ROOD
Encyclopedia
ROOD: jong in de SP is a Dutch youth wing linked to the Socialist Party
.
) since 2003 with the goal to let young people participate in creating a socialist
society in The Netherlands and to support the SP. Between 1999 and 2003, ROOD was a group within the party, initially subtitled "young initiative within the SP". It was the successor of the "J-team".
Locally, ROOD is organised in groups within political and financial responsibity of the local SP-section. There exist criteria for forming a group, such as a minimum number of (active) members. The number of groups is continuously fluctuating, but was 20 on average in 2005. Stable groups exist in Amsterdam
, Delft
, Haarlem
Groningen and Utrecht
. ROOD-members can be anyone between 14 and 28. They have to be a member of the SP, except for members below 16 years of age.
Nationally, ROOD has a board consisting of five people with a varying number of supporting advisors. The board, elected nationally, coordinates the groups and organises nationwide action campaign and activities such as education and excursions. Gijsbert Houtbeckers is chairperson since June 2007, succeeding Renske Leijten
who held the position since June 2005. The first formal chairperson since ROOD was founded was Driek van Vugt between 2003 and 2005. Before that, he had been part of the board of the group ROOD since 1999, whose chairpeople were Sjoerd de Jong (1999-2000) and Gerrie Elfrink (2000-2002).
The main activities of ROOD are political activism and educating the members.
, actions were held for fair trade
coffee at universities. ROOD also sent a representative to the European Social Forum
(ESF) in Paris.
Since 2003, ROOD organises a yearly Huisjesmelker van het Jaar election, where students elect the worst private landlord in the country. Since 2005, this election is organised in cooperation with the Landelijke Studenten Vakbond and local councils of that organisation.
In 2004, ROOD started a campaign against animal testing
in the cosmetics
-industry, in 2005 it was L'Oréal
that was called to stop animal testing when ROOD visited it with many autographs.
ROOD also directs at international themes such as globalisation. In 2005, ROOD facilitated an exposition by young Palestinians about their culture, in different Dutch cities. After a visit of ROOD members to the occupied areas in Palestine, a declaration of friendship was signed with the football club Hapoël Bne Sachnin, by ROOD referred to as "FC Bnei Sakhnin". In The Netherlands, ROOD started a supporters club for this Arab
ic-Israel
i club. ROOD also participated in the successful campaign against the European Constitution by the motto "Zeg je ja of denk je na" ("do you say yes, or do you think?").
In 2006 ROOD did two electoral campaign of its own, supporting the SP in the municipal elections and in the national elections.
Also in 2006, ROOD started the website www.watvooreikelszijnjullie.nl, a parody at the government website www.watvooreikelbenjij.nl, meant to teach values to young people. ROOD cites as a reason for the protest cite the spill of government money (ca. 1 million euro for the campaign) and the respectless language used by the government website (wat voor eikel ben jij can be translated as what kind of dick are you). ROOD also criticised the fact that this site was obviously linked to MSN
, which means free publicity for Microsoft
.
Since 2007, ROOD has been organising actions for the improvement of the eductation system. The main focus of these actions was against the '1040 hour norm' (a norm that forces schools to give an unrealistic high amount of lessons, creating a huge amount of 'free hours' for students). This 1040 norm caused a spontaneous all-out strike among secondary school students.
The Code ROOD appears four times a year and contains political comments and news about activities by ROOD. The Blikopener appears twice a year. They are distributed free of charge at schools, and in some places are distributed at homes in areas with many students.
Until 2006, ROOD had a monthly page in the party magazine, the Tribune.
Since 2006, ROOD is distributing the ROOD-magazine for its members. It is distributed twice a year and will contain in-depth political analysis for ROOD-members.
is at number 9 on the candidate list, and was one of the youngest candidates for parliament. By 2008, three members of parliament have a history within ROOD, being Farshad Bashir
, Manja Smits and Renske Leijten. Within the national SP, ROOD is represented within the party management, and locally it is tried to represent ROOD in many local sections to coordinate activities. As of 2008, ROOD has 28 local groups.
Socialist Party (Netherlands)
The Socialist Party is a democratic socialist political party in the Netherlands. After the 2006 general election, the Socialist Party became one of the major parties of the Netherlands with 25 seats of 150, an increase of 16 seats. The party was in opposition against the fourth Balkenende cabinet...
.
Ideals and policies
Rood's main goals are the promotion of a socialist society and promotion of its mother party and attempts to attract new people into it.Organisation
Formally, ROOD has been a vereniging (voluntary associationVoluntary association
A voluntary association or union is a group of individuals who enter into an agreement as volunteers to form a body to accomplish a purpose.Strictly speaking, in many jurisdictions no formalities are necessary to start an association...
) since 2003 with the goal to let young people participate in creating a socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
society in The Netherlands and to support the SP. Between 1999 and 2003, ROOD was a group within the party, initially subtitled "young initiative within the SP". It was the successor of the "J-team".
Locally, ROOD is organised in groups within political and financial responsibity of the local SP-section. There exist criteria for forming a group, such as a minimum number of (active) members. The number of groups is continuously fluctuating, but was 20 on average in 2005. Stable groups exist in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
, Haarlem
Haarlem
Haarlem is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland, the northern half of Holland, which at one time was the most powerful of the seven provinces of the Dutch Republic...
Groningen and Utrecht
Utrecht (city)
Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
. ROOD-members can be anyone between 14 and 28. They have to be a member of the SP, except for members below 16 years of age.
