Despite a constitution and legal system that ensures the violation of the Cuban people’s basic rights and a repressive state apparatus that employs surveillance, torture and violence against freedom activists; there is a growing non-violent movement for freedom in Cuba and the civic resistance movement is having a greater impact than ever before.

Read the special report from IYDU Officer Aramis L. Perez here.

Energy Security for the World by IYDU Deputy Chairman, Daniel Walther

Securing the Energy Supply for Future Generations

Recognizing that:

• Decisions concerning energy policy will have long term consequences. Their impact on the world’s development in the coming decades makes them a very important issue for today’s young generation.
• World energy demand is increasing rapidly and growing even more rapidly than the population as developing countries catching up with western life styles face a rising per capita energy consumption.
• The environmental impact of energy supply is an important factor for the quality of life of our population.
• The resources of fossil fuels are limited and exploration costs as well as dependence from politically unstable regions will increase
• Energy costs are a determining factor for the competitiveness of many industrial sectors

Considering that:

• The dwindling oil and gas resources will lead to fierce international competition and potential instability.
• The relationship between global warming and anthropogenic CO2-emissions is a serious scientific and political issue in many countries. The global challenge of reducing the production of this greenhouse-gas would make major changes in the energy sector necessary.
• Nuclear power is facing a renaissance in most of the important industrial nations
• While in some countries, energy efficiency has already reached a high level and is approaching the limits imposed by the laws of nature in many sectors, there is still a substantial potential for increasing energy efficiency in many regions of the world.
• Rising energy prices will not improve industrial energy efficiency but rather lead to a migration of production sites to countries with lower costs and lower ecological standards. Thus, ecologic progress always has to be economically sustainable.
• Renewable energy sources are available with varying local abundance. Under favorable conditions, they can make a significant contribution to the energy supply.
• Despite remarkable progress on that field, wind and solar power have not been able to reach economic competitiveness with conventional power plants so far.
• The unsteady nature of wind and solar power makes them unsuitable for providing large fractions of the electricity supply as long as large-scale storage options are not available. Even a very extended electrical grid interconnection can solve this disadvantage only to a rather small extent.
• In addition to hydro power, biomass is a renewable energy source which is not hampered by unsteadiness. However, competition with food production is an important ethical issue.

The key to address the energy challenges the young generation is faced with, is a balanced approach that includes all sources of energy and all options of power generation. Any successful energy strategy needs to take into account the three basic targets of energy policy: security of supply, economic viability and environmental protection. In order to make sure that the young and future generations will have the energy needed to fulfil their aspirations and give them opportunities for freedom and wealth, IYDU calls for a global energy strategy that should respect the following principles:

Security of Supply

• Non-discriminating access to the energy resources of all regions for all countries
• Opening up of global energy markets with open access for investment into energy resources
• Conceiving a global policy on energy resources on the G 20 level to prevent supply imbalances and assure sufficient efforts in exploration and development to provide for a growing global energy demand
• Supranational integration of electric and natural gas grids with the main focus of providing and increasing supply security
• Avoiding unilateral energy policy changes in the power sector that put a strain on the stability of integrated electrical grids
• Unbiased utilization of all available low-carbon generation technologies according to their strengths and regional availability (nuclear power, renewables)

Economic Viability and Competitiveness

• Liberalized national energy markets to be regionally and globally integrated with transparent and robust price mechanisms and without broadly subsidized energy prices
• Integration of the aspects of economic development and competitiveness to all agreements and measures of climate and energy policy, nationally and internationally
• National and international programs to increase energy efficiency and decrease energy intensity where it is of economic advantage
• Provide financial and political stability for capital intensive investments in the energy sector

Environmental Protection

• Transformation of the energy sector in order to minimize fossil fuel consumption and to reduce the environmental impact by fostering development of clean technologies without compromising economic sustainability
• Establishing and safeguarding global security and environmental standards for the energy sector (nuclear safety, oil production and transport, integrity of gas transport and distribution infrastructure, radioactive waste management, standards for CCS, air pollution requirements, standards for mining and drilling)

The growing energy demand and the inability of any single technology to provide a global solution call for a broad energy mix. Such diversification has the additional benefit of keeping several options available. In order to have the choice of a variety of energy technologies, an intensive and unbiased R&D effort is required which is also a prerequisite for opening new options like nuclear fusion.

If you’d like to know more about this e-mail Deputy Chairman, Daniel Walther

Our hosts presented a diverse and interesting programme; which included meeting with President Saakashvili and presentations from several ministers of state and government advisors.

UMN also arranged for a full programme of social events for our delegates and, in addition to sampling Georgian food, wine and dancing, we were able to see first hand the scale of the regeneration and economic development taking place in Georgia.

IYDU would like to extend our warmest thanks to our hosts, UNM, for welcoming us to Georgia and for making the IYDU Freedom Forum 2010 such a memorable success.

You can view photos from the Freedom Forum here and watch videos of the TV coverage below, or at our YouTube Channel.

The first edition represents reflecting the diverse and global nature of IYDU with articles on the election in the UK, a personal reflection on IYDU from former Chairman Peter Gitmark MP, a report on the IYDU Study Visit to Lebanon and a focus on Taiwan. In addition you’ll find feature articles on developments in democracy in South Asia, Afghanistan and Fiji.

