The Declaration on

“Re-Branding Capitalism”
by the Global Youth Symposium 2008, the University of Malaya,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
“KUALA LUMPUR ’08, DECLARATION I”

The delegates of the Global Youth Symposium 2008 gathered in the University of Malaya from
19th to 23rd August 2008 under the theme of “Empowering Youth – Meeting Global Challenges”
to discuss

Australia
Chinese Taipei
Hong Kong, China
India
Indonesia
Kenya
Malaysia
Nepal
Pakistan
Singapore
Thailand
The Philippines
Vietnam

GLOBAL YOUTH SYMPOSIUM 2008 THE UNIVERISTY OF MALAYA

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
Preamble

This declaration is based on the premise that the capitalist system practiced throughout the years
has produced problems such as;

AN increase in global unemployment which in turn lays the foundation for the growing divide
between high and low income groups in society resulting in only a few benefiting from
capitalism;

AN advancement of materialism, which is key in capitalism, has furthermore corroded concerns

for the environment, social development and equality of life;

AN instability in inflation rates which increase the suffering of society;

AN inefficient allocation of scarce resources due to the want of increasing profits regardless of
environmental degradation;

AN erosion of personal values and culture are affected while trying to achieve better life
standard where people only care on monetary rewards (alienation, dehumanisation and
deskilling).

Now, therefore, Global Youth Symposium 2008 proclaims this declaration as a solution to the
problems mentioned above with through a change in corporate bodies termed “Corporate
Empowerment”. The above participating nations of this symposium hereby declare as follows:

GLOBAL YOUTH SYMPOSIUM 2008 THE UNIVERISTY OF MALAYA

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
Article 1

We propose the formation of an independent body which will be transparent and non-political
with the aim of ensuring that extreme exploitation of human labour and natural resources which
results in the suffering of others do not occur.

Article 2

(1) The governments of nation-states shall provide incentives to corporate bodies or

organisations through financial, educational and social agencies and encourage the usage
of sustainable products and materials.

(2) The aforementioned corporate bodies shall be accorded recognition through formal
accreditation system and the media by the government.

Article 3

(1) Empowered corporate bodies, under the new declaration, shall allocate a portion of their
revenue for socially beneficial projects with an emphasis on education to share the
responsibility of the government, lower the burden of the public by providing, ultimately,
free education.

(2) The aforementioned empowered corporate bodies shall be involved in enhancing the
infrastructure in the rural areas and giving priority to weaker groups who do not have the
opportunity to better their lives.

(3) In order to counter materialism, corporate bodies shall instill a sense of belonging and
ownership of the company, environment and society while promoting personal
development skills to enhance the labour force.

GLOBAL YOUTH SYMPOSIUM 2008 THE UNIVERISTY OF MALAYA

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA