Program of the International Youth Association (IJV)
unanimously adopted at the founding congress from May 23 to 25, 2025 in Frankfurt am Main.
1. WHO WE ARE
The IJV is the organization of young people who want to work for a future worth living, regardless of their background. For a world without war, environmental destruction, exploitation and any kind of social inequality. We stand in solidarity with all those who have to fight from below in this society – whether in Germany or anywhere else in the world. This is our program.
Because we, the youth, are confronted with a multitude of problems. We see more and more wars all over the world. Instead of education and welfare, money is being spent on weapons and militarization. Our schools and universities are underfunded and more and more young people are growing up in poverty. The future after school and university is becoming increasingly uncertain. Nationalism and racism are growing from year to year. And as if all this were not enough, we see how our environment is being destroyed. In short, the prospects for a future worth living are looking worse and worse.
All these phenomena are no coincidence, but an expression of a fundamental class contradiction in our society, in which the owners of banks and corporations are appropriating the wealth that society has produced. Because they are getting richer and richer, we are getting poorer and poorer. To distract us from this reality, they want to depoliticize, isolate and divide us: through false promises such as „everyone is the architect of their own fortune“ or by blaming migrants as scapegoats for the social problems and fears for the future in Germany. But we will not be looking to blame ourselves or our classmates, fellow students, colleagues or people without jobs. But on those who benefit from our situation and the policies that make it possible!
We see that more and more young people are confronting these problems and recognizing that they have common and structural causes – that a better future can only be achieved through joint struggle! The IJV was born out of the need to strengthen this youth struggle, to tackle it in an organized and united way and to lead it where our everyday lives take place and where we directly feel the attacks from above: at school, at work, at university and in the neighbourhood. In the IJV, we want to join forces and be active together, because the problems we are fighting against have the same causes.
To this end, we are joining forces in a nationwide organization with a common political basis. This means that we do not want to limit ourselves to individual problems, but recognize the common structural cause of these problems. And it also means that we will not remain isolated as small groups in individual cities. We are joining forces from many cities across Germany. This is the only way we can develop the clout to seriously fight for a future worth living. We young people are not alone: we see ourselves as part of a larger struggle of the working class and progressive movements in Germany. That is why we, as working and learning youth, must unite with them and their struggles in order to really be able to implement our demands for a better life for all.
We cannot achieve this goal alone – we can only do it if we are organized! Join us!
WE ARE ACTIVE IN…
2. ...SCHOOLS
The shortcomings of our education system are already evident at school: classes are too large, teachers are overworked and we pupils are constantly under exam stress. Many of us find it difficult to keep up in class, as the shortage of teachers means that many lessons are canceled and our needs cannot be addressed in the rigid curricula. We can only learn from class test to class test, only to forget everything again in the end. This is a far cry from a good education – because we want to be able to learn and develop ourselves in peace, to critically examine the material we have learned, but also to experience what it means to act in solidarity and live in community. Schools must not be learning factories from which we are spit out as products for the labor market. We need an education system that focuses on us and our interests and abilities – and not on our potential workforce! That is why we reject sorting out after elementary school. We do not want to be allocated to different schools or disadvantaged on the basis of grades, background or disability. We don’t want to be „better“ than our classmates, we don’t want to be elbow to elbow, we want to learn together and have room for exchange. It shouldn’t matter whether our parents manage to help us with our homework or whether we have access to tutoring. Good education should be for everyone and help us to understand our situation, question society and act accordingly! Political engagement at schools is often restricted on the grounds of supposed „political neutrality“. In contrast, youth officers from the Bundeswehr are given free access to our school classes in order to abuse the increasing lack of prospects and promote military service.
The Bundeswehr must get out of schools! We need more and better trained teachers, pedagogical specialists, free learning materials and meals, free school trips and well-equipped classrooms!
This also includes curricula that are geared towards us and involve students. Without homework or grades! All of this requires needs-based funding.
In a school for all that we can actively help shape and with more co-determination rights for student representatives!
