Launch event of the Belgian Chairmanship of the Council of Europe
12 November 2014
Speech by Ms Johanna Mulumba,
representative of the Youth Council of the French Community
Mr Secretary-General,
Ministers,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Friends,
My name is Johanna Mulumba and I am standing here before you as international Vice
President of the Youth Council. I come from Charleroi and currently work on youth issues
in Brussels. I am delighted to be able to take the floor at the Council of Europe at the
tender age of 25.
At the end of the Second World War, Europe, darkened by unprecedented destruction and
suffering, had to overcome new challenges; two of these were crucial: reconciling the
people of Europe and, more significantly, trying to guarantee them a better future. It was
in this context that the Council of Europe was founded.
Today, 65 years later, the challenges have evolved but this desire to give everyone a
peaceful future remains the same. This concern is even more acute for young people.
Every day, we hear that "We are the future". Our politicians consider us to be extremely
important, whether at national, European or global level, and yet we are concerned.
Concerned to see the resurgence of racist, homophobic and nationalist ideologies
Concerned to see the apathy of those who govern us when faced with climate
change. We now know that infinite growth in a world with only finite natural resources is
not possible.
Concerned to see that we are currently being denied our rights:
• Access to culture is being threatened everywhere. All citizens must be allowed to
understand the workings of economic, political and also cultural power.
• Our education system has lost its role as a social ladder. Not only is education often
ineffective, it is tragically unequal.
• Health is not a commodity. We reject the idea that you have to be rich to obtain
treatment.
• A decent job is becoming a luxury. It is essential to guarantee everyone a job that
matches their aspirations and skills.
Concern is necessary but it is not enough. If the world does not run smoothly, it is not
enough just to denounce it and be outraged. We know that decreeing that a different
world is possible is not enough to make it happen. We have the duty and the realism to
work towards Utopia, as much as we do to propose a way of achieving it. As a result, the
Council of Europe provides us with tools such as the European Social Charter. It is
therefore essential that we exercise these rights!
Now that we have been given room to express ourselves, and I am very grateful for that,
and now that you have noticed that YES, young people are capable of reflection, it is time
to move onto the next stage. We have plenty of ideas and proposals for changing the
world, they constitute our ideological horizon. Unfortunately, these five minutes are not
enough for me to develop them here. In an increasingly information-saturated society, in
which speeches of hate and fear sometimes take up too much space, it is helpful to have
an overview of today’s world so we can draw up its future contours; this should be done
not BY you but WITH you.
I am pleased that we are included in the creation of youth policies, particularly those to
ensure that youth work is recognised by the 2nd Youth Work Convention. This essential
work allows young people to acquire the skills required by critical and socially responsible
active citizens, so that they can take their place in a Europe in which young people are
increasingly connected. In this respect, I would like to pay tribute to the No Hate Speech
campaign.
Young French speakers, and the speeches by my colleagues from other communities,
allow me to say young Belgians would like to see true democracy in which each person is
heard, regardless of their age. We need to offer public and financial encouragement and
support for all participation initiatives, but we also need to invest in the decision-making
bodies that can recreate the social bond and offer solutions adapted to the realities of our
lives.
Our mission is to help young people, by showing them that beyond simplistic solutions
and defeatist, alarmist speeches, there is a world to be built, and that they, or should I
say we, are here to build it!