The WYA Declaration on Solidarity identifies solidarity as the unified commitment of persons to live and work in the truth of who we are and for the pursuit of the common good.
We, young people from all regions of the world, commit to living and promoting solidarity in all human relationships.
We believe that solidarity is the unified commitment of persons to live and work in the truth of who we are and for the pursuit of the common good. This begins with a fundamental recognition and common understanding of the human person.
Recalling that the intrinsic dignity of each person is the foundation of all just human interactions, and recalling that this dignity is inalienable and cannot be mitigated in any degree; we affirm that every person is free, possessing the power to choose to act in accordance with the reality of the dignity of all persons.
Solidarity is built on the use of this freedom to willfully recognize fundamental human needs, desires, and rights and to authentically pursue their fulfillment for all persons. It is the foundation for sustainable development and the building of free, just and peaceful societies.
The family, as the primary cell of such societies, can provide the person with a fundamental experience of what it means to be truly human, through the parents’ unconditional gift of self to the child and through their mutual self-gift to each other. The experience of the truth of the person through gift of self can also be encountered through other human relationships. This understanding of reciprocal personal donation prepares the ground for solidarity.
Visible signs of need, suffering and injustice expose the universal human condition of vulnerability and reveal a common identity amongst the self and other persons. This in turn lays the foundation for the understanding and forgiveness necessary for lasting solidarity. We, as young people, particularly commit ourselves in solidarity to all those who live in need, experience the vulnerability and hardships of war, famine, disease or social unrest, and who suffer the poverty of hopelessness.
Through this unified commitment to solidarity, we build the foundation for the establishment of a free, just, and peaceful world.
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