European Christian Political Youth Network

Statement on the leader of the Moldovan Christian-Democrats, Iurie Rosca.

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:55:08 +0100

The European Christian Political Movement (ECPM) is concerned about the latest proceedings against the leader of the Moldovan Christian-Democrats, Iurie Rosca.

Moldovan prosecutors have reopened two criminal cases that date from 2002 when the Opposition leader Iurie Rosca was active during peaceful antigovernment demonstrations. These protests were aimed against the antidemocratic practices of the former ruling communist Party in Moldova.

Due to the intervention of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament, the persecutions were renounced and the criminal cases against leaders of the opposition in Moldova were dropped. Now again cases against the leader of the PPCD were reopened.

The ECPM hopes that this case is not brought up based on political motives and that the Moldovan government will work towards a more democratic and prosperous society based on the values which the ECPM and the European Union stand for: justice, freedom, democracy, peace and reconciliation.

We regard the present situation as a good test to see if we can count on the good faith and willingness of the new government of Moldova that these cases are dealt by the responsible institutions with discernment, care, objectiveness and accuracy and not guided by political motives. Independency of justice in Moldova is of utmost importance, not only regarding to these cases, but also in the long road that is ahead in regaining the trust both in the governmental institutes as well as in an independent juridical system.

ECPM regards Moldovan Christian-Democrats as an important factor in developing and promoting Christian-Democratic values in Moldova and Eastern Europe and because of this, we will follow and monitor this situation closely to assure that the main principles of righteousness and justice will prevail.

ECPYN present at Youth Leadership Forum Boris Trajkovski Foundation

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:43:39 +0100

ECPYN vice-secretary Auke Minnema was present at the Youth Leadership Forum of the Boris Trajkovski International Foundation in Skopje, Macedonia, February 27. At this forum with the Theme "Facing the challenges - The values of communication" he gave a workshop and led a discussion.

The workshop was about communication in politics. Young people can change society, when they communicate in a clear and creative way. The discussion was about how to do that in the Macedonian society.

The Boris Trajkovski International Foundation was founded by the wife of the former president of Macedonia, Boris Trajkovski. The mission of the Foundation is to carry on the legacy of the late President Boris Trajkovski by promoting, within Macedonia and beyond, four key tenets: peace, reconciliation and understanding; education; the principles of the free market economy; civil society and good governance. Every year they organize a forum in remembrance of the death of Baris Trajkovski.

Pictures of the Youth Leadership Forum can be finde here.

ECPM receives official status from the European Parliament

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:23:20 +0100

The European Christian Political Movement (ECPM) has been granted an official status at the European level by the European Parliament. This official recognition means that the ECPM will receive funding from the European Parliament. With this funding the ECPM can develop into an even larger forum for Christian-democratic parties and politicians.

The organisation was officially registered in 2005 and already counts more than 20 members from more than 15 European countries. Now it has taken another step to ensure it’s further impact and growth. Chairman Peeter Võsu (Estonia) is very positive about the official status: “The ECPM meets all the requirements for this status and this clearly shows the growing relevance of our movement.”

With the official status and the funding from Brussels the ECPM aims to become more visible in European politics and to become active in the European political debates. With its distinctive Christian-democratic profile, the ECPM is certain that it can offer constructive new ideas for the future of Europe.

The European Christian Political Movement has been growing very rapidly in the last few years. The main reason for this growth is clear, according to Võsu: “We could never have grown so fast if there was not such a need in European countries for our ideas, it is clear that many people in Europe are convinced that Christian values matter!”

Although the ECPM is not a group in the European Parliament, it is now one of the ten organisations that have been awarded this special status. Other organisations that have this status include the European People’s Party (EPP) and the Party of European Socialists (PES).

“The recognition by the European Parliament is very interesting for the dynamics in European politics,” according to vice-chairman Kris Vleugels (Belgium). He claims that the ECPM is really unique because the European Christian Political Movement is not a competitor to any European group in the European Parliament. “Instead,” Vleugels says, “the ECPM wants to cooperate with all parties and politicians who share our values!”

This position points out the unique philosophy of the organisation; uniting parties and politicians around Christian values, regardless of party colours. “This way of thinking opens many opportunities for constructive cooperation in national and European politics which will benefit the people of Europe” concludes Peeter Võsu.

The ECPM will celebrate this milestone during the next Members Congress that will take place in Brussels in the end of May.

For more information contact Guido van Beusekom (general-secretary): office@ecpm.info

ECPYN secretary Jonathan van Tongeren married!

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:19:22 +0100

On february 18, ECPYN secretary general Jonathan van Tongeren married Janneke Dral. The board and members of ECPYN wish him and his wife a long and happy life together and God's blessing in there marriage.

On behalf of the board, vice-secretary Auke Minnema was present and brought the good wishes to the couple personally.

Swiss JEVP president visits The Netherlands

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 18:17:53 +0100

Sara Fritz, JEVP president from Switzerland visited The Netherlands on february 16th - 17th. She had a meeting with members of PerspectieF and the Christian Union.

On Tuesday, she visited the Dutch parliament where she had a lunch meeting with ChrisitanUnion MP Esmé Wiegman. PerspectieF (youth of the Christian Union) boardmember of international affairs Niels Kruithof was present as well. They talked about Christian Politics and Swiss-Dutch relations.

On Wednesday, she had a meeting with IJmert Muilwijk, president of PerspectieF. In this meeting, they discussed about practical situations in Youth organisation and relations with the mother party.

Sara Fritz (left) and IJmert Muilwijk (right)

Sara Fritz (left) and Auke Minnema (ECPYN vice-secretary, right)

Swiss Christians about the minaret ban

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 10:00:00 +0100

In november of 2009 a majority of 57,5 % of Swiss voters voted in favour of a constitutional ban on the construction of further minarets. Many people hastily commented on the controversial issue. Now that the dust has settled ECPYN asks representatives of its Swiss member organisations how they voted and why.

Below are two commentaries about the minaret ban. The first one is from a member of the Young Federal Democratic Union (JEDU), who voted in favour of the minaret ban. The Federal Democratic Union was one of the parties that proposed the minaret ban. The second one is from two members of the Young Evangelical People's Party (*jevp), who voted against the minaret ban.

Why I voted Yes to the ban of minarets in Switzerland

By Samuel Kullmann, JEDU (Young Federal Democratic Union), student of political science

It is not often that a popular vote in my country makes the headlines of major newspapers all over the world. With the constitutional ban of minarets Switzerland stirred up huge debates and emotions, especially in Europe where many countries are faced with tensions within their society that reflect scepticism about Islam, or what some people make of it. The result of the vote flew in the face of previous polls and came as a big surprise to most. However, the reactions of Muslims to the vote could not be compared to the controversy around the Muhammed cartoons in Denmark.

