15th World Festival of Youth and Students, 2001, Algiers

Thousands of young people from around the world will gather in Algiers, Algeria August 8-16, 2001, for the 15th World Festival of Youth & Students (WFYS). This year’s festival will mark the continuation of the festival movement that began in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1947 and has continued up through the 14th Festival in Havana, Cuba, 1997. 

The WFYS emerged at the end of World War II as an event for uniting young people to ensure that fascism will never again terrorize the world. One international organization active in the festival movement from the beginning is the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY), an international organization dedicated to opposing imperialism, war and racism around the globe. 

Today, WFDY has over 150 member organizations representing youth in over 100 countries. The Young Communist League, USA is an elected member of WFDY’s General Council. WFDY remains one of the most important defenders of the rights of youth and was honored with the Peace Messenger award by the UN Secretary General in 1987. 

The Algeria Festival marks the first one on the African continent and the first in the Arab region. The slogan of the Festival, adopted at its 1st International Preparatory Meeting in Havana, Cuba last July is “Let’s Globalize the Struggle for Peace, Solidarity, Against Imperialism!? 

Youth organizations from around the U.S. have come together to found the United States National Preparatory Committee (USNPC) in order to build a delegation to attend the Festival in Algiers. Initial sponsors include Just Act: Youth Action for Global Justice, United States Student Association, United Students Against Sweatshops, the Young Communist League and Youth Action, with other sponsors in the works. 

Student activists, campus organizers and young trade unionists can expect a wide variety of political, cultural and social activities at the Festival. Festivals always include political discussion, educational forums, sports competition, music, art exhibits and one-on-one exchange between young people. 
But perhaps the greatest importance of the Festival is that it helps give young people tools for struggle and an international context for when they return home. “The Festival helped me to be the organizar I am today,? says Treston Faulkner, National Organizer for the Student Labor Action Project. 

Recent problems in Algeria have resulted in some difficulties related to Festival participation. Some religious fundamentalist forces in Algeria have tried to destabilize the country and have even attacked civilians in their ongoing conflict with the Algerian government. Just this week, 27 innocents were massacred by Muslim militants in the largest civilian attack in two years. Ensuring the security of all Festival participants is a key step in Festival preparations and is hoped to be resolved in the months to come. 

The Festival will tap into the growing movement against global exploitation that visibly emerged at the 1999 Seattle protests against the World Trade Organization. “The issues and struggles young people face are global,? says Iraklis Tsavdaridis, president of WFDY. “So now more than ever, young people need a global movement. The Festival is an essential part of that effort.? 

For more information about the Festival, to learn how to get involved, or if your organization would like to become a sponsor go to the home page of the U.S. National Preparatory Committee (www.usnpc.org).