3. ...THE WORKPLACE
As young people, we want a future and secure employment. But our problems start with the search for an apprenticeship: many companies are cutting back on this. Once you have started an apprenticeship, you have to make do with a salary that in most cases is not enough for a self-determined life! For this reason, many of us have to take on a mini-job alongside our training. A self-determined life during an apprenticeship means not only surviving, but also being active in a sports club or being able to go to a concert. At the same time, apprentices are often used as cheap labor, even for non-training activities, instead of receiving comprehensive training. Often there is not even the security of being taken on after graduation. We need secure prospects both during and after training. For this reason, we are campaigning against precarious working conditions, which affect women and people with a migration background disproportionately often. These precarious working conditions are systematically used to play us off against our colleagues, to stir up racism and competition and to drive down wages. We’ve had enough of this kind of working world! Our employers are trying to maximize their profits from our work. By stirring up competition with colleagues in other countries and trying to worsen our working conditions as a result. However, technological progress would provide the opportunity for ever better working and living conditions for all, instead of increasing job cuts and pressure on employees. The rights we have were fought for by the international labor movement. We are campaigning against attacks on our rights, such as the 8-hour day or sick pay, and for the protection and transformation of the right to strike to a political right to strike. We will not allow ourselves to be played off against each other internationally! We need a higher level of collective bargaining coverage, which also prevents the increased exploitation of interns and school trainees, for example. We also need the prospect of a pension from which we can live well and independently in old age.
We need a real apprenticeship guarantee, a minimum training allowance and a minimum wage for everyone that is enough for a good and independent life, as well as permanent employment.
We also need good wages and working conditions as well as housing assistance, for example in the form of sufficient places in hostels for trainees.
Furthermore, we demand an expansion of co-determination in companies and a reduction in working hours with full wage and staff compensation!
4. ...AND UNIVERSITIES
Colleges and universities should be places where research, development and teaching are carried out that are useful for social progress. Instead, the aim is to ensure that we can be used for economic purposes in the quickest and most efficient way. Even before that, we are sorted out by an unfair Numerus clausus system and cannot study what we want. Children whose parents do not have a university degree find it more difficult to study. At the latest with the Bachelor-Master system, a points system has been introduced that chases us students from exam to exam and term paper to term paper in order to send us into the job market as early as possible, namely with a Bachelor’s degree. More and more students are suffering under enormous pressure to perform. Government measures are not ensuring that our universities have sufficient financial resources at their disposal. Private funding and thus private interests are exerting more and more influence on research and teaching. While we are increasingly affected by cuts in education, the door is being opened to third-party funding for research, such as military research by weapons companies. In general, research for death and destruction is also increasing in this context and the civil clause is increasingly coming under fire. At the same time, we are feeling more and more how we can no longer afford to study. The semester fees are being increased and the prices of the canteens no longer allow us to eat cheaply with our fellow students. And the rents for student accommodation have long been too expensive for most of us and there is a shortage of living space! All this while only a fraction of us students still receive BAföG and this is nowhere near enough to cover all our costs. Instead, we are forced to work for low wages in precarious jobs alongside our studies and are unable to concentrate on our studies. We often have to do unpaid compulsory internships during our studies. And it doesn’t take long after graduation before we have to pay back half of the BAföG anyway. We need a university that does research to improve our lives and where we can learn, teach and research well – instead of for profit!
We call for universities and colleges to be fully funded and independent and for a BAföG that is independent of parents and sufficient for a good and self-determined life – without repayment and time limits!
We demand collective bargaining agreements for student employees and research assistants!
We demand stable funding for student services that takes into account the needs of us students. This is why we need student control in the Studierendenwerk and the university senate as well as the promotion of student co-determination! We demand the guarantee of academic freedom, no state intervention and no political exmatriculations! A civil clause is needed at every university!
5. AGAINST WAR AND MILITARIZATION!
War means death, destruction and flight for millions of people in many parts of the world. Many of us are afraid that war could also reach Germany, because more and more money is being spent internationally on armaments and the danger of a global war is increasing. Military conflicts are already taking place in dozens of countries. The justifications often cited are self-defece or values such as „freedom“ and „democracy“. But in reality, it is all about profit interests: A handful of imperialist superpowers in our world are fighting to divide up the world among themselves. There is a system to this global struggle: in order to survive the competition, the large, internationally active corporations must secure their profits. This means that they compete with each other for markets, resources, geostrategic positions and trade routes and, in case of doubt, intervene militarily – for the profits of the corporations from their own countries. Economically and militarily weaker and dependent countries in particular are the scenes of this international competition. The countries concerned are made politically and economically dependent and exploited. The right to self-determination, i.e. the right to state and legal sovereignty, is denied to the peoples concerned.
