Declaration on the youth side of Legality

 “Many a revolution started with the actions of a few. Only 56 men signed the declaration of Independence. A few hanging together can lead a nation to change.”

 The European Forum of students for Legality was successfully conducted in the capital of Youth -Torino, Italy from 5^th-7^th December 2010. The forum was exquisite because of cultural diversity; 30 delegates from EU and non-EU countries were given unique opportunity and free space for sharing knowledge and experiences from their homelands. All the thoroughly chosen participants were active citizens already   involved in student movements and initiatives in their countries where they voiced the student’s needs for freedom of expression, students rights and equality, anti-corruption in the higher education and etc.

“Tell me and I’ll listen, show me and I’ll watch. Let me experience and I’ll learn”

  Starting point was 4^th of December. After Introduction of the project and the program, evaluation of expectations and fears, Presentation of the FLARE –Freedom, Legality and Rights in Europe, forum participants were put in motion by the FLARE Network, truly powerful body founded on June 10, 2008 at the European Parliament in Brussels and made up by civil society organizations for social struggle against mafias and transitional organized crime and composed by the  NGO’s from over 30 countries, who are active in fields such as youth promotion, fight against women and child sexual exploitation, environmental protection, human rights defense, fight against corruption, support to migrants and the refugees.

                                          

For three-day period of time the European Students were entitled the right to listen and be listened. The event Agenda included sessions on student participation and mobilization and relevantly, the participants explored and shared the experiences from their own countries and organizations, presented their group work and created strategies for advocating change, ending up with the plenary presentations. On the 7^th December students drafted principles and commitments,  summarized ideas and statements and finalized the Declaration.

 

 

“Success is determined by those whom prove the impossible, possible” 

 The successful completion of the declaration was not only students merit but also due to inspiring and informative, interesting and high-standard speeches that were made by Key Note Speakers. 

 Michele Curto – President of Flare Network shared with all the knowledge and provided students with hands-on approach about his activities, efforts, highlighted FLARE’s some highest priorities  and core concerns, assured participants that civil society has the leading role in fight against organized crime. The speech was truly inspiring, as it carried one idea- to struggle, not to surrender, as well as it suggested a number of right tools:  co-operation against the corruption, mafias, promotion of the Human rights defense at European level, starting up common projects and foremost tool mentioned by him was to exchange of good or bad practice in order to find out where the path may lead.

 Other significant speakers Milan Stefanovic from Serbia made detailed speech on the student movement against Milosevic, Andrea Spagnolo- Magister  in International  Criminal law provided youngsters with information about legal issues, Studenti indipendenti and  UniLibera conveyed much-needed information about the situation in the university of Turin.

“Good management is the art of making problems so interesting and their solutions so constructive that everyone wants to get to work and deal with them”

 Every single detail related to the forum, as well as communicating to the participants and selecting problematic issues, leading the events subsequently in the organized way was due to Nina Pavlovska and Sara Ibrahim, two people always in need and present  during pre-forum period and  the whole  forum process.

 “One with the Law is a majority” Calvin Coolidge, July 28, 1920

 The declaration was supposed to be international tool for advocacy for students rights and distributed by them to their colleagues and student organizations at their Universities. Now the task is fulfilled!   Every student felt as a part of the Flare21 Youth Platform and here is the list of the forum participants who worked under FLARE network umbrella primary for legality at the European level:

Olsi Duzha,  Dino Hrustanovic,  Yauhenia Parcheuskaya,  Evgeny Ivanov Kossev,  Petr Pribyla,  Martin Valachovic,  Nino Jajanidze,   Verena Zoppei,  Dimitris K.Katsaris,  Zlata Kharitonova,  Federico Alagna, Alessandro Valera,  Federica Livio, Ruzanna Narapetyan,  Marija Mircevska,  Roska Vrgova,  Sidonia Lucia Kula, Joanna Duda,  Ionita Diana-Adela,  Maria Gordeeva,  Damjan Andjelkovic,  Filip Balunovic, German M.Teruel Lozano,  Olov Oskarsson,  Kate Langley,  Zoia Stankovskaya.

To be specific, on the Forum the participants were thirty, but if one takes into consideration that each delegate was one from each country it turns out that back, to their homelands, they are “one with the law”, but still with the power and determination of expanding the coverage of the declaration drafted. 
 

The Forum confirmed the fact that co-operating, collaborating, communicating and simply, talking is extremely important because if two cultures talk they do not fight, and if many cultures talk a step forward is guaranteed. The forum was not a place for dispute, on the contrary it was exactly, an effort of talking between young people from different ethnic backgrounds and not only.

Let the Declaration of students for Legality be the document inspiring that “one with the Law is a majority” and a few people can lead to a change and, one day the desired result can be achieved!

  By: Nino Jajanidze