World Youth Movement for Democracy

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Youth Movement for Democracy Founding Statement
The following is the original statement adopted at the Movement's founding in Durban in 2004. Please note that some of the organizational details have been changed in subsequent meetings of the steering committee. For the most up to date information on Youth Movement structure and organization, please consult our About and Participate pages.

Mission. We are a group of young democracy and human rights activists from around the world who have decided to come together to empower each other and with other young activists around the world, to build solidarity among ourselves, and to develop sustainable democracy and human rights movements by empowering a younger generation in democracy promotion activities.

Core Values. Gathered at the World Movement for Democracy's Third Assembly in Durban, South Africa on February 4, 2004, we committed ourselves to establish a network of young democracy activists as a youth wing of the World Movement for Democracy, a global network of democracy activists and practitioners. The Youth Movement shares the values and principles of the World Movement's Founding Statement, which was adopted at its Inaugural Assembly in New Delhi, India, in February 1999. As indicated in the Statement, we believe in the universality of democratic values and the importance of learning from others' experiences in advancing democracy, broad public participation in politics, and human rights, in particular the promotion of minority rights, while acknowledging the plurality of the forms of democracy around the world.

Focus. The Youth Movement serves as a platform for young activists to address the importance of promoting democratic values; as a means for them to share information and ideas; and as an action-oriented, solidarity movement. The Youth Movement provides a space through which young activists develop relationships with others and collaborate on activities across borders. The Youth Movement also seeks to build the capacity of young activists by deepening their knowledge of democracy issues and providing training in practical skills.

Membership.The Youth Movement's membership is open to all young democracy activists affiliated with organizations that share its objectives of promoting democratic principles, as well as those individuals and organizations that support activities of young activists and youth organizations. The following are the main areas of democracy work in which the Youth Movement members are engaged:
 •  Encouraging Youth Participation in Politics;
 •  Promoting Human Rights;
 •  Advancing the Rule of Law;
 •  Increasing Women's Political Participation and Leadership;
 •  Empowering Democratic Governance, especially at the Local Level;
 •  Educating Youth about Democratic Principles and Practices; and
 •  Promoting Youth Involvement in Policy-making Processes.

Leadership. The Youth Movement is led by a Steering Committee of no more than 10 members, representing the regions of Africa, the Americas, Asia, East and Central Europe, the Middle East, the Newly Independent States, and West Europe. The Steering Committee develops the Movement's overall strategies, prioritizes the Movement's activities, and works closely with the Movement Secretariat to raise funds for activities. The Steering Committee is gender balanced; members are elected for two-year terms by Youth Movement members at the World Movement for Democracy's biennial assemblies; no Committee members shall serve more than two terms consecutively; each member organization has one vote for each region; individual members of the Youth Movement without an affiliation shall not vote, but may be nominated and elected as members of the Committee.

Secretariat. The Movement Secretariat, which shall have a permanent coordinator, is responsible for:
 •  coordinating and facilitating communications and discussions among Movement members;
 •  providing leadership in the implementation of the Movement's activities;
 •  reaching out to new members;
 •  raising funds for activities; and,
 •  organizing annual Steering Committee meetings.

Chapters. Chapters shall be established in sub-regions and countries in which Youth Movement members exist. Working with the Secretariat, those chapters shall be responsible for coordinating Youth Movement activities and networking efforts within their respective sub-regions or countries. Chapters shall report to the Secretariat as well as to the regional representatives of the Steering Committee on a regular and consistent basis.

General Assembly. The General Assembly of the Youth Movement shall take place along side each biennial assembly of the World Movement for Democracy. The Youth Assembly shall be organized in two parts: a session devoted to a democracy issue of high relevance to youth and a session devoted to the organizational development of the Youth Movement.

The Youth Movement recognizes and welcomes the fact that despite their participation in formal Youth Movement activities, its members also participate in more informal collegial activities that may or may not become formal Youth Movement activities.

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