Germany is also an imperialist power. This means that the interests of major German corporations have a decisive influence on the EU and other regions of the world. The economically weaker countries of Europe in particular are directly dominated. The German government is preparing itself to be more successful in this international competition through special funds and by increasing current spending on the Bundeswehr, and to be able to assert the position of German corporations against the competition militarily if necessary. To this end, the German economy is increasingly being re-equipped for war with these assets. More and more production sites are producing weapons instead of civilian goods. With its enormous arms exports, the German arms industry is a key sector of the economy. These weapons serve to directly or indirectly strengthen Germany’s position in the world.
To this end, war propaganda is being stepped up by the majority of political parties and the media. On the one hand, the constant threat of an allegedly imminent attack by a foreign power is conjured up and, on the other hand, the Bundeswehr’s own „weakness“ is emphasized. Yet it is precisely this armament that does not create security for us, but instead endangers our future. Germany is not concerned with defense, but with expanding its power. Rearmament and the deployment of nuclear weapons will not make Germany more secure, but a direct target of war. In order to recruit more and more soldiers, the Bundeswehr is increasingly intensifying its propaganda towards us young people. The Bundeswehr is trying to present itself in public spaces as an attractive employer where you can also contribute something for „your country“. From posters at bus stops to advertising films in cinemas and social media – everywhere in our everyday lives, we are being encouraged to sacrifice our lives for this policy in return for a paid degree and higher training salaries. Our lack of prospects and fears about the future are being misused to persuade us to serve in the armed forces. However, this also increases the internal militarization. This means that the profession of arms is being normalized and the population is being prepared for possible future wars. In addition, the state’s means of repression are being expanded, for example by further arming the police or increasing surveillance of the population.
We do not want that! We reject compulsory military service that prepares us to die as cannon fodder in their wars, as well as other compulsory services. These wars are not our wars!
Because we know: The line does not run between the peoples, but between above and below!
That is why we demand: Disarmament instead of rearmament, binding civilian clauses at universities and no advertising for the Bundeswehr in public spaces.
We demand the withdrawal of the Bundeswehr from foreign countries, a stop to arms exports and respect for the right of peoples to self-determination!
6. AGAINST NATIONALISM AND RACISM!
The shift to the right, racially motivated murders, police violence and social division are on the rise in many parts of the world. This is also the case in Germany, where the majority of parties and the media are trying to force large sections of the population behind Germany’s alleged „national“ interests. While international competition is intensifying, nationalist propaganda is becoming sharper here in Germany: „We“ in Germany, for „our“ economy or „our“ security. But if we look at the reality in Germany, we quickly see that there is no such „we“ at all. On the one hand, there are a few rich people who are increasing their wealth from year to year, while we, the young and the workers, are becoming poorer and poorer on the other. The victims of this declining social policy are not all in this country. Because it is the corporations in Germany that benefit!
To cover this up, the racist divide is being stoked more and more. This is particularly aimed at migrants, refugees and those who do not have a German passport when it is said that they are abusing social benefits or taking jobs. Most parties – regardless of whether they are in government or in opposition – use racist stereotypes to deflect attention from their responsibility for the problems in the country. They also attack the right to asylum. Refugees are disenfranchised and treated in an undignified manner in accommodation facilities. As a result, the basic rights of everyone else are increasingly being called into question.
Migrants are portrayed as the cause of social problems and exclusion and discrimination are on the rise – especially against young migrants in the education system, on the labor market or by the police. The racist divide is being used by politicians to attack our learning, working and living conditions and democratic rights. At the end of the day, this only benefits our bosses: racism is a tool to divide us workers and youth, to turn us against each other so that we don’t unite against them for our common interests regardless of our background. Racism fuels hatred, which also forms the breeding ground for racially motivated violence and right-wing terror. State institutions such as the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz) or the police are involved with right-wing terrorist groups and actively suppress attempts to clear up the situation. We therefore demand a complete investigation into right-wing terrorist violence!
All this propaganda boils down to one fact: it falsifies reality. Because there is no such „we“ in our society as they claim. The „we“ that really exists is us workers and young people who, regardless of our origins, share a common interest in good work, good education and a future worth living in Germany and around the world.
