Young Companions of the Union

Young Companions of the Union همراهان جوان اتحادیه Hamdamân-e Javân-ye Ettehâd الصحابة الشباب من الاتحاد Al-Aṣḥāb al-Šabāb min al-Ittiḥād
Logo of the Young Companions
Flag of the Young Companions
Secretary General	Haidar Nassar
Political Affairs Director	Mukhtar Khadarivar
Honorary President	Vahid Isfandiar
Founded	28 November 1950 (1950-11-28)
Headquarters	Zarâdkâne Complex, Zahedan
Membership	77.54 million (2020)
Ideology	Sattarist National Renovationism
Mother party	National Renovation Front
Newspaper	Javân

The Young Companions of the Union, (YCU) (Pasdani: همراهان جوان اتحادیه; Hamdamân-e Javân-ye Ettehâd, HJE; Rahelian: الصحابة الشباب من الاتحاد; Al-Aṣḥāb al-Šabāb min al-Ittiḥād, ASI), is the sole political youth movement in Zorasan and the youth division of the ruling National Renovation Front. It is the largest youth movement in the world, with an estimated 77.54 million members as of 2020, membership is mandatory for all children aged between 4 and 16. It's sister organisation, the Young Thinkers of the Union is dedicated to university students.

It was established in November 1950 following the Sattarist victory in the Pardarian Civil War and expanded in 1953 to include the youth of Khazestan and Ninevah following the unification of the Union of Khazestan and Pardaran. Between 1953 and 1980, its primary duty was to prepare its male members for national service and its female members for supporting any future war effort, while also engaging in political education and propagation of National Renovationism. Following the success of Zorasani Unification in 1980, the YCU was again expanded to an all-Union organisation, with mandatory membership sustained at its 1981 General Congress.

Today, the YCU provides numerous extra-ciriculuar activities that go toward securing university places or being fast-tracked into select government services. It still provides its male members access to military style training and regularly operates events designed to prepare them for national service or volunteering for the armed forces. The YCU also operates social services for young members from poorer backgrounds, including tutoring, housing and electronic devices. The YCU's structure and inherently political nature has led many to describe the YCU as a "training school" for NRF politicians or career officials.

Organisation

Structure

As an all-Union movement, the YCU operates a federalised structure, parallel to the political divisions of Zorasan, with a powerful overarching executive at the centre, directly subordinate to the ruling National Renovation Front. The Central Executive Committee of the Young Companions (CEC) is led by a Secretary-General, who is appointed by the Revolutionary Command Congress, the primary decision making body of the Party. The Secretary-General is deputised by a Deputy Secretary-General, whom he or she selects from the movement itself. The third senior executive officer is the Political Affairs Director, who is also selected by the RCC and is usually drawn from the State Commission for Revolutionary Propagation and Information, though it has been known that the Central Command Council has interceded and appointed its own candidate. Beyond these three executive officers, the CEC is comprised of the Secretary-Generals of all nine Regional Divisions (state-level movements) among others.

The YCU itself is divided into nine Regional Divisions, which correspond to the nine Union Republics of Zorasan, each Regional Division is in turn led by a Regional Executive Committee and its chairpersons are appointed by the CEC every five years. As the YCU covers the age groups 4-16, it is further divided into two components; the Children of the Union (Kudakân-ye Ettehâd) and the Future of the Union (Âyande-ye Ettehâd); the CU covers ages 4-9 and the FU covers 9-16. The primary grouping of the YCU since 1982 has been the "School Cadre" (Kâdr Maktab), which is comprised of all members at the same primary and secondary school, the HJK is the primary grouping for administration, activities and organisation in relation to the wider Regional Division. Below the HJK is the "Class Squad" (Juxe Kelâs) which is consists of students from the same class in school. As membership is mandatory for all children in Zorasan, there were an estimated 203,500 School Cadres in 2020.

Students who turn 17 and secure placement at university are mandated to join the Young Thinkers of the Union which covers the ages 17-24.

Customs, rituals and oath

The YCU organises the Youth Mass Games held every summer, in which YCU Regional Divisions pit against each other in a viarety of sports.