World Communist Youth Front to Meet in South Africa

The old Soviet front World Federation of Democratic Youth has been organizing international youth festivals every three to four years since the 1940s.

The last three festivals were held in Venezuela (2005), Algeria (2001) and Cuba (1997).

The Seventeenth Festival is to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in December.

Here is Jesus Mora, Secretary-General of the World Federation of Democratic Youth, being interviewed regarding the 17th World Festival of Youth and Students.

Unfortunately this is in Spanish, but the graphics are explicitly communist.


According to the news site Peoples World;

Thousands of youth and students from countries across the globe will convene in South Africa Dec. 13-21, to participate in the 17th World Festival of Youth and Students. The festival will take place in Johannesburg.

World Communist Youth Festival for young totalitarians to cost SA taxpayer R29-million and legitimise radical causes.

The SA presidency has granted an extra R29-million to the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) for the hosting of a nine-day ‘World Festival of Youth and Students' event themed “Let's defeat imperialism”.

The National Youth Development Agency is a public entity, mandated to act in an impartial manner, to advance the interests of all of South Africa's youth. Instead, it is now going to be spending nearly R30 million on a conference being hosted by a radical global youth organisation, of which the ANC Youth League are members.

This is a conference that has repeatedly been held in radical, oppressive states - in recent years, host cities have included Pyongyang, North Korea; Havana, Cuba; and Caracas, Venezuela.

Member parties who make up this organisation include the ZANU-PF Youth League from Zimbabwe, and the youth league of the Workers Party of North Korea.

The theme of this year's conference is "Let's defeat imperialism", and topics for seminars include "The builders of the anti-imperialist media are fighters against lies and manipulation!" and "Solidarity with [North] Korea".

According to the event's programme, President Zuma will be attending activities on day four of the event.

That the state, the Presidency, and President Zuma himself, should be legitimising an event of this nature, and ploughing state resources into it, beggars belief and constitutes electioneering at the state's expense.

The National Youth Development Agency should be spending every cent available to it to promote opportunities for all South Africans, and not on lavish banquets and radical gatherings that in no way advance the cause of the nation's youth. The Agency's continued existence has resulted in a significant opportunity cost for the three million unemployed young South Africans. The NYDA's R400 million annual budget could be used to fund initiatives that promise to make a much greater impact on youth development.

The NYDA, however, has become terminally compromised. The NYDA was increasingly becoming an employment agency for Julius Malema's ANC Youth League, following revelations that its provincial boards have been filled with youth league cadres. President Zuma should disband this R400-million entity, whose only purpose seems to be to placate the ruling party's Youth League.