We stand against any attack on our unity. We demand the banning and consistent prosecution of right-wing terrorist and fascist organizations and groups and their propaganda.
The strongest weapon in the fight against nationalism and racism is our unity, solidarity and the common fight based on our common interests, at school, at work and at university!
7. ENVIRONMENT BEFORE PROFIT
In recent decades, climate change has become one of the defining problems for our future. The destruction of the environment is progressing and extreme weather events such as floods and droughts are increasing worldwide and in Germany. But effective measures to combat climate change and the destruction of the environment have still not been taken. On the contrary: the majority of political parties and the media have successfully managed to keep the debate on the subject to a minimum, polarize it and turn people against each other. This has diverted attention from the actual causes of climate change. An alleged threat to „our“ prosperity through measures to protect the environment is claimed. On the other hand, criticism of consumerism presents the problem as one that everyone must tackle for themselves. However, climate change and the destruction of the environment are linked to the mode of production. This is geared towards constantly maximizing the profits of a few and exploiting nature to do so. The consequences of environmental destruction and climate change are mainly passed on to the exploited and dependent countries. This must stop. We need a strong environmental movement in which working people and young people fight together for social and ecological change and oppose any polarization.
The fossil fuel industry and large agricultural corporations must be held accountable – no profits at the expense of the environment and our electricity bills!
We demand a switch to renewable energies and affordable ways to live sustainably, such as well-developed and free public transport – especially in rural areas – as well as an expansion of civil protection instead of the deployment of the German army in the interior!
8. For the Liberation of Women and a Self-Determined Life for All!
As women, we are still not free in our society. Our work, whether in the hospital, on the factory floor or in the office, proves every day that we all together keep our society running and contribute equally to it. But the oppression of women today is all the more at odds with this reality. Although the women’s movement has fought for many rights, it can still be observed today that class society keeps women in a particularly oppressed situation and profits from this.
In the family, it is women who do most of the care work in addition to paid work and are therefore doubly burdened. Instead of distributing care more evenly across society, for example through comprehensive childcare places and more affordable canteens and cafeterias, care work is shifted onto the family and therefore onto women. The role of the mother and women’s physical self-determination are also directly determined: abortions are still not part of basic medical care and the decision against motherhood is punishable by law. Women benefit from their position: As an underpaid worker on the one hand and mother and housewife in the family on the other. Women are often paid less for the same work or are forced into part-time work, which is particularly evident in the health, care and social sectors. The poor social situation all too often leads to economic dependence on partners. It makes it difficult to leave violent relationships and circumstances – in addition, there is a lack of support in the form of places in women’s shelters.
However, women are not only exposed to sexualized violence in the home, but also in public, where they are harassed and threatened. The climax of the many forms of gender-specific violence is the number of femicides, which has been rising for years. The sexualization of women, particularly evident in the still legal and normalized prostitution, reinforces objectification and degradation. We reject views that seek to portray prostitution as emancipation.
Anything that deviates from the traditional family image is still suppressed by force today. Same-sex partnerships are still devalued as „unnatural“. More and more of us are admitting that we cannot identify with the restrictive role models for men and women. However, the need to be able to shape our lives free from role models and coercion is met with discrimination, exclusion, agitation and violence against anyone who has a sexual orientation or gender identity that differs from the classic role models. Whether it is discrimination in the labor market, violence in the family or no access to necessary medical care – these problems are structural. We are therefore still a long way from a self-determined life for all!
For all these problems, it is not a solution if politics or boardrooms become a little more „diverse“. The struggle for women’s liberation and a self-determined life is a social struggle – it is not a struggle of one gender against the other, but a struggle between the bottom and the top!
We are fighting together for equal pay for equal work, the decriminalization of abortion, free contraceptives and access to more and free women’s shelters and appropriate and well-researched medical care for all!
There needs to be special protection for women in working life, for example during pregnancy or menstrual cramps – without disadvantages under labor law!
We demand the socialization of care work! For a life free from violence, coercion and oppression through role models – for everyone!
