| World Federation of Democratic Youth | |
| Formation: | , London, United Kingdom |
| Vat Id: | (for European organizations) --> |
| Headquarters: | Budapest, Hungary |
| Owners: | --> |
| Leader Title: | President |
| Leader Name: | Vacant |
| Leader Title2: | Secretary General |
| Leader Name2: | Yusdaquy Larduet (UJC) |
| Leader Title3: | Vice Presidents |
| Leader Name3: | Adnan Al Mokdad Amb. Naftal Kambungu Sundar Bhusal |
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 WFDY Headquarters are in Budapest, Hungary.[1] 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.
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.[2] The conference adopted a pledge for peace.
Shortly after, 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.[3] 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.[4] [5] [6] [7]
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.
The WFDY conducts a General Assembly every four years, the last taking place in Nicosia in 2019.[8] During the Assembly, leadership and a General Council are elected and an organizational declaration is approved.[9]
| Country | Name | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Angola | Juventude do Movimento Popular da Libertação de Angola | Youth wing of MPLA | |
| Organization of Revolutionary Youth (OJRB) | [10] | ||
| Independent Socialist Youth Union (USJIB) | |||
| JRR Burundi | |||
| Youth of PAICV | Youth wing of PAICV | ||
| Front of Socialist Youth (FSY) | |||
| UJS Congo | |||
| PPRD Youth League | Youth wing of the People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy | ||
 Eritrea | National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students | ||
 Ethiopia | Ethiopian Youth League | ||
 Ghana | Democratic Youth League of Ghana | ||
| African Youth Command | |||
| African Youth Amílcar Cabral | Youth wing of PAICG | ||
| LYF Lesotho | |||
| KDTM Madagascar | |||
| LYM Malawi | |||
| YASED Malawi | |||
 Mozambique | Mozambican Youth Organisation | Youth wing of FRELIMO | |
 Namibia | SWAPO Party Youth League | Youth wing of SWAPO | |
| Namibia National Students Organisation (NANSO) | |||
| National Youth Council of Nigeria | |||
| National Youth Council of the Ogoni People (NYCOP) | |||
| JML São Tomé and Príncipe | |||
 Senegal | Mouvement de la Jeunesse Démocratique | Youth wing of the Democratic League/Movement for the Labour Party | |
| Democratic Youth Union Alboury Ndiaye | Youth wing of the Party of Independence and Work | ||
| SFYO Sierra Leone | |||
 South Africa | African National Congress Youth League | Youth wing of the African National Congress | |
| South African Students Congress | |||
| Young Communist League of South Africa | Youth wing of the South African Communist Party | ||
 Sudan | Sudanese Youth Union | Youth wing of the Sudanese Communist Party | |
| Umoja Wa Vijana | Youth wing of Chama Cha Mapinduzi | ||
 Zambia | United National Independence Party Youth League | Youth wing of the United National Independence Party | |
 Zimbabwe | ZANU-PF Youth League | Youth wing of ZANU-PF | |
| Zimbabwe Congress of Students Union (ZICOSU) |
| Country | Name | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Youth wing of the Communist Party of Argentina | |||
| League of Progressive Youth | |||
| Juventud Comunista de Bolivia | Youth wing of the Communist Party of Bolivia | ||
| Juventude Comunista Avançando | Youth wing of the Polo Comunista Luiz Carlos Prestes | ||
| União da Juventude Comunista | Youth wing of the Brazilian Communist Party | ||
| União da Juventude Socialista | Youth wing of the Communist Party of Brazil | ||
| Juventudes Comunistas de Chile | Youth wing of the Communist Party of Chile | ||
| Juventud Comunista de Colombia | Youth wing of the Colombian Communist Party | ||
| Juventud Frente Amplio | Youth wing of the Broad Front (Costa Rica) | ||
| Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas | Youth wing of the Communist Party of Cuba | ||
| Juventud Comunista del Ecuador | Youth wing of the Communist Party of Ecuador | [17] | |
| Juventud Socialista Ecuatoriana | Youth wing of the Socialist Party of Ecuador | ||
| Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) | |||
| Juventud URNG | Youth wing of the URNG | ||
| Guyana Youth and Students Movement | |||
| Walter Rodney Youth Movement | |||
| Federation of Young Communists | Youth wing of the Communist Party of Mexico | ||
| Juventud Popular Socialista | Youth wing of the Popular Socialist Party | ||
| Juventud Sandinista 19 de Julio | Youth wing of the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional | ||
| JPR Panama | |||
| Casa de la Juventud del Paraguay | |||
| Juventud Comunista Peruana | Youth wing of the Peruvian Communist Party | ||
| Juventud del Movimiento 26 de Marzo | Youth wing of the 26 March Movement | ||
| Juventud Comunista de Venezuela | Youth wing of the Communist Party of Venezuela | ||
| United Socialist Party of Venezuela Youth | Youth wing of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela |
| Country | Name | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Union de la Jeunesse Algérienne | Youth wing of the FLN | [18] | |
| National Union of Algerian Students | Students of the FLN | ||
| Shabeeba Society of Bahrain | Youth wing of the Progressive Democratic Tribune | ||
| Union of Progressive Youth of Egypt | Youth wing of the Progressive National Unionist Party | ||
| Iraqi Democratic Youth Federation | Youth wing of the Iraqi Communist Party | ||
| General Union of Students in Iraqi Republic | |||
| Youth wing of the Communist Party of Israel, affiliated with Hadash and the Joint List | |||
| Union of Democratic Youth | Youth wing of the Jordanian Communist Party | ||
| Democratic Youth Union | Youth wing of the KPM | ||
| Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth | Youth wing of the Lebanese Communist Party | ||
| National Youth Organization of Libya | |||
| USFP Jeunesse Ittihadiya | Youth wing of the Socialist Union of Popular Forces | ||
| Jeunesse Socialiste | Youth wing of the Party of Progress and Socialism | ||
| General Union of Palestine Students | |||
| Palestinian Democratic Youth Union | Youth wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine | ||
| Union of Democratic Youth of Syria-Khaled Baghdash | Youth wing of the Syrian Communist Party (Bakdash) | ||
| Syrian Democratic Youth Union | Youth wing of the Syrian Communist Party (Unified) | ||
| Revolutionary Youth Union | Youth wing of the Ba'ath Party | ||
 Turkey | Communist Youth of Turkey | Youth wing of the Communist Party of Turkey | |
 Western Sahara | Sahrawi Youth Union | Youth wing of the Polisario Front | [19] |
| ASHEED Yemen | |||
| Yemen Youth General Union |
Ukraine - Komsomol of Ukraine
United States - Young Socialist Alliance
Australia
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Georgia
India
Japan
Myanmar
Nepal
Pakistan
Philippines
Sri Lanka
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Canada
Czech Republic
Cyprus
Finland
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Netherlands
Norway
Serbia
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom