Adam Powell-Davies, Socialist Students national chair

Ahead of the Young Greens Convention which took place on the 18-19 July, Socialist Students sent the following letter to the outgoing Young Greens co-chairs and Executive Committee, inviting the Young Greens to join the campaign for a day of international youth walkouts and mobilisations on Friday 20 November under the slogan, ‘Fight for our futures, not their wars!’

Socialist Students also produced the letter as a leaflet, which our members took along to the Young Greens Convention as a way of opening up discussion with Young Greens members about the 20 November campaign. Socialist Students members in the Green Party attended the convention and also helped to raise the international youth walkouts inside the conference.

Unfortunately, members of the outgoing Young Greens Executive asked venue security to move us on shortly after we set up our stall. But we were still able to have discussions with a big portion of attendees from the public pavement outside the venue, where we met overwhelming enthusiasm for the idea of the international youth walkouts. Socialist Students plans to re-circulate our letter to the newly elected Young Greens co-chairs and Executive Committee.

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Socialist Students letter to Young Greens

We are writing to invite Young Greens to help build for an international day of youth walkouts against war and militarisation on Friday 20 November under the slogan, ‘Fight for our futures, not their wars!’

The call for a 20 November international youth strike under this slogan was issued by a Europe-wide assembly of anti-war youth and student organisations held in Cologne, Germany, last month. The international youth strike so far has support from more than twenty youth and student organisations across a dozen countries in Europe, from youth sections of left-wing political parties to national student unions and independent socialist youth organisations.

Socialist Students members attended the Cologne assembly as representatives from Britain. At the meeting of our national steering committee last week, we agreed to build for the biggest possible day of youth walkouts on 20 November, including by appealing to other anti-war youth organisations in Britain to join the campaign.

As the largest youth section of any political party in Britain, with over 50,000 members across England and Wales, we hope that Young Greens will throw its significant potential weight behind the international youth strike. We know that many young people have either joined or are looking towards the Green Party as a means of transforming society – for a future free of war, climate breakdown and constant insecurity. But we think that what is also needed is bold, socialist action to get all those young people organised in the fight for that alternative.

Seize moment and take lead

We therefore appeal to the Young Greens to seize this moment and take a lead in building for the 20 November international youth strike. Coinciding with the final scheduled date of this year’s COP Conference in Turkey – where the world’s elites will yet again get together for a talking shop on climate change – 20 November is a major opportunity to raise the level of organisation and confidence of young people to fight for our futures in this new world era of capitalist conflict and instability. It would also be a chance to ensure that the Green Party in England and Wales is committed to mobilising against war – and not, for instance, going down the road of the German Greens, who unfortunately instead helped to push through massive increases in military spending as part of a federal coalition government there.

We are hoping that your Convention, taking place in London this weekend, could discuss the possibility of Young Greens committing to build the international youth strike on November 20. And if Young Greens were to commit to the international youth walkouts, Socialist Students would welcome further discussion on how our organisations could best coordinate at a local level – e.g. hosting joint open meetings between Socialist Students societies and Young Greens groups on how best to build the walkouts and ‘fight for our futures, not their wars’ etc.

We look forward to your reply.