History
On November 10, 1945 the World Youth Conference, organized in London, founded the World Federation of Democratic Youth. This historic Conference was convened at the initiative of the World Youth Council which was formed during the Second World War to encourage the fight against fascism by the youth of the allied countries. The Conference brought together, for the first time in the history of the international youth movement, representatives of more than 30 million young people of diverse different political ideologies and religious beliefs from 63 nations. It adopted a pledge for peace.
Shortly after, with the onset of the Cold War and Churchill's Iron Curtain speech, the organization was condemned by the United States as a "Moscow front." Many of the founding organizations quit, leaving mainly youth from socialist countries, national liberation movements, and communist youth. Like the International Union of Students (IUS) and other pro-Soviet organizations, the WFDY became a target and victim of CIA espionage as well as part of active measures conducted by the Soviet state security.
The WFYD's first General Secretary, Alexander Shelepin was a former leader of the Young Communist International which had been dissolved in 1943. Shelepin had been a guerilla fighter during World War Two (after his work with WFDY he was appointed head Soviet State Security). Both the WFDY and IUS vocally criticized the Marshall Plan, supported the Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948 and the new People's Democracies in Europe. They opposed the Korean War.
The main event of the WFDY became the World Festival of Youth and Students, a massive political and cultural celebration for peace and friendship between the youth of the world. Most, but not all, of the early festivals were held in socialist countries in Europe. During the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s the WFDY's festivals were one of the few places where young people from the so-called "Free World" could meet youth struggling against Apartheid from South Africa, or militant youth from Vietnam, Palestinian, Cuba and other countries. Famous people who participated in festivals included Angela Davis, Yuri Gagarin, Yasser Arafat, Fidel Castro, Ruth First, and Jan Myrdal.
When the USSR and the Eastern Bloc collapsed, WFDY entered a crisis. With the power vacuum left by the collapse of the most important member organization, the Soviet Komsomol, there were conflicting views of the future character of the organization. Some wanted a more apolitical structure, whereas others were more inclined to an openly leftist federation. The WFDY, however, survived this crisis, and is today an active international youth organization that holds regular activities.
Read more about this topic: World Federation Of Democratic Youth
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