Clearly, it is difficult to point out a single reason that led to this result. I believe that the following few factors played a role together:

There have been a number of minor political scandals when our government made very controversial deals with the Lybian dictator Qhaddafi or Iran’s “president” Ahmadinejad. So some voters may very well have voted “yes” in protest believing that Switzerland should take a tougher stand towards radical Islamism and such dictatorships.
From different conversations with voters I heard that personal negative experiences with Muslims have led some to vote “yes”. As in most European countries it is no secret that such tensions do exist and that where integration of foreigners fails, locals may react negatively in different ways.
For many the vote was an opportunity to express their outrage about the atrocities of radical Islam by prohibiting the construction of what many perceive to be the very symbol of Islamism. Even some socialists and others who opposed the constitutional ban said that they would oppose minarets at the local level.
Shortly before the popular vote there have been news reports about illegal prayer calls of the Muezzin in some German towns. Although the minaret ban would certainly not solve all integration problems this was one problem that it would solve.
Many asylum seekers of Christian minorities in the Arab world, ex-Muslims and even some Muslims I know supported the minaret ban because they were afraid of the spread of a radical Islam.
Some leaders or Albanians (a big minority in Switzerland) supported the ban arguing that minarets were an obstacle to integration and fostered the formation of ghettos.
Shortly before the vote a well-known radical feminist rallied her supporters behind the ban.
Finally, the initiators of the popular vote clearly stated that the vote would not be against Muslims, against the construction of mosques or against the freedom to practice ones religion. This cleared the way for those who highly value freedom of religion but at the same time felt it to be necessary to set a symbolic boundary to the spread of a radical Islam.

Unfortunately, the way some campaigns were conducted did not only contribute to important discussions (of which there were numerous) but also stirred up hatred towards Muslims in some people. As for me it was very important to have factual conversations and a right attitude towards Muslims in the whole discussion that became too emotional. I supported the ban of minarets because I found it to be an important message towards almost all Islamic countries that spurn basic human rights in the name of Islam. A message that does not say “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” but rather: “we do gladly grant freedom of belief, conviction and religion to believers of all faiths but as long as fundamental human rights are trampled over in most Islamic states we need to protest against the further construction of such visual power displays of a political Islam.”

Why we voted No to the ban of minarets in Switzerland

By Mirja Zimmermann-Oswald, student of theology and Dominic Roser, philosopher and economist, *jevp (Young Evangelical People's Party)

We are very concerned about the things which recently happened in Switzerland. As you know we voted on an article in our constitution: a prohibition to build minarets. The Swiss people said yes to this prohibition. Why are we concerned about the result of this vote and why did the *jevp oppose this prohibition?

We are concerned about...

We are worried because of the attitude which brought many people to this kind of decision. A lot of hate and hostility can be witnessed. Hate against Muslims and also fear of them. There is fear because of the shariah, forced marriages, the circumcision of girls and, and, and... happening in parts of the world, where Islamistic people practice a radical form of Islam. We hoped to show that there is a difference between liberal Muslims and radical Islamists. But most of the people didn't make such a difference.

We had the opportunity to show more respect for Muslims but we missed it. We could have shown that there are ways to live door to door with each other in peace. We could have been heroes of freedom since we believe freedom of worship to be a tremendously important good. And we should not forget that in the past religious freedom has also served Christians (for example the puritans who emigrated to the USA).

We forgot that we as Christians are a minority, too. It should definitely give us reason to worry that there is a majority of people in Switzerland which is able and willing to write their personal preferences on such personal matters as faith and religion in the constitution. It would be better if we as minorities would stand together and fight for our rights and for respect.

How much do we value the fight for freedom which was carried out in the last hundreds of years? Was it now trampled down in only one day? In order to punish the whole religion of Islam only because of the Islamists and Islamistic terrorists? Aren't we taught to be peacemakers and to love our neighbours?

We refused to support the anti-minaret-initiative because of...

Let me tell you why the jevp decided not to support the Anti-Minaret-Initiative:

Laws on buildings are not part of the constitution, they're part of local laws.
There is no problem (like forced marriages, circumsicion etc.) solved by prohibiting only a building which is a sign for only a part of Muslims (especially not for Islamists).
We didn't want to jeopardize the freedom of worship. Switzerland was able to become a peaceful country after it guaranteed freedom (to choose faith freely, to practise it, to share it with others and to change it) for all denominations (after years of war between protestants and catholics, protestans and baptists, ...). The initiative plays with fire in a dangerous way: if there are special constitutional regulations against the followers of the Islamic religion it is a short step to special regulations against the followers of the Christian (or other) religion.
We don't stand for a symmetry of injustice. We know that there are a lot of Christians who are discriminated against or even persecuted in Islamic countries. But that is no reason to do the same.
We don't want to have separated Muslim communities. There is a danger that when we exclude Muslims they build a parallel society.
We have the fundamental right to freely live our own faith, to make it visible (for example through building churches), to communicate our faith and also to change our faith. Minarets are religious symbols. If we completely prohibit them we contravene the European Convention on Human Rights.

How to move on

The EVP decided to launch a popular initiative for a constitutional article on religion. We think that it is important to highlight four freedoms based on the tradition of Christianity.

The freedom to choose a faith or a religion or none at all.
The freedom to practise faith.
The freedom to communicate faith.
The freedom to change the faith or the religion.

I hope that we can find a path into a future where Christians, Muslims, adherents of other religions as well as secular people and everybody in between live together peacefully and in respect for each other. In Switzerland and all over the world.

Read also the December 8th commentary by ECPYN secretary general Jonathan van Tongeren 'The Towers of Christendom' and the response to the polemic on the minarets in France by Christine Boutin, leader of the Parti Chrétien Démocrate and former Minister of Housing and Cities.

7th International Summer School will take place in Ohrid, Macedonia

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:31:21 +0100

This years International Summer School will take place in Ohrid, Macedonia, from july 12-16. The theme will be Reconcilliation, which will encompass such topics as conflict resolution, international security issues, leadership, et cetera. Participants from all over Europe flock to this event were speakers with backgrounds in politics and other parts of society will give lectures and workshops. Excursions will be organised to relevant political locations and of course there is ample time to get acquainted with the other participants of the conference and their parties or organisations.

