PRESS RELEASE IG Metall sends a clear message against the far right at the ‘R!SE’ youth festival

The IG Metall Youth’s R!SE Festival, taking place July 13–16 at Magdeburg’s Elbauenpark, sends a clear message against the far right.

Just two weeks later, the AfD’s European Federal Party Convention will also take place in Magdeburg, an event opposed by civil society coalitions, organizations such as IG Metall, and private citizens alike.

A large photo campaign, in which IG Metall’s Second Chair, Christiane Benner, and Chief Treasurer, Jürgen Kerner, also participated, expressed solidarity with everyone organizing locally against the far-right party.

“As a union, anti-fascism and anti-racism are in our DNA,” explains Christiane Benner, Second Chair of IG Metall. “When our young IG Metall members go into the workplaces as ambassadors for democracy and a culture of welcome, everyone benefits.”

With more than 200,000 members, IG Metall Youth is the largest political youth organization in Germany. At the R!SE Festival, 1,500 active metalworkers come together for an extensive program of live concerts, workshops, discussions, and opportunities to exchange ideas with initiatives, party youth groups, and other youth organizations. At the festival, following the period of limited social contact during the COVID-19 pandemic, IG Metall brings together youth and apprentice representatives as well as active members from the workplaces.

Topics such as securing apprenticeship opportunities, shaping the transition to a green economy, the fight against climate change, and the struggle against the far right shape the program. The increasingly difficult situation in the apprenticeship market was also a focal point of debates and workshops at the festival. Employers’ complaints about being unable to find apprentices, while Germany has 2.6 million people between the ages of 19 and 35 without a vocational qualification (Vocational Training Report 2023), highlight the problem.

“We need to ramp up our efforts in vocational training,” Christiane Benner made clear. “School graduates must be supported on their path to a career. In times of skilled labor shortages and transformation, we cannot stand idly by and watch as apprenticeship positions remain unfilled.”

Further information:
The IG Metall Youth R!SE Festival will take place July 13–16 at Elbauenpark in Magdeburg. All IG Metall members under the age of 35 are welcome to participate.

rise-festival.info