues from other countries.”

Hundreds of Russian mathematicians have signed a similar open letter, saying that “our many years of efforts to strengthen the reputation of Russia as a leading mathematical center have been completely depreciated as a result of the unprovoked military aggression initiated by our country.”

Tens of thousands of Russian IT workers have signed an open letter, saying that “Progress and development of technologies for the benefit of man are impossible in conditions of war and threats to people’s lives and health, they are possible only in conditions of cooperation, diversity of points of view, information exchange and open dialogue.”

Leading Russian chess players have signed an appeal, saying, “The Ukrainian chess team is the reigning European champion, one of the best teams in the world along with ours. We played dozens of matches and hundreds of games. We have always put the game above politics – and the Ukrainians have responded to us in return. We ask you to give teams, players and ordinary people from both countries a chance for mutual respect. We are for peace. Stop the war!”

Tens of thousands of cultural figures signed an open letter against the war, saying, “the further escalation of the war will have irreparable consequences for artists and cultural workers. This will take away our last opportunities to fully work, speak out, create projects, popularize and develop culture, take away the future. Everything that has been done culturally over the past 30 years has now been jeopardized: all international ties will be broken, cultural private or public institutions will be preserved, partnerships with other countries will be suspended.”

Other aspects of deep Russian culture are also represented, including the Russian Orthodox Church and schoolteachers and the mothers of Russian soldiers.

Many priests and deacons of the Russian Orthodox Church signed an appeal to end the war, warning that “The Last Judgment awaits every person. No earthly authority, no doctors, no guards will protect you from this trial,” and “No nonviolent call for peace and an end to war should be forcibly suppressed and regarded as a violation of the law, for this is the divine commandment: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’”

Thousands of teachers from all regions of Russia signed a petition against the war but the names were withdrawn after they were threatened. However, some of the teachers who signed it describe the difficulty they face in responding to students’ questions about what is happening.

The Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers began during the Soviet war in Afghanistan as a network of locally based initiatives led by the families – principally the mothers – of soldiers to lobby the Kremlin for their safe return. They have become the main contact for tearful family members across Russia frantically tried to figure out the fate of their sons, brothers and husbands fighting in the Ukraine. And if there is one thing that can effectively counter the Kremlin’s narrative about its use of force in Ukraine, it is personal knowledge  from trusted sources of information – such as the testimony of combatants delivered to their parents. And these parents will share this knowledge with their extended family, with neighbours, with co-workers, and with friends.

A public opinion poll in Russia found 72% support for the Ukraine war in Russians over the age of 50. Their opinion is strongly influenced by state-controlled television. And this coincides with the fact that opinions about the United States and its allies, which were positive 25 years ago, have turned negative in recent years with the increasing menace cf the incorporation of Eastern Europe into NATO.

On the other hand, only 29% of Russians 18-24 years old support the war. They are more influenced by social media than by television. Hopefully, they will join with the Russian cultural figures mentioned above into a peace movement that can help bring an end to the war.

There are now so many virtual events promoting the culture of peace that we have started a new service at CPNN, listing them in advance along with their registration infomation. We list those that are free and open to the general public. In this way, CPNN readers are able to participate in the live event.

This month we have listed an average of almost one event per day coming from all regions of the world. Here is a brief summary, organized by theme.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

A lab for nonviolent action was sponsored the the US organization Pace e Bene on November 5, 12 and 19.

Nonviolence: From the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter. This year’s Mahatma Gandhi lecture was held online on November 7. The lecture now held annually for 20 years is sponsored by the Peace Studies Program and the Centre for Peace Studies at McMaster University in Canada.

Mediation and Restorative Justice was the theme in Mexico on November 27 at the Fifth Congress of the Federación Nacional De Colegios De Mediadores.

HUMAN RIGHTS

with the Palestinian people. A dozen or so French organizations hosted activists for the human rights of the Palestinian people on November 30.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

“School of democracy” was the theme of a series of conferences sponsored by the UNESCO Chair in Pamploma, Spain. On November 5, the conference featured Agusin Ruis Robledo, Professor of Consitutional Law at the University of Granada, speaking on the theme “the dceadence of parliamentarianism.” On November 12, Miguel Angel Simon spoke on “the rise of the extreme right.”

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Transformative economies. The World Social Forum on Transformative Ecoomies held a series of five programs between November 4 and 18 with specific examples from throughout Latin America.

“Creating a better world for future generations” was the theme of a web event on November 21, sponsored by the Goi Peace Foundation of Japan and featuring Dr. Jaques Attali.

WOMEN’S EQUALITY

The UN Security Council Resolution 1325 promoting the role of women in UN peacemaking was celebrated on its 20th birthday November 20 in the annual Texas (USA) symposium on Women, Peace and Security.

The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women was celebrated by the African Union Office of Youth Envoy on November 25 with a number of very high-level officials from Africa and the United Nations.

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY

Defense of the Venezuelan elections against US imperialist interference was discussed in a forum on November 18 sponsored by proggressive organizations in the US.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

Youth leading the movement against racism was the subject of a webinar sponsored by the Global Campaign for Peace Education on November 20.

Speakers addressed various culture of peace themes in the annual Global Peace Forum of Coventry Rising on November 11-13.

INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY

Analysis of the prospects for peace with the new US government.This was the theme of several internet conferences. Two were sponsored by the Stop the War Coaltion in the UK. On November 30, the speaker was Jeremy Corbyn. On November 28, there were five speaker, including a member of parliament. A similar theme,”Anti-imperialist election; Youth fight back”, was discussed on November 21 by member organizations of the United National Antiwar Coalition in the United States. Another webinar on this subject, on November 11 was sponsored by the International Peace Bureau

of nuclear war and global warming were discussed in a confeerence on November 29 by the Canadian organizations Peace Magazine and Project Save the World.

Pathways to reset international cooperation” was the theme of Geneva Peace Week that was held on line from November 2-6 sponsored by the Geneva Center for Peacebuilding. A similar theme, “inspiring cooperation on behalf of the common good”, was sponsored by the National Peace Academy of the United States on November 10.

Elimination of Nuclear Weapons was the theme of the webinar on November 2 sponsored by Unfold Zero.

CPNN readers are encouraged to regularly consult the listings contained on our webpage, and to share this information with yout friends and colleagues. Above all, participate. Participate! PARTICIPATE!