The summer school provides a great opportunity for all participants to take part in discussion of the Christian concept of reconcilliation and on security issues in Europe and learn about the political processes in different European countries with special focus on South-East Europe. The participants from the Western Balkan countries will have the chance to learn on this topic from the valuable experiences of their colleagues from the Central and Eastern European countries who are already in the European Union.

Besides the official part, the summer school will provide an opportunity for cultural exchange, learning about each other’s cultures and countries, making friendships and have plenty of fun. During the school, the participants will go on excursions around the country, which is famous for its beautiful mountains, lakes, as well as cultural heritage.

There will soon be more information about the summer school here, that can be found at http://www.ecpyn.org/summerschool.

The participation fee will be 100 EUR. Participants can apply for reimbursement of travelling costs, Central and Eastern Europeans are most likely to be elligible for some form of reimbursement.

Secretary visits AUF-Party in Saxony

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:32:55 +0100

ECPYN secretary general Jonathan van Tongeren visited the 'Landesparteitag' of the AUF-Party in the state of Saxony (Germany) October 31. He gave a lecture in which he explained how a young party can be seen and respected when it becomes involved in concrete local issues which can be solved with creativity and commitment.

You can read a full report of the 'Landesparteitag' here (in German).

Belarusian Christian Democracy party to hold its second founding convention

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:26:46 +0100

The leadership of the Belarusian Christian Democracy party received denials to their requests for renting premises from almost every single official body they had applied to. Only the last from 11 different institutions, which received the BCD request, the directors of the Small Hall of the Palace of Republic haven't replied yet and said they will do so send in written form within 30 days after the application.

It is worth mentioning that BCD sent the request for renting premises to Minsk Tractor Plant, Minsk Automobile plant, “Sukno” factory and some other places. It is worth reminding that the Belarusian Ministry of Justice denied registration for the party after its first Founding Convention in February, 2009.

The BCD leader Paval Sieviarynets commented on the situation:

“If the authorities do not grant us a right to rent premises for the Founding Convention on October, 31 we will hold our Convention in front of the Presidential Administration – at Kastrychnitskaya Square. We ask delegates, our guests and all Christians and all not indifferent people support us under the motto “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty”.

Belarusian Christian Democracy party is ready to hold its Founding Convention on the street. I think that in the looming prospect of the EU decision on sanctions against top Belarusian officials, which is due to be made on November 16, 2009, our Founding Convention on the street will be a good illustration of so-called “liberalization”.

Foreign guests and ambassadors will be also invited to take part in the Convention outdoors.

It is expected that 300 delegates and about 400 guests will take part in the event. If the Founding Convention is to be held at Kastrychnitskaya Square then there will not be restrictions on number of participants and, as a result, more people will be able to attend the event.”

Human Dignity in Christian Social Teaching

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:17:56 +0200

October 3 a dozen of involved young Dutchmen, Belgians and Poles gathered in the margin of the national party congress of the Christian Union party of the Netherlands, in Zwolle, for a workshop about Human Dignity.

Jonathan van Tongeren, secretary-general of ECPYN, gave a theoretical introduction to the concept of Human Dignity as elaborated in the social teaching of the Church. After the discussion of the Christian Social Teaching and how this effects the way we look at political questions regarding human dignity, several concrete and current examples of political questions were discussed. These examples clearly demonstrated the importance of a Christian approach when we speak about human dignity. They also demonstrated the clear need for coordinated action of Christian acros Europe. The newly founded ECPYN International Political Working Group on Human Dignity aims to be instrumental in this respect.

You can download Jonathan's powerpoint presentation and a synopsis of the theoretical part of the workshop below.

If you want to know more about the ECPYN International Political Working Group on Human Dignity, you should keep track of our website. More information will follow soon at http://ecpyn.org/humandignity

European Christian Democratic Movement today. From values to practice

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:25:01 +0200

The ECPM was very happy to be present at the second conference of Christian democrats of Eastern Europe.

This second conference of Christian democrats of Eastern Europe organized by the Christian Democratic Union of Armenia, Christian Union of the Netherlands, European Christian Political Movement, Eastern European Bureau of Christian Democratic Parties, Christian Democratic Union of Nagorno Karabakh and Christian Peoples’ Unity of Armenia was held on September 25-26 in Sevan, Armenia.

The representatives of Christian Democratic Parties and organizations from 8 countries such as Moldova, Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, the Netherlands, Armenia and not recognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh gathered around the topic: “European Democratic Movement today. From Values to practice”. Among guests were the ambassadors and the representatives of different NGOs.

The Conference was held in Sevan in Hotel Complex “Harsnakar” (Sevan).

By means of an official greeting, the chairman of the ECPM, Mr Peeter Vosu wished all participants a blessed meeting and stated the following about the importance of Christian democrats in politics:

We need Christians in European politics. Only politicians with strong Christian identity can preserve and advance Christian values in our societies. To be a politician is a calling from the Lord, like to be a pastor or a priest. You are called by the Lord to serve your societies.

Furthermore, the General Secretary of the ECPM, Guido van Beusekom and the representative for Eastern Europe, Leo van Doesburg, were present at the conferencem together with many other participants.

The participants and the organizers of the conference also received greetings from the General Secretary of the European People’s Party Antonio Lopez Isturiz, who stated about party’s support of the consolidation of Christian democrats of Eastern Europe and the establishment of a stable cooperation between them. In his written address to the Conference he expressed interest in the development of closer ties will all European Christian democratic political forces, which share the same values and principles and welcomed the initiative of Khosrov Harutyunyan to host the second conference of the Eastern European Bureau of Christian Democratic Parties in Armenia.

The Conference resulted in establishment of the Association of Christian Democrats of Eastern Europe and the decision to register it according to the Ukrainian legislation. The decision on establishment of the Association was taken by the chairmen and representatives of 5 parties (CDM of Georgia, CDPP of Moldova, BCD, Belarus, CDU of Armenia and the CDU of Ukraine). The idea on establishment of the Association was supported by the Chairs of CDU of Latvia and Estonian Christian Democrats.

All these parties are also a member of the European Christian Political Movement. Also, the CDU of Nagorno-Karabakh joined the Association as an associated member.The chairman of CDU of Armenia, former Prime Minister and former speaker of Armenia, Mr. Khosrov Harutyunyan was elected as the Chairman of the Association. The deputy chairman of the CDU of Ukraine Yuri Reshetnikov was elected as the Executive Secretary of the Association.

The ECPM fully supports the close cooperation between Eastern European Christian democratic parties and hopes that the establishment of the Association will be truly beneficial to Christian politics in Eastern Europe.

