For more on the PCC's work among youth, see Raul Castro's speech to the closing session of the Union of Young Communists (UJC) Ninth Congress in April 2010.
First National Conference of the Cuban Communist Party
Draft basic document
Translation: Marce Cameron (Part 5 of translation)
Draft basic document
Translation: Marce Cameron (Part 5 of translation)
Chapter 4: The Party’s relations with the UJC and the mass organisations
Union of Young Communists (UJC)
80. Ensure that the Party’s structures are linked systematically with those of the UJC at all levels, devising more effective work styles with a view to strengthening the capacity of the UJC to carry out political work through its militants.
81. Focus the work of the UJC on attending to the Pioneers[1], adolescents and youth to contribute, without improvisation and with objectivity, to the formation of values and convictions. Carry out activities, free from schemas and dogmas, with the aim of them adopting a correct social conduct.
82. Ensure that the method and forms of selecting cadres as well as the functioning of its structures, in particular its base organisations, are the lifeblood of the UJC’s communication with and influence among the youth, based on the personal example of its militants and their contribution to defending the Revolution in the sectors in which they carry out political work.
83. Improve the quality of the ordinary meetings of the UJC base committees. The evaluation of essential matters based on its own perspective and approaches must be encouraged, so that the members involve and motivate as many youth as possible.
84. Prioritise work in the education sector, including specific actions in the academic and intellectual sphere, the universities and the study centres. Ensure that the talent that is cultivated in these sectors is put at the service of the people.
85. Transform, with new methods and greater flexibility, the UJC’s work with the Pioneers organisation, the high school students federation and the university students federation. Facilitate them taking up their respective missions and earning the necessary greater recognition of students, so that students feel that these organisations represent, support and accompany them in their studies.
86. Evaluate the benefits of raising the minimum age for UJC membership to 16 years, with a view to future members being better prepared for admission. Likewise, extend the maximum age of membership to 35 years.
87. Assist the enrollment of youth in the technical and trades schools. Attend to those who are beginning their working lives and those who work in the non-state [i.e. self-employment, small business and cooperative] sector.
88. Strengthen the work of the UJC in the productive sector, identifying and attending to youths who may be prospective members. Achieve membership growth as a result of this approach.
89. Promote recreational spaces with the participation of the Pioneers and student organisations, taking into account the available resources. Forms that contribute to the development and wholesome recreation of children, adolescents and youth will be favoured.
90. Improve the youth publications, so that their articles and materials are more influential among children and youth and respond to the needs, tastes and interests of these age groups.
91. Evaluate the calls to participate in national events promoted by the UJC and the student federations and limit them to those that are essential.
Mass organisations
92. Redouble the attention given by the Party to these organisations, with a more rounded influence on their cadres and structures. Emphasise the responsibility and training of the base committees in order to carry out their tasks in the workplaces and communities.
93. Achieve a relationship between the Party and these organisations that is free from formalism, with ongoing feedback regarding the interests, viewpoints and proposals of their members on issues of paramount importance and priority at the national level.
94. When undertaking tasks of a strategic nature for the country or a region or locality, the Party should consider providing information to and involving the corresponding mass organisations in these tasks.
95. Encourage and support the participation of the trade union and National Association of Small Farmers cadres in the assemblies of members and associates. Contribute to these assemblies through the active role of the Party militants.
96. Support the work of the Committees for the Defence of the Revolution and the Federation of Cuban Women and that of their neighbourhood committees through the active participation of the local Party militants.
With regard to the paragraphs above in relation to the mass organisations, it should be clarified that, as part of the preparatory work prior to the Conference, the national leaderships of these organisations carried out a consultation process on their content, structures and functioning. This entailed a broad exchange with their cadres and members down to the base level, after which they will undertake to carry out the necessary transformations and changes.
97. The militants of the PCC and the UJC, as members of one of more of these organisations, are in a position to contribute their opinions in this regard. In this respect, they should refer in their interventions to the issues relating to the content, practices, work methods and responsibilities of each of the mass organisations in the current conditions, so that these organisations are better able to fulfil their functions in relation to the social sectors they represent.
