Found at: http://www.yclusa.org/article/articleprint/1629/-1/298/
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2005 World Festival of Youth and Students Set for Venezuela
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Dynamic Magazine
Back Issues
2004 - October
From June 6-9, delegates from 30 countries representing 50 organizations converged in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia to launch the preparatory process for the 16th World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS). The 16th WFYS will take place in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 5-13, 2005, under the slogan "for peace and solidarity - we struggle against imperialism and war."
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Representatives from the World Federation of Democratic Youth meet to plan the festival.
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From June 6-9, delegates from 30 countries representing 50 organizations converged in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia to launch the preparatory process for the 16th World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS). The 16th WFYS will take place in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 5-13, 2005, under the slogan "for peace and solidarity - we struggle against imperialism and war."
The choice of Venezuela reflects the delegates' unity on defending that country's revolution, which has for the last several years been under intense attack by reactionary forces. It has survived hostile diplomatic pressure from central capitalist countries, a long shut-down and sabotage of the country's oil industry, and a coup-dí'tat. In August, President Hugo Chavez handily won a referendum that confirmed his legal standing till the end of his presidential mandate.
Traditionally, the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY), a broad-based organization of democratic, anti-colonialist, and progressive youth organizations founded in 1945, takes a leading role in preparing the WFYS and mobilizing world youth to attend. The festival movement began in Prague in 1947, where thousands of youth came together under the post-war theme, "Youth United for a Lasting Peace."
That same week, Brasilia also hosted the 12th National Congress of the Brazilian Union of Socialist Youth (UJS), the sister organization of the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB). Since its 11th congress in 2002, UJS grew 250 percent. Over 1,500 delegates came to the University of Brasilia campus June 10-13 to represent the 50,000 members that participated in municipal congresses in 600 cities from all 27 states. UJS currently holds the presidency of the national high school student movement, the national university student movement, and the national graduate student movement. It is about to launch another movement that will organize hip hop groups and artists around Brazil.
Despite this unique historical moment, where for the first time ever a worker (and not a member of the traditional elite), Luis In·cio Lula da Silva, won the presidency of the nation, the Brazilian government remains divided between neoliberal and national development camps. UJS will work to support the presidency of Lula while putting pressure on the government to lean towards national development and national sovereignty.