Belarusian Young Christian Democrats
Belarusian Young Christian Democrats | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Maryna Khomich |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Headquarters | Minsk |
| Membership | 300 |
| Ideology | Christian Democrats |
| Party flag | |
 | |
Belarusian Young Christian Democrats (YCD) (Bel. Маладыя Хрысціянскія Дэмакраты (МХД)) - youth organisation of Belarus declaring democratic values. It is young people willing to promote among youth their social activity based on Christian and democratic values: youth wing of the pro-democratic Belarusian Christian Democracy party and association. YCD counts more than 300 members, mainly university graduates at the age of 16 to 31.
History of the Organization[edit]
Youth organization of the Young Christian Democrats (YCD) was founded in 2009.
The 1st founding Congress took place on 22/05/2010 [1] with participation of more than 50 delegates from all regions of Belarus as well as invited guests. The Congress elected the governing body of the YCD, approved the Statute and developed the strategy for the nearest future. Miss Lubou Kamieneva was elected as the YCD leader. National Board numbered 13 members (10 of them were from the regions).
The 2nd Congress was held on 03/11/2012.[2] 75 delegates accepted the new updated Statute, elected new Leader of the organization, Maryna Khomich, as well as set the priorities for next year and introduced plan for public campaigns.
The 3rd Congress, held on 20/10/2013,[3] summed the results of the previous year’s activities up as well as outlined the plans for 2014-2015, set main guidelines for further projects.
Main values and beliefs, political goals[edit]
The YCD stands for the following:
- sovereign law-governed and democratic state;
- creation of free civil society based on Christian and democratic values;
- Ethical, national and political rebirth of Belarus and ethical formation of a person.
Main directions of activity:
- Popularization of European democratic values among Belarusian youth;
- Integration of Belarus into EU as a protector of freedom, security and solidarity;
- Student rights protection;
- Promotion of Christian Democrats values in Belarusian society;
- Subsidiarity. Providing youth with opportunity to solve their problems in education and work places by themselves.
- Main principles of the YCD are freedom, responsibility, equality, justice, moral values and solidarity.
Activities[edit]
The YCD activity includes the following directions:
- Cultural activity: management of special events devoted to remarkable dates (The Day of the Mother tongue, Independence Day, important historic dates etc.), arranging of excursions and youth summer schools.
- Educational: leadership and team building schools, seminars for candidates of local and parliamentary elections; political, economic, journalistic schools arranged together with other youth organizations and the BCD party.
- International cooperation: making contacts and mutual events with influential political structures, organizing seminars abroad, taking part in international summer schools.
- Street rallies related to urgent for Belarus topics, such as, Freedom Day, Chernobyl Way etc.
Despite the fact that the YCD is a civic organization, it takes an active part in elections campaigns.
In 2010, the YCD nominated nearly 40 candidates for local government deputies. In 2014, there were 46 candidates from the YCD. Because of falsified elections results, no candidates took a seat in local governments. Belarusian authorities constantly violate the right for liberty of associations and disrupt democratic youth organization activities. The YCD has been thrice denied registration for political reasons. A person representing an unregistered organization in Belarus is prosecuted by a criminal law members of unregistered youth organization can be put into prison just for claiming their affiliation with independent youth organization. However, owing to rights defenders and the YCD international partners’ support, YCD continues to exist despite repressions of the members.
The YCD have great experience in campaigning among youth, collecting signatures of young people and through Internet.
Major campaigns of the YCD[edit]
Stop Spice campaign[edit]
The aim is to engage young people in a civic campaign for prevention of drug use and drug smoking, initiative of changing the law on selling and distribution of smoking drug mixture.
Activities:
- Distribution of printed materials about drug smoking in universities and schools;
- Collection of signatures under the appeal to local and national governments among youth audience (in Universities, youth clubs etc.) for changing the law;
- Flash mobs, watching videos, rallies and other activities, social networking and giving information in Mass Media;
In the result of the Stop Spice campaign, criminal responsibility for spice mixtures production and distribution was prolonged as well as responsibility for spice and other drugs use was introduced.
Belarus into the Bologna Process campaign[edit]
The aim of the campaign is to demand reforms of the Belarusian educational system and to promote joining the Bologna process through signature collection and information distribution to young people. Within the Belarus into the Bologna Process campaign, some communities were created in universities and new members joined the organization.
Freedom for Political Prisoners campaign[edit]
Special attention is given to support of young political prisoners. Within the campaign signatures were collected and informational printed materials were distributed. In the result of the campaign, more than 20,000 young people learnt about young political prisoners in Belarus, and a lot of people joined the YCD.
Initiative Save Animals against Barbarous Cruelty[edit]
The aim of the initiative is to protect animals against cruelty and sadistic killings. The initiative united indifferent citizens of Belarus, indignant with animal mass killing and tortures in Minsk and other cities as a response to administrative inaction and animals’ legal abuse. The initiative task is to demand the Law on Animal Protection being adopted. To include the following points into legislative regulation:
- Criminal responsibility for cruelty towards animals and torturing them;
- Stricter administrative responsibility for animal abuse;
- Abandoning the practice of killing homeless animals. Instead, following developed countries’ experience, it is necessary to implement interception and sterilization of animals. Sterilized homeless animals should be brought back to the place where they were captured.
At present, in the result of Save animals campaign (with the aim to introduce responsibility for animal abuse on legislature level), the law has been adopted stating the responsibility for a person abusing animals.
References[edit]
- ↑ "Адбыўся ўстаноўчы з'езд моладзевай арганізацыі БХД (фота)". Афіцыйны сайт Беларускай Хрысціянскай Дэмакратыі (БХД).
- ↑ "У Менску адбыўся ўстаноўчы зьезд ГА". Афіцыйны сайт Беларускай Хрысціянскай Дэмакратыі (БХД).
- ↑ "У Менску прайшоў з'езд МХД (фота)". Афіцыйны сайт Беларускай Хрысціянскай Дэмакратыі (БХД).
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