ECPYN salutes Eastern European Youth Initiative

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:19:24 +0200

September 6, during the Eastern European summer school of Christian democratic youth organisations in Zatoka, Odessa Region, Ukraine, participating organisations from Belarus, Bulgaria, Georgia, Moldova, Romania and Ukraine decided to launch the Eastern European Youth Initiative (EEYI). The EEYI expresses in its founding declaration that it shares the goals and targets of ECPYN and wants to focus on issues specific to the region.

Further Christian Democratic Youth organisations from Armenia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are expected to join soon and others are also welcome to. Ana Ciofu of the New Generation of the Christian Democratic People's Party from Moldova was elected as the first president of the EEYI.

The ECPYN board salutes this initiative and sees many opportunities for fruitful cooperation: "It's encouraging that the Eastern-European parties have gathered enough potential and organizational capabilities to launch such an initiative as this. We are looking forward to include ECPYN capacities in collaboration with EEYI and therefore to strenghten the Christian doctrine in Eastern Europe, which is indeed much needed" says ECPYN board member Vladimir Plamadeala, who attended the summer school in Zatoka. "I also hope the Initiative will fit within the recently launched Eastern Partnership of the European Commission and will contribute to the region's countries integration in the EU."

ECPYN sets up Political Working Groups

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:12:26 +0200

At the 6th International Summer School "(South East) Europe between Identity & Integration" in Risan (Montenegro) the congress of the European Christian Political Youth Network (ECPYN) decided to start three international political working groups. The working groups aim to provide a platform for more in-depth discussion of certain topics, which can result in the writing of policy documents and political actions.

Three international political working groups were initiated in Risan, concerning the following topics:

Human Dignity (HD)
Church, State, Civil Society and the Public Domain (CSCSPD)
Europe and Co.

Some twenty of about fifty participants in the summer school immediately committed to joining one of these working groups and others are expected to join in the coming weeks. People who were not at the summer school are hereby also invited to join the working groups.

Newly elected political secretary of ECPYN, Nutsa Shavladze from Georgia and secretary general Jonathan van Tongeren from the Netherlands are currently setting up the practical side of the working groups, while the concept is allready quire clear.

"With these working groups we intend to provide a platform for more in-depth discussion of some very important topics. We trust that the active involvement of inspired and competent young Christians in these new groups, will help them to come to a better understanding of the core issues at stake and will at the same time result in some policy documents that are well thought through and in effective actions to influence politics. With these working groups we hope to serve ECPM and ECPYN and the furtherance of Christian Democracy together with its social expression in all of Europe" says a visibly enthusiastic Jonathan van Tongeren.

If you would like to know more about ECPYN's international political working groups or if you would like to join one of them, please contact us. You can find contact information on our website www.ecpyn.org/contact Please feel free to forward this message to others who may be interested.

ECPYN board member and vice secretary attend Summer School of Youth of Eastern European Bureau

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:28:19 +0200

ECPYN board member Vladimir Plamadeala and vice-secretary and Secretary of Regional Meetings Auke Minnema attended the Summer School of the Youth of the Eastern European Bureau in Odessa region (Ukraine). From September 4-7. The theme of the Summer School was "Youth Aspects of European Integration".

Auke has given a presentation about Christian Politics and ECPYN. He focussed on Christian politics and the fact that Christian politics starts from the Bible. Around 25 participants listened to him and also to Vladimir, who gave a lecture about the Eastern Partnership and the political situation in Moldova. Participants came from Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria.

Pictures can be found here.

Urgent Action: Help Protect the New Life Church in Minsk

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:24:45 +0200

The Belarusian Christian Democracy party requests your actions of solidarity with the New Life church based in Minsk, which finds itself in a 4 year conflict with the Belarusian authorities over its legally purchased building. On 21 August 2009, Friday, the authorities of Minsk and the police are expected to take over the building. The 1000 strong community of the New Life church and their supporters will start today a prayer marathon inside the building to prevent the injustice to happen.

We are asking you to send a letter of solidarity with the New Life church to the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus (see attached). Please, find below the contact information.

The website of the New Life church: http://www.newlife.by/eng/index.php

Respectfully,

BCD international committee, bchd.by@gmail.com, http://www.bchd.info/modules.php?name=News&topic_id=10

Contact Information:

Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus

220016, Minsk, K. Marx str. 38,

Phone +375 17 222-32-17, Fax +375 17 226-06-10

e-mail: contact@president.gov.by

Press service of the President of the Republic of Belarus

Telephone: + 375 17 222 35 03

Fax: +375 17 222 30 20

press@president.gov.by

New ECPYN board elected

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:55:41 +0200

During the 6th International Summer School in Risan (Montenegro) the member congress convened and elected a new board. Furthermore new statutes and several other resolutions were accepted.

The new board members are Răzvan Burleanu from Romania (president), Nutsa Shavladze from Georgia and Vladimir Plamadeala from Moldova. They join Jonathan van Tongeren from The Netherlands who was already elected in 2006.

"ECPYN is a growing network", says the new president Răzvan Burleanu, "and has a lot of potential. Together with the European Christian Political Movement we are building together on Christian politics in Europe by collaboration, exchange of experience and active participation."

On the same congress ECPYN welcomed the youth organisation of the Christian Democration Union of Ukraine as observer member. The Youth Christian Democratic Movement of Georgia received full membership status.

The congress adopted also new statutes and started some working groups.

From left to right: Vladimir Plamadeala, Răzvan Burleanu, Jonathan van Tongeren and Nutsa Shavladze

Summer School in two main newspapers and on local radio in Montenegro

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:03:44 +0200

Two main newspapers of Monenegro have written an article about the 6th ECPYN International Summer School, that was held in Risan, Montenegro. A local radio station in the municipality of Kotor also mentioned it.

The newspapers "ДАН" and "Vijesti" both published there article on August 13th, 2009.
They wrote a short article about the Summer school, the theme and the lecturers.

Follow the mini-blogs during the International Summer School

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:09:48 +0200

During the whole week of the International Summer School "(South East) Europe between Identity and Integration" you can follow the developments by reading the mini-blogs on the ECPYN blogspot. Jonathan van Tongeren, secretary general of ECPYN will post there regularly. The first mini-blog about the speech of Emil Krijestorac is allready online.

You can find the ECPYN blogspot at http://ecpyn.blogspot.com

Update about the 6th Summer School

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:28:03 +0200

In about two and a half weeks the 6th ECPYN International Summer School will start in Risan, Montenegro. Around 50 participants from around 15 European countries will meet each other and participate in various lectures and workshops.

