Comac (youth movement)

COMAC
ChairpersonSander Claessens
Founded2002 (2002)
HeadquartersBd Lemonnier 171, 1000, Brussels
IdeologySocialism[1]
Marxism[2][3][4]
Feminism[5]
Pacifism[6]
Environmentalism[7]
Anti-racism[8]
LGBTQ-activism[9][10]
Mother partyWorkers' Party of Belgium
International affiliationWorld Federation of Democratic Youth
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata (in French and Dutch)
Official YouTube channel (in Dutch)

Comac is the student youth wing of the Belgian Marxist political party, the Workers' Party of Belgium (WPB), (known as PTB-PVDA in Belgium). The movement is active in 11 places across Belgium, operating in different cities, universities, as well as hogescholen.[2] Comac's projects engage in political and symbolic movements, and it frequently hosts gatherings, protests, or other actions. The organization is bilingual, with Flemish and Walloon sections cooperating on a national level.[11]

The student wing strives for a spectrum of social goals, such as a sustainable future, universal access to quality education, attention for mental health and climate action. Reversely, it opposes forms of discrimination, sexism, racism and aims to counteract the far-right.[11] Comac envisions a radically democratic, social and diverse society. While being politically aligned to PVDA-PTB, Comac is autonomous in their affairs; it is not required to be a WPB-member to join Comac.[2]

The student wing's abbreviation reflects its goals:

  • Change: Comac seeks to unite youth willing to stand up to injustice in society and fight to change the world;
  • Optimists: hopefulness towards alternatives and a better world;
  • Marxists: Comac sees Marx's ideas as a platform to understanding present-day capitalism and creating a new society;
  • Active: the student movement fights alongside climate activists, workers and people of everyday life;
  • Creative: change requires a broad movement independent of current dominant structures, to work on a new culture based on solidary.[2]

The organization has a joint movement, RedFox, for high-school students.[12]

  1. ^ Serluppens, Enio (3 September 2018). "Comac: Students For Change". PVDA (in Flemish). Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d "Over Comac". comac-studenten.be (in Dutch). COMAC. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Het marxisme: een alternatief op de status quo". Comac NL (in Flemish). 22 March 2020. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Karl Marx School". Comac NL (in Flemish). 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Een 8 maart met Debo - Als vrouwen stoppen, stopt de wereld". Comac NL (in Flemish). 15 March 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  6. ^ Mertens, Bart. "Vredesvlag voor Oekraïne: "Oorlog is een menselijk drama"". hln.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference backtotheclimate was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Action contre le racisme et la discrimination ce dimanche". lavenir.net (in French). 21 March 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference comacredfox was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "La loi anti-gay hongroise sert à diviser les gens". Solidaire (in French). 8 July 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  11. ^ a b "Durf Doen! - Comac". durfdoen.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  12. ^ "Wat is RedFox". nl.redfox.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 26 January 2020.