Basta Youth Collective is an autonomous collective based in the North Co. Wicklow/South Co. Dublin area of Ireland. They organise punk rock concerts and tours.

Mission statement

RE: BASTA! YOUTH COLLECTIVE MISSION STATEMENT & INFO SHEET

We are an autonomous youth collective working to improve the quality of life and facilities for young people and indeed the whole community in the areas we live and recreate.

Our goal is to inspire, encourage and support individuals and groups wishing to improve our society. We do this through information exchange, discussion and debate, practical example and application, art, films and music to name but a few.

We intend to empower and enable individuals and communities to educate themselves to current and future issues affecting their lives with the ultimate goal of enabling them to govern themselves and make their own informed decisions.

‘Basta!’ is a Spanish word meaning ‘enough is enough’ or ‘stop’. In our context it means enough is enough, we’re tired of asking the government to provide for us. We are taking action into our own hands and utilising all means possible with the intention of educating communities to better, more sustainable and fulfilling ways of living. At its core Basta! is a show of young people coming together to create their own alternatives in a society where they feel alienated.

Recently we have been working to create a network and community of friends free from insecurities and peer pressure. For the past year we have made full use of the old St. Patrick’s Hall building in Greystones, turning it into a space for young people to meet and express themselves. Bands have travelled from as far away as Florida and Alabama to experience the community we have created. The hall is now due to be demolished to make way for apartments. However, we are determined to build on our efforts to date and create a permanent space to further our activities. We believe in funding ourselves through purely independent means and appeal to members of the public to aid us in achieving our objectives, whether financially or otherwise.

We have organised a number of projects in the Dublin and North Wicklow areas with all ages alcohol free gigs in City Arts Centre Dublin and old St. Patrick’s Hall Greystones, a 24 hour Do-It-Yourself Festival in Project Arts Centre, an open ‘stencil wall mural’ in Dublin City Centre, a compilation CD of young independent Irish bands with an accompanying guide booklet on how other young people can start similar projects and in June 2005 we organised a tour of Ireland for 5 local bands playing to their peers in other counties and distributing the CD and guide.

Future projects include producing a documentary about our activities which will be shown in Project Arts Centre, a second tour of Ireland with different bands in June 2006 and expanding into other areas of community activity.

Began in October 2004 by four teenagers, the collective now meets regularly and consists of about 50 young people. New members are always welcome. There are various sub groups within the collective such as the Basta! Drama Group. The collective is run on an open autonomous basis and most decisions are made collectively.

We are very enthusiastic about any activities we undertake and assure you honest co-operation should we be working together in the near future.


For further info or to pledge your support contact

thebyc@hotmail.com

External links

Website of Basta Youth Collective

RE: BASTA! YOUTH COLLECTIVE MISSION STATEMENT & INFO SHEET