Hotel
We will stay in hotel "Teuta" in Risan (municipality of Kotor). Risan is a nice and small town at the coast of Montenegro. It is a historic place, although main historical buildings has been lost in an earthquake in 1979. However, there is an Orthodox monastery near by, as well as old pre-Roman mosaics. The hotel itself is on the beach, so don't forget your swimming clothes!

Traveldetails
If you are traveling by plane, the Airport of Tivat is very close to Risan, Podgorica or Dubrovnik (in Croatia) are also good options. If you come by bus, take a bus to Kotor or Podgorica.
From all participants we would like to have the traveldetails. Please send us your details as soon as possible by mail or online. In case we don't have your details, we can't pick you up! If you already have send your details it is not necessary to do it again.

Programme
More details about the programme is here available and more details about our lecturers here.

Reader
In the next weeks we will send all participants a small reader with some more information, some articles etc. We will send it by email, but the reader is also printed available at the Summer School.

Costs
Please keep in mind that the application fee has to be payed at the arrival.

Christian Insights on Economy and Credit Crunch at ECPM Congress in Berne

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 13:45:38 +0200

Representatives of ECPM member parties and organisations, politicians and professionals gathered in Berne, Switzerland from June 10 till 12 for the 5th annual ECPM Member Congress. This year's theme was: A Christian Answer to the Credit Crunch. From a Christian-democratic and Christian-social viewpoint the current economic crisis was discussed by lecturers and participants.

The Congress started with words of welcome by ECPM president Peeter Vosu and representatives of the hosting Swiss parties, EVP-PEV and EDU-UDF, Joel Blunier and José Lorente both arguing for certain cheeses from certain valleys, which caused some laughter.

The first lecture was then given by the Dutch economist and former Member of Parliament for the now defunct Anti-Revolutionary Party, Dr. Bob Goudzwaard. He spoke about "A Christian-social perspective on the global economy". After which there was some time for questions and answers. His slideshow and the text of his lecture can be found in the Virtual Library on this website, under Presentations.

After the coffee break, the Swiss futurist and strategic consultant, Dr. Andreas Walker delivered a lecture entitled "Megatrends and Future Changes as Opportunities or as Threats for Christian Politics?" (slide show in the Virtual Library), which was followed by discussion.

After the lunch the Belgian professor of Public Administration Emile Vanbeckevoort gave a lecture which resulted in a debate, which continued after the coffee break in one of three workshops sessions. The other workshop sessions were given by leading Moldovan economist Veaceslav Ionita and the economist proffessor Eduard Dommen, from Switzerland, who is a specialist in economic ethics. The first was about Energy Policy in Eastern Europe and the latter about Global Trade in a New Political Reality. Dommen approached this subject from the ideas of Calvin. For a taste of this, you can read his article "A reformed perspective on the global economy" here.

At the end of the afternoon the participants in the congress visited the Parliament that was within walking distance of the Congress Hotel in two groups. The two groups had a guided tour of the parliament after which they were met by Members of Parliament Christian Waber (EDU) and Walter Donzé (EVP) respectively. The MPs told about their work, about the typical characteristics of Swiss democracy and there was ample time for questions and answers.

In the evening the board convened. The next morning the member congress took place. After the opening and some anouncements the new statutes were adopted, President Peeter Vosu from Estonia and Vice President Kris Vleugels from Belgium were re-elected and Vladimir Plamadeala from Moldova was elected as board member in stead of Krasimir Momchev from Bulgaria, Dick van Dijk from the Netherlands did not have to be re-elected because his current term is not fullfilled yet. More on the new board member, Vladimir Plamadeala here.

After this new ECPM member parties - the Christian Democratic Forum of Bulgaria, the Christian Democratic Union of Ukraine, the Christian Democratic Union of Armenia and the Christian Democratic Movement of Georgia - were presented by their representatives Volodymir Stretovich from Ukraine, who is also the chairman of the Bureau of Christian Democratic Parties of Eastern Europe, vice chairman Gevorg Babayan from Armenia and George Rukhadze and party leader and MP Targamadze from Georgia. New associate member organisations were also welcomed: Amical Service France, Crown Bulgaria, Romanian Foundation for Democracy and Provita.

After the coffee break the congress adopted the policy document Priority for the Family, the political programme 'A Christian-democrat voice in the European Union' and a Joint Statement on Georgia. Some projects and strategies for the coming years were presented by Johannes de Jong after which Leo van Doesburg reported on the ECPM activities in Eastern Europe in the past year accompanied by a photo impression.

The congress was addressed by Petar Stoyanov, president op Bulgaria from 1997 til 2002 and by video message by Emil Constantinescu, president of Romania from 1996 til 2000.

The participants of the congress then prepared for the excursion to the Swiss countryside, the Emmental valley to be more specific, where they enjoyed a traditional Swiss lunch with a lot of different cheeses, sausage, meat products, bread and wine topped of by a meringue dessert, at a cheese factory. After the lunch the group had a guided tour of the dairy factory, during which both the current and the traditional production process of the famous Emmental cheese were explained and demonstrated. After a bus trip back to Berne via Olten the congress participants parted.

This well attended congress did not only once again have a very well chosen theme but was also a catalyst for new projects and initiatives by the attending people an their respective organisations in cooperation with the ECPM and each other.

Registration for 6th International Summer School closed

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:29:36 +0200

Since July 1th, the registration for the 6th International Summer School is closed. Around 50 participants from more than 14 European countries have already applied.

This year's International Summer School of the European Christian Political Youth Network (ECPYN) is to take place in Montenegro, August 10-15. The theme of this 6th ECPYN International Summer School will be "(South east) Europe between Identity and Integration". The theme will encompass such topics as regional cooperation, border security, immigration, neighbourhood policy, et cetera.

If you have any questions or remarks about the Summer School, please contact us.

More information (in general) can be found here.
More information about the programme can be found here.

Statement of the ECPM members on Georgia

Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:52:43 +0200

During the 5th Annual Member Congress in Bern, all present ECPM members rallied behind the Christian Democratic Movement of Georgia, in expressing their concerns over the situation in the region.

Therefore all ECPM members declare that:

We are concerned about the situation in the Georgian breakaway regions after the 2008 August war. Russia's policy to fully militarize the occupied territories in Georgia abruptly violates international law and the Sarkozy-Medvedev agreement, increases the tension and could possibly result in the destabilization of the entire region.

Russia has already blocked the OSCE Monitoring Mission in the breakaway regions of Georgia and plans to do the same to discontinue the UN Observer Mission at the Security Council meeting next week, which can result in leaving the Georgian breakaway regions without the presence of any international monitoring body. This could be specifically dangerous as there has been a build-up of Russian troops in the breakaway regions.