Nationally, ROOD has a board consisting of five people with a varying number of supporting advisors. The board, elected nationally, coordinates the groups and organises nationwide action campaign and activities such as education and excursions. Gijsbert Houtbeckers is chairperson since June 2007, succeeding Renske Leijten
Renske Leijten
Renske Maria Leijten is a Dutch politician. As a member of the Socialist Party she has been an MP since November 30, 2006. She focuses on matters of public health, quality of life and sports....
who held the position since June 2005. The first formal chairperson since ROOD was founded was Driek van Vugt between 2003 and 2005. Before that, he had been part of the board of the group ROOD since 1999, whose chairpeople were Sjoerd de Jong (1999-2000) and Gerrie Elfrink (2000-2002).
Activities and stances
Although formally independent, ROOD (contrary to other political youth organisations) does not take any stances that are different from that of the party.The main activities of ROOD are political activism and educating the members.
Campaigns
In 2003, ROOD was active protesting against the obligation for all citizens to be always able to identify themselves, and against cuts on education. There were also buildings occupied to attract attention the lack of housing for young people and at various universitiesUniversity
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
, actions were held for fair trade
Fair trade
Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...
coffee at universities. ROOD also sent a representative to the European Social Forum
European Social Forum
The European Social Forum is a recurring conference held by members of the alter-globalization movement . In the first few years after it started in 2002 the conference was held every year, but later it became biannual due to difficulties with finding host countries...
(ESF) in Paris.
Since 2003, ROOD organises a yearly Huisjesmelker van het Jaar election, where students elect the worst private landlord in the country. Since 2005, this election is organised in cooperation with the Landelijke Studenten Vakbond and local councils of that organisation.
In 2004, ROOD started a campaign against animal testing
Animal testing
Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and in vivo testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments. Worldwide it is estimated that the number of vertebrate animals—from zebrafish to non-human primates—ranges from the tens of millions to more than 100 million...
in the cosmetics
Cosmetics
Cosmetics are substances used to enhance the appearance or odor of the human body. Cosmetics include skin-care creams, lotions, powders, perfumes, lipsticks, fingernail and toe nail polish, eye and facial makeup, towelettes, permanent waves, colored contact lenses, hair colors, hair sprays and...
-industry, in 2005 it was L'Oréal
L'Oréal
The L'Oréal Group is the world's largest cosmetics and beauty company. With its registered office in Paris and head office in the Paris suburb of Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine, France, it has developed activities in the field of cosmetics...
that was called to stop animal testing when ROOD visited it with many autographs.
ROOD also directs at international themes such as globalisation. In 2005, ROOD facilitated an exposition by young Palestinians about their culture, in different Dutch cities. After a visit of ROOD members to the occupied areas in Palestine, a declaration of friendship was signed with the football club Hapoël Bne Sachnin, by ROOD referred to as "FC Bnei Sakhnin". In The Netherlands, ROOD started a supporters club for this Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
ic-Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
i club. ROOD also participated in the successful campaign against the European Constitution by the motto "Zeg je ja of denk je na" ("do you say yes, or do you think?").
Also in 2006, ROOD started the website www.watvooreikelszijnjullie.nl, a parody at the government website www.watvooreikelbenjij.nl, meant to teach values to young people. ROOD cites as a reason for the protest cite the spill of government money (ca. 1 million euro for the campaign) and the respectless language used by the government website (wat voor eikel ben jij can be translated as what kind of dick are you). ROOD also criticised the fact that this site was obviously linked to MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
, which means free publicity for Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
.
Since 2007, ROOD has been organising actions for the improvement of the eductation system. The main focus of these actions was against the '1040 hour norm' (a norm that forces schools to give an unrealistic high amount of lessons, creating a huge amount of 'free hours' for students). This 1040 norm caused a spontaneous all-out strike among secondary school students.
Publications
ROOD publishes two student newspapers:- The Blikopener (eyeopener), for HBOVocational universityA vocational university is an institution of higher education and sometimes research, which provides both tertiary and sometimes quaternary education and grants academic degrees at all levels in a variety of subjects...
and universityUniversityA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
students; - The Code ROOD (code red), for all youths between the age of 14 and 28.
The Code ROOD appears four times a year and contains political comments and news about activities by ROOD. The Blikopener appears twice a year. They are distributed free of charge at schools, and in some places are distributed at homes in areas with many students.
Until 2006, ROOD had a monthly page in the party magazine, the Tribune.
Since 2006, ROOD is distributing the ROOD-magazine for its members. It is distributed twice a year and will contain in-depth political analysis for ROOD-members.
Relation to the SP
Unlike other political youth organisations, ROOD is closely linked to the party. For the municipal elections in 2006, 10% of the elected candidates are from ROOD, and for the legislative elections in 2006, former chairperson Renske LeijtenRenske Leijten
Renske Maria Leijten is a Dutch politician. As a member of the Socialist Party she has been an MP since November 30, 2006. She focuses on matters of public health, quality of life and sports....
is at number 9 on the candidate list, and was one of the youngest candidates for parliament. By 2008, three members of parliament have a history within ROOD, being Farshad Bashir
Farshad Bashir
Farshad Bashir is a Dutch politician of Afghan descent. As a member of the Socialist Party he has been an MP since January 15, 2008, succeeding Rosita van Gijlswijk. He focuses on matters of taxation, traffic and water management.- Biography :His father was a journalist in the daily Anis during...
, Manja Smits and Renske Leijten. Within the national SP, ROOD is represented within the party management, and locally it is tried to represent ROOD in many local sections to coordinate activities. As of 2008, ROOD has 28 local groups.