Young Fabians - International Relations

International Relations

Obama 2008: On the ground in Ohio

More than a year in the planning, the Young Fabians headed over the Atlantic in late October 2008 for one of our biggest, most ambitious and successful trips ever.

An incredible 80 Young Fabians and Labour Staff Network members joined went to Columbus in the swing state of Ohio for the final week of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

YF-LSN Obama campaign delegation - Columbus Ohio.jpg

Find out more about the trip in this article taken from the winter 08 edition of Anticipations. Download now (PDF)

More photos of what we got up to on the campaign trail are available on Flickr. Check them out now

Obama 2008: Bringing it home

Just a month after we got back from Ohio we held a workshop at the TUC, inviting others who had participated in the campaign to join us in focussing our thoughts on what ideas we may be able to bring back to British campaigns.

In January 2009 we held a roundtable on the same topic with Douglas Alexander MP, Labour’s general election coordinator, which we followed with our own inauguration party.

In April 2009, to mark Barack Obama’s 100th day as President, we presented three papers chronicling our experiences and those of others who took part in Obama’s campaign and offering ideas for Labour and union campaigns in the UK.

'From Ohio to Oxford East' and 'Lessons from America' are available to download now. Find out more

We have also written a number of blog pieces on what we learnt from the trip and ideas for campaigns in the UK:
Young Fabians Blog – 30 April 2009
Next Left – 1 May 2009
LabourList – 30 April 2009

Action for Southern Africa 2009

In June 2009, three Young Fabians joined a delegation to southern Africa organised by Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA). Working for peace, democracy and development across the region, ACTSA is the successor organisation to the Anti-Apartheid Movement, and campaigns with the people of Southern Africa as they strive to build a better future.

We visited South Africa and Swaziland and met youth and student leaders from the two countries as well as Zimbabwe. We learnt more about how the struggles of the past have brought these countries to the struggles of the present.

We also met with representatives from the South Africa government, the British government, the EU, and the UN, as well as seeing the work of NGOs and civil society in the region.

If you would like to find out more about the trip below are a series of reports about what we got up to as well as a feature from the 2009 Winter edition of Anticipations:

Notes from Africa – Anticipations Winter 2009
Day One - by Steve Race
Cape Town to Robben Island - by Preth Rao
'It's easier to knock down a wall the build a new one' - by Adrian Prandle

More photos of what we got up to on the campaign trail are available on Flickr. Check them out now

International and Security Policy Forum

2009 saw us embark upon a process of policy development culminating in the Fast Forward: The Next Generation of Progressive Politics pamphlet. The International and Security Policy Forum held a number of meetings where Young Fabians discussed their views, provoked by some interesting guest speakers, and contributed a chapter to the publication. Find out more...

And finally...

To stay up to date with all our work on an international theme don't forget to check out our blog. If you would like to know more about our international work or are interested in getting involved, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , our International Officer.