We oppose Russia's decision to stop the OSCE Monitoring Mission in the breakaway regions of Georgia the and call on the international community to prevent Russia's possible attempt in the Security Council to discontinue the UN Observer Mission in the Georgian conflict zones.

We call on Russia to fulfill their obligations imposed by the resolutions of the Council of Europe and withdraw the recognition of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

We, the member parties of the ECPM, support Georgia's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and believe that strong, defensible and democratic Georgia will contribute not only to the regional but also to the wider European security.

The ECPM hopes that the international community will show its consistency to protect Georgia's sovereignty and demand de-occupation of its territories, which will create necessary preconditions for much wanted peace and development in the region.

Hitchhiking in Europe

Thu, 28 May 2009 23:10:40 +0200

Members of PerspectieF, the youth organisation of the ChristianUnion from The Netherlands, are campaigning by hitchhiking today for the elections of the European Parliament. A couple of members of PerspectieF are on their way to Belgium and France. "Dutch politicians running for European Parliament talk these days only about internal affairs. By this action, we want to show that many rules and laws are made in Europe, and that cooperation on a European level is important" says PerspectieF president IJmert Muilwijk.

Muilwijk departed Thursday morning together with a reporter from the Dutch News Agency (ANP) from Nijmegen. Around noon he arrived in Utrecht after 4 times changing cars. “I have been in a car with a passionate member of D66 (social liberal party), with a member of the socialist party (SP) and two people who didn’t know who they wanted to vote for. They said they want to vote for ChristianUnion now.”

While hitchhiking, the members of PerspectieF talk with car drivers and van drivers about the meaning of Europe. The day started with a breakfast at the Nijmegen station where PerspectieF members showed how Europe is involved with the products in the supermarket.
When the members of PerspectivE arrive in Belgium and France, they will help C’Axxent (Belgium) and the FRS (France) with their campaign.

Pictures made by Anne Paul Roukema.

6th International Summer School

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 13:32:04 +0200

At this time we are working on a most interesting programme. Interesting Lecturers as Niculae Mircovici (Romanian MP for minorities) and Prof Dr. Hans Renner (Czech/Dutch historian specialized in Central and Eastern Europe) have already confirmed.

Around 40 participants from more than 13 European countries have already applied. If you want to join this most interesting Summer School, be quick, because we have limited places.

The registration for the 6th International Summer School closes already on July 1th!

More information (in general) can be found here.
More information about the programme can be found here.
And here it is possible to sign up.

Register now for the ECPM Congress!

Mon, 11 May 2009 16:25:42 +0200

Next month, the ECPM will celebrate its 5th Member Congress in Bern. Since there are only a limited number of attendants possible during the meeting on 11 and 12 June, we urge to register as soon as possible.

A more detailed programme is also available now on our website, together with more information about the speakers.

So if you are interested to know more about "A Christian answer to the credit crunch," please register here.

The registration for the 5th Annual Member Congress closes already on May 15!

The ECPM board and staff hopes to see you soon in Bern on our 5th Annual Congress!

Wanted: Capable and Enthusiastic Board Members

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 10:27:34 +0200

Since the founding of the network in 2004, ECPYN has grown both in activity and in participants and member organisations. ECPYN is now seeking to establish more professional structures for its network. This requires a board to translate the vision into concrete policy goals and see to it that these same goals are executed with the help of others involved in the secretariat, working groups and of course the member organisations.

The current board is stepping down after two terms which means the entire board will be renewed. ECPYN is therefore looking for capable and enthusiastic candidates for the following positions:

President: The president is the leader of the board, he is responsible for the external representation of the network and the proper functioning of the board and other organs.

Secretary General: The Secretary General coordinates all the correspondence of the network, is responsible for the administration and coordinates the organisation of ECPYN activities by the secretariat.

Political Secretary: The political secretary is in charge of the development of a concrete and coherent political vision for the network. He leads the political working groups and coordinates the political viewpoints with the member organisations.

Treasurer: The Treasurer is in charge of the financial administration of the network. He keeps track of the financial ins and outs, monitors the spending of the budgets and investigates acquisition possibilities.

Eligibility
Eligible for board membership are adults of age 30 and below, that meet the requirements as set out in the function description and have the support of one of the member organisations of ECPYN.

Information
For the full function descriptions you can visit www.ecpyn.org/vacancies. If you have any questions regarding the vacancies or if you want to send in an application, please e-mail vacancies (at) ecpyn (dot) org The deadline for sending in your application is May 18, 2009 at noon.

ECPYN urges EU to act on Moldovan violations

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:31:54 +0200

The situation in the Republic of Moldova is getting worse every day. The opposition pointed out that there were indications of fraud in the parliamentary elections and that the elections were unfair. Mass protest of young people started out peacefully, but turned violent. Sources in Moldova reported that students and teenagers are detained and beaten by the police. People are afraid of going out.

ECPYN calls on the European Union to take action, now and in the European Neighborhood Policy.
The most important issues to take action on are:

Huge violations of Human Rights with two people killed, lots of prisoners and people wounded by police actions;
Electoral fraud;
Moldovan press is controlled by the state and being monitored;
Journalists (especially from Romania) are being deported out of Moldova;
Moldovan government blames Romanian government and declares the ambassador of Romania as ´persona non grata´. Romanian citizens are requested to apply for a visa (by invitation of the Moldovan ministry of internal affairs) for entering the Republic of Moldova, which is a direct violation of the agreements between the European Union and the Republic of Moldova.

ECPYN calls on the European Union to take action, so that the situation in Moldova will be stabilized and the violations against the people will be stopped.

BCD to continue performance without registration

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:38:58 +0200

Today members of the BCD organizing committee at the press-conference in Minsk mentioned the reasons behind registration denial, and talked about their further activities.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) blamed them that during personal conversations of MoJ representatives with BCD founders (by phone, in person, official correspondence), not all of the respondents correctly mentioned the number of the foundation meetings' participants and the number of the appointed delegates.

According to BCD co-chair Paval Sieviarynets, methods of information collection, used by MoJ, can hardly be called lawful. For instance, there is no such form as written responses to MoJ's queries.

Moreover, the MoJ also claims that the Party has allegedly not provided all necessary registration documentation, including the receipt for the registration fee payment.

However, BCD member Denis Sadousky says that during his recent visit there, when he inquired if everything's fine with the papers, nobody mentioned problems with payment order at all. It turned out that there was a change in the bank account details of the MoJ, but nobody notified BCD of that, while they took the official address from the Ministry's web-site.

