- by E Lennon
- The Guardian
- Issue #2058
Photo:CPA
Young Communists came together from across the country for the 2023 Communist Youth Camp held over the June long weekend.
The camp ran over three days in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, on Dharug and Gundungurra Country.
Comrades got to test their art skills with banner making, spend time in nature on a beautiful bushwalk, participate in union training, and listen to multiple talks on various topics followed by group discussions.
Cole, who participated in the camp says it was a chance for everyone to connect.
“The camp was a beautiful initiative for those in solidarity of the communist movement to connect with each other,” she said.
“The environment provided reflection on how we can build and enrich the Party based on significance of community, socialist principles, and the fight for equality for the working class.”
On the first day of camp, participants worked hard on their protest banners, followed by a talk on the history and theory of socialist governance by Roland Boer, a CPA member who is an academic teaching Marxist philosophy at the School of Philosophy at Renmin University of China in Beijing.
Comrades went bushwalking on the second day and explored impressive rock formations and caves. This was followed by union training, which included theoretical discussion as well as practical training, led by a CPA member who is a union official.
The Young Karl Marx (2017) was shown for the camp’s movie night, offering a historical dramatisation of the lives of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels from the start of their friendship to the publication of The Communist Manifesto in 1848.
On the final day, a talk was given on the history of the CPA and its youth organisations by a casual academic and a student who are both in the CPA NSW Youth Fraction.
Skye, who attended the camp says the talk helped everyone learn more about youth activism.
“It really showed how we have to approach youth activism from within communities rather than without,” they said.
“We talk a lot about how we need to show that we come from the workers rather than preach to them, but we often fail that in practice, and nowhere more than when it comes to youth and social movements.
“We educate ourselves on how to be communists in the workplace; we seldom dig through the literature that the speakers found on how to be communists in our community organisations, like sporting and arts clubs.”
Christian, another attendee of the camp says it was a great experience and a success.
“I thought the camp was encouraging, inspiring and refreshing,” he says. “It was clear that everyone who participated enjoyed it a lot, that many people learned a lot and got lots out of it, and that it is an important initiative that should be made into a regular event.”
The organisers would like to thank everyone who helped make the camp a reality and for comrades who made donations to fund the weekend.
