The Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) organized a day of music, dance, and shooting sports in the neighborhood of Hermanas Giralt, in the city of Cienfuegos, as part of the activation of the Community Youth Network among local residents, highlighted this Friday by the official newspaper 5 de Septiembre.
The activity was organized by the Union of Young Communists (UJC) of the Cienfuegos Military Region. Members of the Association of Combatants of the Cuban Revolution set up a shooting range where children and young people tested their aim in the air rifle shooting event.
The event continued into the night with a performance by the artistic brigade Cultura Matancera, associated with the Central Army and the Cuba Viva project, alongside local artists. The group concluded a tour in Cienfuegos that had begun in Ciego de Ávila, traveling through the central region.
Adis Valdés Martín, organizer of the UJC in the Cienfuegos Military Region, presented the initiative as a response to the circumstances facing the country.
"The Community Youth Networks is an idea that proposes to carry out activities in the community and, given the current situation in the country, help the neighborhood promote healthy recreation that our youth need," he stated.
The program also included recognition visits to veteran fighters from the community, as part of the initiatives promoted by the youth network.
Lázaro Alejandro Romero Álvarez, the first secretary of the UJC in the municipality of Cienfuegos, explained that the purpose is to engage young people in the challenges of their communities.
"What we seek is for young people to feel like part of the solution to the problems in their communities," he stated.
The Community Youth Network was officially launched in April under the motto Innovate, Create, Lead, following a call from the ruler Miguel Díaz-Canel, who described it as a "megaproject" of the UJC.
The structure encompasses seven projects with territorial brigades at the level of popular councils, municipalities, and provinces, and includes components of defense, production, ideological communication, culture, and solidarity.
According to data released at the beginning of August by the First Secretary of the UJC, Meyvis Estévez Echevarría, the network is now operational in 1,263 of the 1,410 popular councils in the country. Cienfuegos ranks among the provinces with the best implementation results, alongside Granma.
The initiative is part of a broader strategy by the regime to regain political presence among young people amidst a period of deep generational disaffection.
The UJC lost more than 194,000 members between 2007 and 2024, decreasing from 609,000 to 415,000 affiliates, a 32% drop attributed primarily to massive emigration and ideological disillusionment.
These initiatives come at a time of deep disconnection between the UJC and Cuban youth. Independent surveys conducted this year show that 97.61% of Cubans aged 18 to 30 disapprove of the government's management, and 93% state that they would leave the country if they could.
Díaz-Canel acknowledged at the beginning of August that the levels of youth engagement and participation online remain insufficient and are primarily concentrated among secondary school students.
The Community Youth Network is also linked to the movement My Neighborhood for the Homeland, approved by the State Council in March, which independent analysts describe as a social control mechanism designed to replace the declining Committees for the Defense of the Revolution.
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