Union of Young Communists (UJC)
80. Ensure that the Party’s structures are linked systematically with those of the UJC at all levels, devising more effective work styles with a view to strengthening the capacity of the UJC to carry out political work through its militants.
81. Focus the work of the UJC on attending to the Pioneers[1], adolescents and youth to contribute, without improvisation and with objectivity, to the formation of values and convictions. Carry out activities, free from schemas and dogmas, with the aim of them adopting a correct social conduct.
82. Ensure that the method and forms of selecting cadres as well as the functioning of its structures, in particular its base organisations, are the lifeblood of the UJC’s communication with and influence among the youth, based on the personal example of its militants and their contribution to defending the Revolution in the sectors in which they carry out political work.
83. Improve the quality of the ordinary meetings of the UJC base committees. The evaluation of essential matters based on its own perspective and approaches must be encouraged, so that the members involve and motivate as many youth as possible.
84. Prioritise work in the education sector, including specific actions in the academic and intellectual sphere, the universities and the study centres. Ensure that the talent that is cultivated in these sectors is put at the service of the people.
85. Transform, with new methods and greater flexibility, the UJC’s work with the Pioneers organisation, the high school students federation and the university students federation. Facilitate them taking up their respective missions and earning the necessary greater recognition of students, so that students feel that these organisations represent, support and accompany them in their studies.
86. Evaluate the benefits of raising the minimum age for UJC membership to 16 years, with a view to future members being better prepared for admission. Likewise, extend the maximum age of membership to 35 years.
87. Assist the enrollment of youth in the technical and trades schools. Attend to those who are beginning their working lives and those who work in the non-state [i.e. self-employment, small business and cooperative] sector.
88. Strengthen the work of the UJC in the productive sector, identifying and attending to youths who may be prospective members. Achieve membership growth as a result of this approach.
89. Promote recreational spaces with the participation of the Pioneers and student organisations, taking into account the available resources. Forms that contribute to the development and wholesome recreation of children, adolescents and youth will be favoured.
90. Improve the youth publications, so that their articles and materials are more influential among children and youth and respond to the needs, tastes and interests of these age groups.
91. Evaluate the calls to participate in national events promoted by the UJC and the student federations and limit them to those that are essential.
Mass organisations
92. Redouble the attention given by the Party to these organisations, with a more rounded influence on their cadres and structures. Emphasise the responsibility and training of the base committees in order to carry out their tasks in the workplaces and communities.
93. Achieve a relationship between the Party and these organisations that is free from formalism, with ongoing feedback regarding the interests, viewpoints and proposals of their members on issues of paramount importance and priority at the national level.
94. When undertaking tasks of a strategic nature for the country or a region or locality, the Party should consider providing information to and involving the corresponding mass organisations in these tasks.
95. Encourage and support the participation of the trade union and National Association of Small Farmers cadres in the assemblies of members and associates. Contribute to these assemblies through the active role of the Party militants.
96. Support the work of the Committees for the Defence of the Revolution and the Federation of Cuban Women and that of their neighbourhood committees through the active participation of the local Party militants.
With regard to the paragraphs above in relation to the mass organisations, it should be clarified that, as part of the preparatory work prior to the Conference, the national leaderships of these organisations carried out a consultation process on their content, structures and functioning. This entailed a broad exchange with their cadres and members down to the base level, after which they will undertake to carry out the necessary transformations and changes.
97. The militants of the PCC and the UJC, as members of one of more of these organisations, are in a position to contribute their opinions in this regard. In this respect, they should refer in their interventions to the issues relating to the content, practices, work methods and responsibilities of each of the mass organisations in the current conditions, so that these organisations are better able to fulfil their functions in relation to the social sectors they represent.
________________
Translator's footnote:
[1] Socialist Cuba’s mass organisation of children and young adolescents
[1] Socialist Cuba’s mass organisation of children and young adolescents
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