Political Declaration of the Youth Articulation Meeting in Indonesia - Via-info-en

14 Jun 2023


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Political Declaration of the Youth Articulation Meeting in Indonesia
Bagnolet | June 13, 2023
We, the peasant youth delegates of Asia, Africa, the Americas, the 
Caribbean, and Europe of La Via Campesina gathered at the International 
Youth Articulation Meeting in Banten, Indonesia from 29 May to 2 June, 
2023. Dozens of us traveled from our communities to strengthen our 
relationships, prepare for the VIII Conference and our 5th international 
youth assembly, develop a collective strategic action plan, and 
ultimately, demonstrate our commitment to La Via Campesina.
United in our diversity, during our time together we shared common 
challenges, strategized about alternatives together, and committed 
ourselves to carry forward collective proposals in a spirit of 
solidarity, internationalism and systemic transformation. We reflected 
on our respective regional processes, concerns, and dynamics in the 
framework of the common struggle for food sovereignty and the fight for 
peasants’ rights.
We recognize the significance of connecting not only with our cultural 
roots, but to learn from and with senior members of our organizations 
and communities to bring their experiences and wisdom to our current 
struggles. We understand the importance of walking hand in hand with the 
goal of expanding our bases, reaching those fighting capitalism, 
imperialism, and colonization on different fronts, and forging alliances 
with other youth movements. Together, we will strive for a world built 
on solidarity, human dignity, and social justice, amplifying our 
presence in all the spaces where we fight.
Today, more than ever, we are convinced that peasant agroecology, 
peasants’ rights, and Popular Peasant Feminism, are critical pathways 
towards food sovereignty and climate justice.
With strength and unwavering passion, during our time together in Banten 
we outlined our course of action to confront the challenges of our time. 
We stand in solidarity with the struggles for food sovereignty and 
commit ourselves to advancing our political priorities for the 
empowerment of our movement. Additionally, we pledge to intensify our 
fight against the climate crisis and engage in profound discussions 
about agricultural systems and new technologies, emphasizing the primacy 
of agriculture for and by peasants, including the preservation of 
biodiversity and the integration of indigenous technological knowledge 
(ITK). Crucially, we came to clear understanding that the crisis of 
generational renewal in agriculture is global in scope. Both our 
organizations and the countryside are suffering from the increasing lack 
of young peasant farmers. Land grabbing, free trade agreements, and a 
lack of access to markets and financial resources, among others, were 
identified as critical causes of youth flight from agriculture.
Simultaneously, we are observing a phenomenon of forced youth migration, 
as they are compelled to depart from their countries and enter the 
workforce as exploited cheap labor within the agribusiness sector. We 
stand in solidarity with migrants, and we commit to expanding the 
mobilization of young peasants within our communities by asserting our 
rights protected under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of 
Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP 
https://viacampesina.org/en/tag/undrop-booklet-2022/). We believe that 
young peasants are the future of food, but we need drastic systemic 
change to ensure there are adequate resources and support to guarantee 
dignified livelihoods in agriculture for us and the next generations.
We, the peasant youth, possess the determination to change the world. We 
are the agents of a vibrant future, wielding the collective power to 
dismantle existing systems and propel society forward. We dare to dream 
of utopia, to strive for what may seem impossible, to nurture 
revolutionary aspirations for a just and equitable world. We cultivate 
radical hope, as we strive , fight, and emerge as the heralds of 
tomorrow. Now is the time to infuse our movement with joy and creativity 
and share our visions and solutions far and wide. We possess the 
potential to be the turning point, shaping the future of the world and 
society.
United, we stand against converging forces of hegemonic food systems: 
patriarchal capitalism, authoritarian governments, and multinational 
corporations . These neo-colonizers and capitalists, shielded by their 
wealth from the realities of the world, will not listen to us. But this 
shouldn’t discourage us: we must create the alternative systems we seek 
to live in. To do so, we must be organized, disciplined, and committed 
to expanding our movement and carry our collective goals. Let our voices 
reverberate across the planet, reaching every corner.
To achieve food sovereignty across scales, the youth must embrace 
farming and political organization dynamics, prioritize peasants’ 
rights, climate justice, peasant agroecology, seed sovereignty, and 
generational renewal in agriculture, as the cornerstones of our 
discourse. In order to achieve political and systemic goals, we must be 
organized. During our gathering, we committed to specific tasks related 
to communicating our struggles, developing political education 
strategies, and strengthening our organizational structures. Over the 
next four years we will work together and hold ourselves accountable to 
implementing the action plan that we created collectively.
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*Unity in diversity, youth peasants change the world!*
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