"Revolutionary internationalism offers the only effective response to capitalist barbarism"

How would you describe the current political situation of the working-class youth in your country today?

Working-class youth face a brutal, all-out attack on education, labor, and democratic rights. The government and the bourgeois political system prioritize profits over human lives by privatizing education and essential social goods. The tragic train collision, which killed 57 people—mostly youth—stands as the most devastating result of this policy. Simultaneously, young people endure appalling working conditions with new laws allowing for up to 13 hours of work daily, while being prepared to serve as cannon fodder for the Greek bourgeoisie, EU, NATO, and the reactionary Greece-Cyprus-Israel axis in the Eastern Mediterranean. Compounding this crisis, skyrocketing prices, inflation, housing shortages, and job insecurity continuously erode fundamental workers' rights. Meanwhile, the entire bourgeois political system actively attempts to distract the working class and youth from these structural issues. To achieve this, the system exploits the far right to mislead and divide the younger generation, diverting attention away from the real causes of their struggles.

Is the youth in your country taking action against war economy and preparation or in solidarity with Palestine?

Young people are not standing idly by in the face of this situation. Recent years have seen major struggles against the unconstitutional establishment of private universities, marked by hundreds of nationwide university occupations lasting over two months. Simultaneously, the youth and student movement fights against chronic underfunding, educational commercialization and the increasing class barriers which reject the entrance to the educational system to the working-class youth. These conditions stem directly from a war economy that prioritizes exorbitantly expensive military procurements—such as the recent three-billion-euro program linked with the murder-state of Israel—over the essential needs of youth and the working class. Furthermore, the younger generation stands at the forefront of the Palestinian solidarity movement, organizing demonstrations, internationalist actions and campaigns against university partnerships with Israeli institutions. Mass protests persist today against government policies, the ongoing dismantling of the public education system, and the Greek state’s strategic collaboration with Israel. 

From your organization’s perspective, what are the political objectives of this upcoming conference, and how can it strengthen our collective efforts?

3. We have entered a period of war, during which the capitalist crisis deepens with devastating consequences for people across the world. Already, young people in numerous countries are taking to the streets and rising in revolt. The central challenge of our era is whether this period of wars and uprisings will transform into an era of anticapitalist revolutions. Communists and revolutionaries have a decisive role to play, contributing directly to the politicization of struggles and the strengthening of revolutionary ideas. In this effort, internationalist cooperation and action are not merely important, but absolute necessities. Revolutionary internationalism offers the only effective response to spreading capitalist barbarism by uniting struggles and resistance in every country. It must be clear: A revolution in a single country may be possible, but socialism is not. The international youth conference represents a vital first step toward organizing and coordinating joint youth action throughout November and beyond.