Together with
the adults of the Movement, the YPUW and the YU undertake international activities of
solidarity to help countries which have been stricken by poverty, by famine, by war, or by
natural catastrophes. There are around 500,000 of these young people, 200,000 of whom are
in Europe. They contribute towards the creation of a mentality of openness and sharing
among peoples, putting their cultural treasures in common and circulating their material
goods on an international level.
· A United World Fund has been created for this purpose with the sums of
money which the YPUW collect throughout the whole world in order to be able to respond to
urgent needs and to finance long-term projects. 60 projects - study scholarships, social
centres in aid of street children, etc. - have been financed in the last few years in
around fifty nations: Congo, the Philippines, Bolivia, Mexico, Peru, Bosnia, Croatia,
Iraq, Albania…
· In 1992, when Solingen, a large German industrial
city, was shaken by acts of racist violence against Turkish immigrants, the YPUW there
reacted by organising, with the assistance of the local authorities, a multicultural
concert. Each of the young people present was invited to swap address with a young person
of another nationality. These meetings went ahead and gave rise to the birth of the
"Café International", an initiative which was repeated in a dozen other German
cities, and in other countries.
· In Holland, the action conducted by members of YPUW in aid of asylum
seekers, who were housed in centres, was awarded in Strasbourg with the Prix Albert
Schweitzer 1996.
· In 1998, the "European Year of Cinema and Television"
the Youth for Unity developed a project entitled "TV for a United World" which
was sent to those responsible for private and public television networks throughout the
world. In their message they expressed their desire that television should respect the
human person and transmit positive values.
SOME INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES
1985
* 350,000 signatures for peace, presented to presidents Reagan and Gorbachov during the
USA - USSR summit meeting.
1989
* Campaign to raise awareness and solidarity in the context of continuing problems in
Lebanon.
* "Operation Eastern Europe", concrete solidarity following the fall of the
wall.
1990
* "Operation Sahel": projects against the desertification of Burkina Faso.
* The launch of the "Time Out" during the Gulf War: a moment of silence and
recollection at midday for peace in the world, and the commitment to begin by building
peace in our own environment.
United World Week
* Since 1996 the YPUW of the whole world have an annual appointment, the first week of
May. Through multiple initiatives they raise public awareness about peace, intercultural
dialogue, friendship among peoples, ecology, etc. In 1998, during a global telephonic
conference among young people from 75 countries, the YPUW from Burundi, Angola, El
Salvador, etc. gave their experiences.
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