Building ISR and Socialist Students in 2009

On Sunday 11 January youth activists from Socialist Students and International Socialist Resistance (ISR) from across England and Wales converged for a joint national meeting in central London.

Stephen Burrell

The opening session featured a discussion on the horrific onslaught taking place on Gaza and was introduced by Judy Beishon, editor of The Socialist.

Most of those in attendance had also taken part in the demonstration against the slaughter in Gaza the previous day, and it is an issue that has politicised and deeply angered many young people in Britain. In the session important questions were posed concerning some of the political and historical issues that underlie the conflict.

In the second session, Socialist Students national organiser Matt Dobson, outlined the likely future developments for young people, in and out of education and work.

It was raised how, with the recession unfolding before us, young people today are being defined as the 'crunch generation' with the lack of decent jobs and bleak economic prospects they face.

Youth Fight for Jobs

On this basis, ISR's newly initiated 'Youth Fight for Jobs' campaign was seen as an important step forward. It was pointed out that a big effort should be made to build for the Youth Fight for Jobs protest at the G20 meeting in London from 2 to 4 April.

The importance of developments in 2009 for Socialist Students was also emphasised, with the potential lifting of the cap on tuition fees coinciding with continued neo-liberal attacks on education.

The national demonstration being organised against fees on 25 February by different left student groups, the degradation of the National Union of Students, and most importantly the building of the Campaign to Defeat Fees, were all discussed.

The final session, introduced by ISR national organiser Ben Robinson, focused on building Socialist Students and ISR and their campaigns in 2009. This involved a lively discussion on the tasks facing the two organisations in the next period.

The meeting finished, we departed, feeling more prepared and enthused for the tasks ahead for socialists, in a time of rapid change and turmoil.

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In The Socialist 14 January 2009:

War and occupation

Stop the Israeli state terror