9. For a Good Life in Town and Country!
Rising rents are making it increasingly difficult for us young people to live in the city. We usually pay a large part of our income for rent just to live in apartments where the landlord avoids necessary renovation measures to save costs or passes them on to us. Housing is distributed via a market and is not designed for our needs, but for profit. This hits us particularly hard, as we often do not have a high or regular income and are therefore severely affected by the rise in rents. Many of us can’t even find an apartment. This denies us an independent life, for example to pursue a desired education or course of study. Housing is becoming artificially scarce and rents continue to rise. More and more young people are becoming homeless. We need more, affordable and good housing as well as free access to green spaces and parks! We demand a right to housing, a freeze and reduction in rents and the expropriation of real estate companies! More social housing is needed, especially for students and apprentices!
Our lives should not just consist of commuting between an overly expensive apartment and our work, university or school. A good life also includes culture, self-realization and community. However, sports clubs, cinemas and other social and cultural activities are far too expensive for many of us or are increasingly disappearing – especially for young people in eastern German states or rural areas. We need more meeting places without being forced to spend money. We also see and hear uncritical, reactionary or unattainable ideals in films, series or music far too often. We do not accept the normalization and popularization of violence and drug abuse. We want a culture that each of us can participate in and shape, independent of large production companies that are only out to make a profit anyway. A culture by us and for us. For all of this, we need appropriate spaces and offerings in our districts that are there for everyone, regardless of their budget! And sufficient funding for such offerings – especially in districts with a high proportion of migrants and poverty!
A good life also includes healthcare for young people. In addition to an inadequate healthcare system, many young people still suffer from mental illnesses, mainly due to the pressure to perform and adapt, and there is a lack of therapy places. Not only mental, but also physical impairments or disabilities make it difficult for young people to participate in social life. Not only due to inaccessible urban planning, but also discrimination in the housing and employment market and exploitation in workshops. Health must be free of charge. In contrast, we are calling for needs-oriented basic healthcare and the removal of barriers and discrimination against young people with disabilities.
10. We Take Our Future in Our Own Hands!
The IJV is the organization for all young people who want to campaign against war, armament and militarization, for better learning, working and living conditions, against nationalism and racism and against the destruction of the environment and the oppression of women.
The IJV publishes the magazine „Lautschrift“. It is edited by the federal executive committee and is the central publication of the organization. In the Lautschrift, we as pupils, apprentices, young workers and students write about all these grievances and how we are countering them. This is where the positions of the IJV are formulated and the struggles of young people in Germany and worldwide are depicted. We educate ourselves by writing articles and discussing them. In a media landscape characterized by large media companies and profit interests, we use Lautschrift to create independent journalism from the perspective of young people. In addition, the IJV issues national and local publications such as brochures, flyers and posters on relevant and current topics.
Our work takes place within an organized framework and is organized from the bottom up. The highest body of the IJV is the federal congress, which takes place regularly. Delegates are elected for the federal congress by the entire membership in their local associations. The delegates bring together the perspectives and experiences of numerous young people from different cities. At the federal congress, we discuss and determine the political direction of the organization and elect a federal board. The federal executive committee is the highest body of the IJV between the federal congresses and consists of members from different cities. It coordinates and leads the nationwide work. Our program and the nationwide resolutions are the expression of a collective discussion process in which we try to come together with as many young people as possible to discuss and participate. The program and the nationwide resolutions are binding for all local associations and we stand behind them together. Only through this political unity can we ensure the success of our work. This also applies locally, where all members of the IJV in a city form a local group. The annual general meetings take place regularly in our localities, just like the national organization. At these meetings, we evaluate and discuss the local situation and our work together as a local association, pass resolutions and, in addition to the delegates, elect a local executive committee to coordinate and manage the local work.
The IJV mainly organizes itself in base groups, in which members and those interested in the IJV come together at their school, university or as trainees and young workers, organize around everyday and concrete problems and can take up the fight for their improvement. To this end, we are also active in the district and with sporting and cultural activities and organize annual camps. We don’t wait for someone to stand up for our interests on our behalf. We strive to be active where our everyday lives take place. Because this is where we have allies in our struggles in our fellow students, colleagues, fellow students and friends! To this end, we also promote the activities of our members in the relevant interest groups, i.e. student, youth and trainee representatives and trade unions, and strengthen them where we can.
We strive to cooperate with other political forces on the basis of concrete demands, provided that these do not contradict our program or our resolutions and that we can act independently.
It takes all of us to successfully fight for a future worth living and a world without war, environmental destruction, exploitation and social inequality. Join us!
