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  [All documents for conference here (http://www.minoritystudents.co.uk/node/886) Dear Union Officer/Student Leaders/Youth Leaders/Conscious People,

[All documents for conference here
(http://www.minoritystudents.co.uk/node/886)

Dear Union Officer/Student Leaders/Youth Leaders/Conscious People,

This message is to officially invite you to this historic conference for students and young people of Afrikan and Afrikan-Caribbean descent being organised by Afrikan Afrikan-Caribbean Youth and Students Action (AACYSA) in conjunction with the Minority Students Project.

At a recent NUS training event, during a public conversation with the NUS President (who was in role play)as the Governor of ''Fibchester University'', a school in a predominantly “black-”area, the President of King College Students Union (at the time)suggested that ‘blacks’ were ‘undesirables’ and that widening participation would lead to an increase in gun and knife crime, etc on campus.

At the same event the Vice President Education, of Nottingham University Students Union raised a poster reading, Bring Back Slavery .

Both these incidents, and many more, took place under the gaze of the NUS President (Wes Streeting) . At the very least, an Immediate Condemnation of all these unlawful acts should have been the inception of the appropriately robust and forthright action that was necessary. This was never done .

Numerous efforts to get in touch with Wes Streeting for answers were made but they all proved futile .

Afrikan and Afrikan Caribbean students at SOAS proposed a historic motion (which passed) to SOAS Union (Union General Meeting- UGM) demanding the immediate resignation of Wes Streeting for bringing the NUS into disrepute and for failing to represent one of the most vulnerable constituents of his electorate by fostering, mishandling and attempting to dismiss these heinous incidents of Afriphobic racism within the NUS.

Despite Wes Streeting’s awareness that the call for his resignation had now been passed democratically at Union General Meeting, making it official Union Policy, he displayed the archetypal disdain for democracy and anything overtly Afrikan in nature we have unacceptably become accustomed to from the worlds’ leaders, particularly our human rights.

By once again attempting to disregard the legitimate concerns of his Afrikan and Afrikan-Caribbean constituents, thinking it wise and/or prudent to accept/honour a prior invitation to attend a SOAS Union debate to speak on the topic of a ‘Free Education’.

No acceptable attempt to answer to the aggrieved constituents, or to take any form of Executive responsibility for both his personal failures, and that of the NUS in the capacity of their representative duty to challenge, resolve and terminate incidents of Afriphobic Racism by NUS staff and upon NUS platforms has occurred.

As a result AA-CYSA and the Minority Students Project came together to support the brave young students of the SOAS ACS by launching a brand new anti-racism campaign, simply called and stating “Enough is Enough”.

This campaign compliments the work already being done by AA-CYSA and the Minority Students Project by helping to fill the void that is the necessary support system for young people of Afrikan descent to challenge and overcome the system of both lawful and unlawful discrimination and marginalisation that so often destroys their potential and obstructs their progress.

Students and sympathisers who hailed from different parts of the world had no choice but to demonstrate against his lack of interest in issues of prime importance to African and African Caribbean students.

Our resilience chalked a further victory in our struggle and the Wes Streeting had to abandon that meeting and attend to the demands of the spirited demonstrators. It was demanded that a proper meeting is arranged which he had to agree to and has agreed to attend to address the issue affecting students of African descent.

As we speak right now, Joseph Bitrus, fellow AA-CYSA founding member and President of the Univerisity of East London Students Union (which boasts of one of the largest percentages of students of African descent in Europe) is taking the kind of effective action AA-CYSA proposes and endorses, by withholding affiliation to the NUS and threatening disaffiliation over these racist issues within the NUS.

Many community leaders across the country have condemned these Afriphobic, racist and criminal occurrences that have gone unchallenged within the NUS.

But due to recent unanticipated events now, more than ever is the time for us to say “Yes we can” by showing and proving our leadership credentials to our brothers and sisters, less fortunate than us, those who need it the most. It is in this spirit, and for this reason, that this historic conference has been called. We will be informed about, discuss and then present to the world some of our solutions to these critical issues that afflict our community.

It is based on this fact that we are inviting all student unions around the country to send Ambassadors to this event to act as the voice of and to represent the local, national or international concerns of the Afrikan an Afrikan-Caribbean youth, students and communities within their constituencies.

As campaigning organisations, we are sure that all Unions will benefit indubitably from a more politically active Afrikan and Afrikan-Caribbean body, which participating in this major event, bound to be an international news headline in the coming weeks, can only have positive knock-on effects.

Read campaign documents
Please email all delegate registration forms back to
aacysaconference@minoritystudnets.co.uk

(http://www.minoritystudents.co.uk/node/886)

Required
• We request that each union ask the Black Students Officer or ACS Officers to organise small independent elections in order to elect and send to conference a minimum of two Ambassadors each of either Afrikan or Afrikan-Caribbean descent.
• There is no limit to observers, participants and sympathisers that wish to attend this event. Space is limited however and spaces will be allocated on a first come first served basis.
• 4pm Fri 21st November 2008 is the deadline for the return of Ambassador applications. Applications for Ambassadors received after the deadline will not be accepted under any circumstance.

Contact us on 07897499999 or e-mail: accysaconference@minoritystudents.co.uk

*Special Guest Speaker awaiting confirmation. Rt. Hon Tony Benn, and Benjamin Zepheniah are also invited to this event. Attendance to be confirmed.