The World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) is an international youth organization, and has historically characterized itself as left-wing and anti-imperialist. WFDY was founded in London, United Kingdom, in 1945 as a broad international youth movement, organized in the context of the end of World War II with the aim of uniting youth from the Allies behind an anti-fascist platform that was broadly pro-peace, anti-nuclear war, expressing friendship between youth of the capitalist and socialist nations. The Federation was mostly sponsored and influenced by the Soviet Union and the organization mostly united youths from the Eastern Bloc and Non-Aligned nations. The WFDY Headquarters are in Budapest, Hungary. The main event of WFDY is the World Festival of Youth and Students. The last festival was held in Sochi, Russia, in October 2017. It was one of the first organizations granted general consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
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History
On 10 November 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 bring together the youth movements of the allied nations in an anti-fascist front. The conference was attended by over 600 delegates from 63 nations, it was at the time the largest and most diverse gathering of international youth. The conference adopted a pledge for peace. The WFDY was an indirect successor of the World Youth Congress Movement of the 1930s, a popular front of youth of a broad range of political tendencies, from religious to secular, liberal, socialist, and communist, which attempted to advocate a progressive programme and promote world peace.
Shortly after the 1945 World Youth Conference, with the onset of the Cold War and Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain speech, the organization was accused by the US State Department of being a "Moscow front". Many of the founding organizations quit, leaving mostly youth from socialist nations, 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 WFDY'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 II (after his work with the WFDY, he was appointed head of 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 republics in eastern Europe. They opposed the Korean War.
The main event of the WFDY became the World Festival of Youth and Students, a large-scale political and cultural celebration which aimed to promote peace and friendship between the youth of the world. Most, but not all, of the early festivals were held in socialist nations in Europe. During the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s the WFDY's festivals were one of the few places where young people from the western bloc could meet youth involved in the campaign against apartheid from South Africa, or militant youth from Vietnam, Palestine, Cuba and other nations. Famous people who participated in festivals included Angela Davis, Yuri Gagarin, Yasser Arafat, Fidel Castro, Vladimir Putin, Ruth First, Jan Myrdal and Nelson Mandela.
When the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc collapsed, the 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.
Pledge
We pledge that we shall remember this unity, forged in this month, November 1945
Not only today, not only this week, this year, but always
Until we have built the world we have dreamed of and fought for
We pledge ourselves to build the unity of youth of the world
All races, all colors, all nationalities, all beliefs
To eliminate all traces of fascism from the earth
To build a deep and sincere international friendship among the peoples of the world
To keep a just lasting peace
To eliminate want, frustration and enforced idleness
We have come to confirm the unity of all youth salute our comrades who have died-and pledge our word that skilful hands, keen brains and young enthusiasm shall never more be wasted in war
General Assembly
The WFDY conducts a General Assembly every four years, the last taking place in Nicosia in 2019. During the Assembly, leadership and a General Council are elected and an organizational declaration is approved.
Member organizations
Former members
Afghanistan - Democratic Youth Organization of Afghanistan
People's Socialist Republic of Albania - Bashkimi i Rinisë së Punës së Shqipërisë
Argentina - Juventud Intrasigente Argentina
Argentina - Juventud Socialista Auténtica
Australia - Eureka Youth League
Belgium - Graffiti Jeugendsdienst
Belgium - Jeunesse Communiste de Belgique
Bolivia - Confederación Universitaria Boliviana
Brazil - Juventude do PCB
Bulgaria - Dimitrov Communist Youth Union
Byelorussian SSR - Leninist Communist Youth Union of Belarus
Cambodia - People's Revolutionary Youth Union of Kampuchea
Cameroon - Jeunesse Démocratique du Cameroun
Chile - Juventud de la Izquierda Cristiana de Chile
Chile - Juventud del MIR
Chile - Juventud Rebelde Miguel Enríquez
Chile - Unión de Jóvenes Socialistas
China - Communist Youth League of China
China - All-China Youth Federation
Observers
Youth for Communist Rebirth In France (Youth of the Pole of Communist Rebirth in France)
Communist Youth of Luxemburg (Refounded youth organisation of the Communist Party of Luxembourg), Luxembourg
Revolutionary Communist Youth (Youth organization of the Communist Party), Sweden