Paval Sieviarynets says that the party already exists anyway: "It is recognized in Europe and de-facto the government as well. It's worth noting that upon our request the Palace of representatives changed the law on advertising, forbidding the promotion of magic and occult practices. For us, recognition by the Belarusian people is way more important than the MoJ's"

On April 18 BCD leaders will convene for a consultation meeting to determine further plan of actions.

Press service of the Belarusian Christian Democracy party

ECPYN very concerned about situation in Georgia

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:36:35 +0200

The European Christian Political Youth Network is very concerned about the situation in Georgia. ECPYN strongly supports the statement made by the Eastern European Bureau of Christian Democratic Parties.

The statement of the Eastern European Bureau of Christian Democratic Parties:

"The Eastern European Bureau of Christian Democratic Parties is very anxious about the tense situation in the Republic of Georgia these last days caused by the wave of mass anti-government and anti-presidential protests in the centre of Tbilisi.

As Christian Democrats we believe that all conflicts and problematic issues need to be resolved exclusively in peaceful and democratic way - by means of negotiation, compromise and dialogue with a respect to each opinion and a strong desire to affirm peace and democracy.

We call all political forces in Georgia to defuse tension in order to avoid bloodshed. We call on political forces not to urge people to riots and civil commotion but seat around the negotiation table to solve the problems the country is facing.

We call on the Members of the Eastern European Bureau of Christian Democratic Parties to issue a special statement of appeal for a dialogue to all political forces of Georgia.

Sincerely,

Volodymyr Stretovych, Chairman of the Eastern European Bureau of Christian Democratic Parties"

The impact of Christian Youth in politics

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 19:32:34 +0200

On Friday April 10 and Saturday April 11, ECPYN Secretary of Regional Meetings Auke Minnema took part in the ECPM Two-day training workshop on "Faith, Society and Politics" in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Auke had a presentation about "The impact of Christian Youth in politics", in which he gives some examples of actions were Christian youth changed society. Under the other speakers on this two-day workshop were Leo van Doesburg (ECPM representative of Eatern Europe), Peter Stoyanov (former president of Bulgaria), Peter Gjuzelev and Grozdan Stoevski (initiative commitee), Christine Dupuis (CDF, Belgium) and Nick Nedelchev (president Bulgarian Evangelical Alliance).

Pictures of this event and the presentation of Auke you can find here.

C'Axent looks to future and discusses Economic Crisis

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:28:24 +0200

C'Axent, the Flemish political movement for more Christian values in politics, held its congress and fifth anniversary last Saturday. The central theme was 'Christians and the Crisis'. According to one of the speakers there is "a financial, confidence and climate crisis, that has moral causes."

Flemish Minister of Health and Well-being and member of C'Axent, Veerle Heeren testified to what her personal faith means to her functioning in politics, by stating that she could not function without the basis of her faith.

Past and future growth of C'Axent

C'Axent also looked forward to the local elections of 2012. Members of C'Axent on existing lists will remain to be supported by the movement, at the same time C'Axent will participate with its own lists in municipalities where none of its members are present on other lists. To this end a basic programme and some courses for future local politicians are being prepared.
President of C'Axent Kris Vleugels opened the congress by giving a report on the growth of the movement since its founding, April 7 2004, which showed the growth of the movement in numbers, influence, mandates and in societal feedback. The congress expressed its willingness to continue on this path and gain influence.
The congress chose with an overwhelming majority to support the idea of an income for caring mothers. The idea is based in Christian solidarity and wanting to strengthen social capital, it enables single mothers and mothers who choose to take care of their children or other family members that need care themselves. President Kris Vleugels presented Minister Heeren with a dossier of recommendations for palliative care.
The electoral campaign of June 2009 for the European, Flemish and Brussellois elections was started by the presentation of two times ten spearheads.

Economic Crisis

Economist Pim Boven (ETF Leuven) discussed some causes of the current economic crisis, such as the strive for to high profits to participants in the economic process, the striving for a maximum of profit for the individual, without attention for the sustainability of projects and a failing risk management with banks and watchdogs, flawed achievement indicators and the perverse influence of bonuses, the hedge funds, the lack of protection for the essential functioning of the so called retail banks and last but not least the over-consumption and disproportionate trade in derivative products. Christians ought to be good stewards of all goods, because there will be a moment to account for it. Christian principles are strong recommendations of soberness and good relations. These lead to more fair transactions in society. Christians have to stand up for this!
C'Axent wants to enter the political arena for this. Entrepreneurship is not a taboo for C'Axent, to the contrary, sustainable business conduct deserves appreciation.
The government should learn some lessons from the credit crisis and stimulate sustainable conduct of banks and businesses. Money should be enjoyable again as a means not an end. This is possible when Christians lead society towards an 'Economy of Enough'.
The economic crisis will also be the theme of the ECPM Congress in Bern, Switzerland, June 11 and 12. More information can be found on the ECPM website.

ECPYN Regional Conference in Hellenthal (Germany)

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:02:45 +0200

During the weekend of March 27-29 ECPYN organized a training weekend about the basics of Christian Democratic Youth organizations. Young Christian politicians coming from France, Switzerland, Belarus and the Netherlands were attending for this conference.

On this conference there were several workshops. The program started with a workshop about the basic values of a Christian Democratic Youth organization, how to implement the Christian values in your organization and how to train your people in them.

After this workshop there was a workshop about local branches. The key issue her was: do you need them? Or are there different ways to involve people in your organization? Another workshop was about communication. How do you make a good statement, and how do you make it interesting for everybody?

Dick van Dijk, board member of ECPM, international secretary for the ChristianUnion and working for the European Commission spoke about the enlargement of the European Union and prospects for young Christian Democratic politicians in the EU.

The last workshop was about Christian Politics from a (virtue) ethical perspective. after that there was a small presentation about the case Belarus. All those presentations, workshops and pictures you will find here. We are working at organizing such event again in the winter of 2009-2010. Check our website frequently to see when it will be.

Member of BCD youth visits PerspectivE and Christian Union

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:33:30 +0200

On march 30th Liouba Kameneva, member of the ECPYN member organisation Belarussian Christian Democracy Youth visited PerspectivE and the ChristianUnion party in the Netherlands.

After having attended the Regional Conference in Hellenthal (Germany) March 27-29, she travelled to The Netherlands to learn more about Christian Democratic politics in general and in the Netherlands in specific. During meetings in the party office in Amersfoort she met several members of PerspectivE and ChristianUnion to discuss politics and current and future cooperation.

