ACT TODAY, CHANGE TOMORROW: A NEW GENERATION OF APOSTLES SPEAKS OUT!
On Wednesday 16 July one thousand young people gathered at Luna Park in Sydney to speak out about the struggles and injustices that young students and workers face in Australia and around the world. Together they called for a ‘radical re-evaluation of our priorities' to bring about a ‘new world' of love and justice for young people worldwide.
The event that gathered these young people was Act Today, Change Tomorrow: A New Generation of Apostles Speaks Out! This youth forum was an official WYD08 Youth Festival event, hosted by the Australian Young Christian Students (YCS) and the Australian Young Christian Workers (YCW).
In the lead up to WYD08, YCS and YCW conducted the Real Life Survey , an international survey of young people's experiences and concerns which formed the basis of Act Today Change Tomorrow. The Real Life Survey involved more than 2800 young people in 46 countries. Respondents were drawn from places such as Brazil, Palestine and Uganda, as well as Australian parishes, schools, armed forces and prisons.
The findings of the Real Life Survey paint a picture of what young people most value about their lives: access to needs such as work and education; supportive relationships and communities and a sense of purpose and integrity in their lives. They also reveal young lives bound by inequality, prejudice, alienation and despair.
At Act Today Change Tomorrow, young people shared their experiences of these realities. Nalini Peries is 21 years old and is a leader in the Sri Lankan YCW. Before working for the YCW, Nalini was garment worker in a factory in Sri Lanka's ‘Free Trade Zone', where she was paid $30 USD per month and suffered restrictions on speech and toilet breaks.
‘In the society nobody respect if you say you are working in garment factory....' Nalini said to the audience of young WYD08 pilgrims. ‘People are calling these girls using words like “machine” and “garment piece”.... There are no dignities at all.'
South Australian teenager Elise Ganley, 15, also shared her own story. A member of the Australian YCS National Executive, Elise told the audience that she enjoys relative privilege as an Australian high school student but that she is shaken when she sees young people around her affected by bullying and self-harm.
Nalini and Elise are united in their conviction that all human beings have dignity and that young Catholics must themselves take action to overcome the injustices young people face.
‘Jesus has called us to do that because essentially that is what the faith is all about', says Elise.
Their views were echoed by other guest speakers, among them Bishop Eugene Hurley (Diocese of Darwin), Sarah Taylor (YCW National President) and Brother Cesar Henriquez, from Geneva-based Marist Bureau of International Solidarity.
According to YCS and YCW, advocacy is among the most powerful actions that young people can take. The two movements demonstrated this by presenting a statement of their vision and call to representatives of the Australian Church and Government.
The statement, enthusiastically supported by the young pilgrims present, stated that young people must be inspired by Christ to ‘work for social and personal transformation'. It called for young people to ‘ask critical questions, to reject consumerism, to live authentically and engage others in the struggle for love and justice.' It also to ‘collaborate with young people' and ‘stand with those denied abundance of life', and for governments to adopt policies that are equitable and sustainable.
Tony Zappia MP, who received the statement on behalf of the Federal Government, shared that he felt personally challenged and inspired by the event – as did many of the young participants. At the conclusion of the event they publically shared their ideas for actions that they could take on return to their homes, to create a more just world.
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