Click here to read the magazine online here or download it as a pdf.

Click here to download the programme.

The LFSA did a fantastic job at hosting IYDU representatives and arranged a diverse programme of meetings for us including meeting with the LF Party leader, other senior figures from the Lebanese Forces, members of the LFSA national board, the General Secretary of the March 14^th Coalition and the heads of the Catholic and Greek-Orthodox Churches in Lebanon. In addition, participants met with International Republican Institute (IRI) representatives, a representative from the USA Embassy and members of other Lebanese Parties including Future Movement, Kataeb and the Progressive Socialist Party.

We also had the opportunity to visit the LF’s headquarters for the launch of their manifesto ahead of the local elections and see some of Lebanon’s cultural sites.

Click here to read a report of the visit in IYDU’s New Magazine ‘Young Democracy’

The IYDU Officers Meeting took place all day on January 30 and the morning of February 1. During the meeting, Officers agreed IYDU’s action plan for the forthcoming year including the Lebanon Study Trip, IYDU’s Freedom Forum, Regional Events and the Annual Council Meeting. Officers discussed ways to engage and develop members both at regional events and by using website and e-communications. Fundraising proposals were agreed alongside a membership development plan. Each Officer was also allocated specific areas of responsibilities and would be reporting back to the rest of the team in a monthly teleconference update. Officers also approved the IYDU Cuba Freedom Campaign 2010, and would be working hard to see it implemented.

Details of these events, including the upcoming Lebanon Study Trip and the 2010 Freedom Forum, are being finalised and will announced shortly.

If you would like to receive regular updates on IYDU please register for our monthly newsletter or sign up to our RSS feed.

Tim Dier, IYDU Chairman

The annual IYDU council elections took place in Berlin on 28 November 2009. The returning officer, Erik Moen, confirmed that Tim Dier of the UK’s Conservative Party was duly elected for his second and final term as IYDU Chairman. Tim is a Vice President of Morgan Stanley in London’s Canary Wharf financial district and has been involved in politics since 2000. Daniel Walther of the CDU and CSU’s Junge Union in Germany was elected to the position of Deputy Chairman. Daniel is the Federal Treasurer of the Junge Union.

The position of Executive Secretary has been filled by James Marriott. James comes to the IYDU from the UK Conservative Party’s Headquarters in London where he has worked in the International Office for the past seven years. During his time working for the Conservatives, he gained a wide range of experience, working with centre-right parties across the world and organising political development projects. James will relocate to Oslo, Norway and will be working full time on IYDU’s projects from the end of January 2010. In addition to working for the IYDU, James will also be working on projects for the International Democrat Union.

Elected to the positions of Vice Chairman are: Daniel Fielding (New Zealand), Charlie Smith (USA), Marco Casella (Italy), Yi-Shih Lin (Taiwan), David Pontoppidan (Denmark), Eliza Roszkowska Oberg (Sweden), Szymon Mos (Poland), Gianna Fakhourie (Jamaica), Aramris Perez (Cuba) and Ioanna Sygrasiti (Cyprus).

Commenting on the elections, Tim Dier said “I’m really pleased with the team we’ve got together to take IYDU forward over the next year. My priorities for the next twelve months are to make the organisation even more global by widening the participation of youth parties from Asia and Latin America; to promote events where future leaders can learn and network; and to build on our website and e-communications offering – so that those who can’t make every event can still keep in touch.  I’m confident that we’ve got the right people in place to deliver for our members.”

IYDU was extremely well hosted this year by Junge Union of the CDU and CSU who delivered an impressive programme packed with high level political events. The highlight of the programme was a visit to the German Bundestag. Delegates were fortunate enough to meet with the German Chancellor, Dr Angela Merkel MP and hear her speak. The Chancellor talked about her experience growing up in the eastern side of a divided Germany and stressed how the values of IYDU (democracy, human rights, free markets and free trade) remain under attack in many parts of the world. She urged representatives to continue the fight for freedom.

In addition to the political events, Junge Union arranged for visits that showcased the manufacturing muscle and industrial innovation of modern Germany. Delegates were taken to the world famous BMW plant in Leipzig and also had a chance to visit the world’s first carbon capture and storage (CCS) coal plant in Schwarze Pumpe.

The meeting concluded with the IYDU Council Meeting and Election held in the impressive auditorium of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. Tim Dier was re-elected as the IYDU’s Chairman. Click here for more on the election results.

Photographs from the 2009 event can be viewed on the Junge Union website www.junge-union.de/iydu

You may also be interested in:

• IYDU Study Trip to Lebanon

Our member organizations cover the world with 80 organizations from 50 countries. The diverse histories and cultures of those countries are reflected in the politics of the member organizations but our shared commitment to freedom and fighting socialism provides us with a unique bond. Member organizations include those from established democracies with deep rooted beliefs in individual freedom and liberty; others who have known first hand the destructive evil of communism; while those in Belarus and Zimbabwe are still fighting for basic freedoms.

The new website enables us to keep in contact with those interested in promoting freedom in all corners of the world.

To keep in touch, subscribe to out newsletter, follow us on Twitter and join our Facebook group.

To learn more about the organisation, click here.