After her visit to the party office, she had a meeting in the Dutch parliament in The Hague with Rita Klapwijk-Poppe, policy advisor of the ChristianUnion fraction in the Second Chamber (Lower House) of the Dutch parliament. They discussed the abuse of human rights in Belarus and the lack of religious freedom in particular, because of the April 2nd meeting of the Parliamentary Commission on Foreign Affairs. At that meeting Esmé Wiegman MP will ask questions about the situation in Belarus to the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Photo: The hemicycle of the Lower House

March 25th at Belarussian Embassy in The Hague (video)

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:30:33 +0200

On March 25th, there was a demonstration before the embassy of Belarus in The Hague, the Netherlands. PerspectivE, the youth organisation of the Christian Union party organised this demonstration, on the occasion of the national independence day of Belarus, with support of several other political youth, human rights organisations and other NGO's.

Around 25 people came together to support the Belarussian opposition and to bring a petition to the ambassador of Belarus. In this petition the Belarussian government is called to respect the human rights (freedom of speech, religion, press etc.), the freedom of Belarussians, to reform the system of laws to a fair system according to international standard and to organise free and fair elections.

Pictures can be found here. Watch also our video (in Dutch).

To H.E. Mrs. Elena Gritsenko,

ambassador of the Republic of Belarus in the Kingdom of the Netherlands

As representative of the government of Belarus, the undersigned Dutch organizations ask your attention for the following issues:

Reports of the continued violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of Belarus' citizens by the regime of President Lukashenka are both frequent and alarming.

Lukashenka's government represses all groups within civil society who are actively calling on their government to better protect and respect their basic democratic rights. Organizations are fined or forcibly closed and their leaders are imprisoned. Even now, during an agreement with the European Union, there are no big changes.

In light of the worsening human rights situation in Belarus we call upon the government of Belarus to:

Restore democratic values in Belarus,
Organize free and fair elections,
To reform the system of law's to a fair system according to the international standard,
To respect the freedom of speech,
To respect the freedom of the press,
To respect the freedom of assembly and association, and
To respect religious freedom.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Respectfully,

PerspectieF, Youth of the Christian Union party
ChristenUnie
Jonge socialisten (Young Socialists)
Jonge Democraten (Young Democrats)
Dwars (youth organization of GroenLinks)
FNV Mondiaal (FNV trade union)
Jubilee Campaign
ICCO (Interchurch Organisation for Development Co-operation)
Civil Initiative "We Remember"
"Mission to Minsk"

ECPYN present at founding congress of Belarusian Christian Democracy (BCD)

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 22:34:05 +0200

As Secretary of Regional Meetings Auke Minnema represented ECPYN at the founding congress of the Belarusian Christian Democracy (BCD) party, held in Minsk on February 28th.

At this congress the gathering elected four co-chairmen, adopted the party's charter and political platform as well as electing a Board of Chairmen and National Council of the party.

The preparation for the congress took about two months when the party managed to handle all preliminary administrative procedures. The congress had gathered more than 200 delegates and over 100 guests.

In attendance were prominent opposition figures, including former presidential candidates Alyaksandr Kazulin and Alyaksandr Milinkevich, small business activists Alyaksandr Makayew and Ihar Lednik and the chair of the Belarusian Popular Front, Lyavon Barshchewski. Several international guests had attended the congress including delegations from sister parties from Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, the UK, Russia and Ukraine.

In his opening speech, Mr Pavel Sevyarynets said that the list of founders featured 1,060 people. Following Mr Sevyarynets other honorary guests welcomed the congress. Delegates and guests received warmest greetings and strong support commitment from Mrs Marika Visakorpi, the President of Christian Democratic party of Finland, Mr. Leo van Doesburg, Representative in Eastern Europe of the European Christian Political Movement (ECPM), Mr Yuri Reshetnikov, Executive Secretary of the Eastern European Bureau of Christian Democratic Parties, Mr Guido van Beusekom, International Officer of the Christian Union party from the Netherlands and Mr Auke Minnema, Secretary for Regional Meetings of ECPYN and International Secretary of PerspectieF, Youth of the Christian Union party.

Ryhor Dzmitruk, Vital Rymashewski, Pavel Sevyarynets and Alyaksey Shein were elected in an open ballot to co-chair the party.

The party's governing body, National Council, will consist of 70 people, of which 10 are "landmark VIPs", 10 persons representing provinces, and 50 more people who has made most significant contribution during all preliminary events. The 10 "VIPs" include, among the four co-chairmen, Malady Front leader Zmitser Dashkevich, prominent young opposition activists Andrey Kim and Artur Finkevich, Protestant priest Ernest Sabila, singer Andrey Melnikaw and BCD activist Dzyanis Sadowski.

The next day, the 1st of March, Belarusian Christian Democracy held it's first international conference as a newly formed political party. This conference has been a meeting place for all the participating guests to share our views and share the local and international experience. Auke explained the importance of ECPYN and invited the youth members of BCD to come to ECPYN activities. On behalf of our guests from Norway Mr Olav Eggebø Aanonsen had welcomed the party creation and highly appreciated this meaningful event. The party now has a month after the founding conference to file an application for registration to the Justice Ministry, which is required by law to issue a reply within a month.

"This is an instance of continuity," Mr Sevyarynets said. "We do not start Belarusian Christian Democracy from scratch." The Belarusian Christian Democratic party has ongoing history since May 1917 until it was banned by the communist regime of the Soviet Union in 1939 and all of it's founders were killed. The idea of the Party was renewed in 1991 when Belarus had become independent, so now we have the chance to bring the ideas of morality and faith back to life.

Pictures of this congress can be found here.

Belarusian Christian Democracy needs you

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:09:50 +0200

Belarus, placed in the heart of Europe, is often recognised as "the last dictatorship" on our continent. Unfortunately after seventy years of Communist rule and fourteen years of left wing populism Belarusians are suffering from the authoritarian regime. Official statistics confess to sixty thousand abortions annually (the population of Belarus is about ten million); seven hundred and twenty-one marriages end in divorce; thirty percent of male population are alcohol dependent; only thirty-seven percent of Belarusians speak Belarusian in their everyday life. We may say that a whole European nation is under fear of extinction.

These are the reasons why a strong Christian political movement rose in 2005 in Belarus together with the protests against the dictatorship. This movement is the Belarusian Christian Democracy (BCD).

Very soon BCD is coming together to implement a third attempt for legalisation - but now by organizing a big BCD Founding Congress where more than 1000 people will attend. This international conference on Christian Democracy will take place in Minsk 27.02-01.03.2009. The previous attempts were declined by the Belarusian registering authorities.

Join us to witness the vitality of the young Christian Democratic movement in Belarus and support BCD with your voice. Your presence will be essential for our success!