In early December, two representatives of Novi sindikat traveled to Sweden for the first meeting of the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) Youth Advisory Board (YAB). The board was launched under the EU DEAR program titled “Fashioning a Just Transition.”
In addition to Novi sindikat, 12 other organizations from Belgium, Germany, Austria, Finland, the Czech Republic, North Macedonia, Sweden, Italy, Serbia, Turkey, and the Netherlands are participating in the program consortium. A number of other CCC member organizations will also be involved through a series of activities.
Under this program, the CCC will address the fair transition of the textile industry toward a more sustainable production model—one that must include respect for workers’ rights and a living wage. One of the main activities will be the creation of a Manifesto on a Just Transition, which will incorporate the field experiences and views of various organizations and workers. To ensure this manifesto includes diverse perspectives, the CCC initiated the Youth Advisory Board (YAB).
The main task of YAB is to advise the CCC during the writing process of the manifesto, with the goal of engaging a younger audience in this critical topic.
From November 29 to December 1 of this year, the first YAB meeting was held in Malmö, Sweden, hosted by the Swedish CCC organization, Fair Action.
Below, we share the impressions of our YAB representative, Antonio Vargantolić:
“Dear colleagues,
Now that the impressions from the first YAB meeting in Malmö have settled, I would like to share what we accomplished there.
Day 1: Understanding the Reality: We began by introducing ourselves, our countries, and the organizations we represent.
Afterward, we watched an educational film about the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh. We identified the clear human rights violations shown in the film, such as unsafe working conditions, child labor, underpayment, and mobbing. We discussed the concept of a ‘just transition’ from various perspectives: the workers, the companies, the governments, and US as an advisory board.
Day 2: History and Identity: The second day started with a historical tour of Malmö. It was fascinating to learn about the early days of activism and the struggle for workers’ rights in Sweden. Our guide showed us how those historical struggles with the system shaped the high standards Sweden enjoys today.
Later, we deepened our knowledge of the CCC network and the ‘Just Transition’ project. We defined the role of YAB and began brainstorming ideas. During our discussions, I spoke about the challenges in our country—the ‘corrupt octopus’ and the work of our Union. I highlighted the work of Mario Iveković and Tomislav Kiš on the Croatian trade union scene, the contradictions regarding Article 56 of the Croatian Constitution, and the mass exodus of young people seeking better political and economic conditions abroad. It was eye-opening to hear colleagues from more developed European countries; their reality is a level of socio-economic rights we currently only dream of achieving.
Day 3: Building the Manifesto On the final day, we worked in groups to draft points for the Manifesto. We presented our ideas and summarized our experiences from the three-day meeting.
Overall, this was a wonderful and educational experience. We will continue our work through online meetings and will reunite in person in a year. This project aims to bring significant change to Europe over the next three years. I am grateful and proud to have been given the opportunity to represent the youth at YAB.“
– Antonio Vargantolić
