World Festival of Youth and Students
In August 2001 the 15th World Festival of Youth and Students will be held in Algiers, up to 10,000 youth and students
will gather under the slogan "Let's globalise the struggle for peace, solidarity and development against imperialism."
The Festival is a unique opportunity for youth and students to come together from around the world and discuss their
experiences in struggle. Over eight days, August 8-16, there will be a full programme with five discussion centres
taking up the themes of:
Peace and Security Neo-liberal Globalization and Development Democracy, Human Rights and Social Justice Youth and
Student Rights International Youth and Students' Movement
It will also feature an anti-imperialist tribunal and international solidarity forums. Regional clubs will be a focus
for displays and discussion of those participating. Social group meetings will be an opportunity for people like young
artists and writers or young parliamentarians or such to get together. Friendship sports tournaments, international
cultural festivals and an international media centre all add to the programme. More details are available on the web
site: www.wfys15.dz.
It is four years since the last festival in 1997 when 12,000 youth participated in Havana, Cuba. Participants in that
festival were very enthusiastic about the way it assisted them to discuss their issues in a broader arena with a
programme that addresses many of the key issues for youth today.
If you already have plans to participate in the World Conference on Racism in Durban it is possible to put together a
programme to combine the two events.
Follows is the festival call and the festival programme.
For more details contact Annalucia Vermunt Tel: 03 3773834, email: annalucia@chn.quik.co.nz or fax: 03 365 6055
Program of the
15th World Festival of Youth and Students
August 8-16, 2001, Algiers
I. Opening Ceremony
II. Thematical Discussion Centers (5)
Center No 1: Peace and Security
· Nuclear weapon-free world
· Depleted -Uranium, chemical weapons, and weapon of mass destruction
· Military alliances, military build-up, " National Missile
Defense"-Program ,Plan Colombia, "NATO expansion, and military
intervention
· Foreign military bases
· "New World Order", and global security
· World peace and international cooperation
· The role of the United Nations and its democratization
· Embargoes and blockades
· Prevention and Resolution of regional, religious, and ethnic conflicts
· Culture of Peace and mobilization for peace
· The role of religion in peace-building
· National independence and self-determination
· Foreign occupation and national liberation
· Anti-imperialist solidarity and struggle
Center No 2: Neo-liberal Globalization and Development
· Global trade deals
· Privatization and its impact on society
· World economic order, World Trade Organization, International Monetary
Fund, World Bank and struggle of youth
· Corporate influence on global institutions
· Financing development- Tobin Tax and global economic reforms
· The role of the United Nations in global social and economic
development
· Regional economic cooperation and integration
· Foreign debts
· Structural adjustment programs
· Right to natural resources
· Science, technology, and development
· Free movement of labor
· Food security
· Genetic modified organism
· Drug-trafficking and globalization
· Sustainable development, ecological crisis, and climate change
· Conflict on water issues and water security
· Environmental dumping, exploitation of natural resources,
responsibility of TNC's, etc.
· Control and concentration of capital, role of transnational companies
· The case of Africa: crisis in access to medication
· African Renaissance
· Brain drain
· Poverty and the growing gap between the rich and the poor
· Cultural hegemony and invasion
· South-South cooperation, non-aligned movement
· Right to land, resistance of exploited farmers and agricultural
workers
· Crisis of capitalism and alternative to it
Center No 3: Democracy, Human Right and Social Justice
· Refugees, the right of refugees to asylum, education, employment and
return home
· Migrant peoples, migrant workers Schengen Agreement
· Sexual orientation,
· Penalization of struggle, international and national mechanism of
surveylance "Shengen Agreement "
· Death penalties
· Slavery and human trafficking
· Repression against people's struggle
· Gender equality, employment equity, violence against and sexual abuse
of women
· Religious fundamentalism
· Racial discrimination, neo-fascism, xenophobia
· Ethnic minorities and marginalized peoples
· Indigenous people
· Media and democracy
Center No 4: Youth and student Rights
· Rights to public , free and adequate education for all
· Autonomy of educational institutions and democratic rights of
academic community
· Young workers and their rights
· Unemployment and its impact on youth
· Youth, student's and children's involvement in armed conflicts
· Night school students
· Youth health: AIDS, drugs, sexual and reproductive rights
· Rural youth, agricultural workers, and young farmers
· Children's rights, child labor, child prostitution and war -affected
children
· Child trafficking and child abuse
· Student rights
· Youth and students political participation, youth participation in
decision-making
· Rights of youth and students to their independent association
· Access to information and communications technology
· Access to leisure, culture, and sports
Center No 5: International Youth and Students' Movement
· International students' meeting
· Meeting of the International Union of Students and others student
organizations
· Strengthening the Festival Movement - the 16th WFYS
· Meeting of Veterans of the Festival Movement
· Youth and international year of volunteers
· International Youth Day ( August 12)
· Struggle of youth and students in Mediterranean region for peace for
liberation and peace
· Networking for action meetings of:
Young peasants and rural youth
Young journalist
Young women
Young workers and trade unionists
Young indigenous people
Young with disabilities
Young discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation
· Youth struggles and new technologies
· Youth and student exchange and cooperation
· Youth and the United Nations
· Popular ways of awareness building against imperialism
III. Anti-imperialist tribunal (on crimes committed by imperialism in
all its forms of expression against humanity)
· War and military aggression
· Economic blockades and embargoes
· Exploitation-main cause of poverty and misery
· Environmental destruction
IV. International Solidarity Forums with people of:
Africa
· Angola
· Western Sahara
· Sudan
· Somalia
· Great Lakes Region
America
· Cuba
· Colombia
· Puerto Rico
· With the struggle of the people of Venezuela against the North
American agression.
Asia and Pacific
· Burma
· With the struggle of Korean people for the independent and peaceful
reunification
· Bhutan
· East Timor
Europe
· Yugoslavia
· Cyprus
· Kurdish people
Middle East
(With the following Arab countries)
· Palestine
· Iraq
· Lebanon
· Syria
· Sebta and Milia ( Morocco)
Algeria
V. Workshops on:
· Towards the independent state of Palestine
· Problem of Western Sahara- the UN referendum on self -determination
· Civil wars and resolutions of conflicts in Africa
· Development and democracy in Africa
· Problem of and struggle against terrorism
· Religion extremism and violence
· "Plan Colombia" against the anti- imperialist movement in Latin
America
VI. Regional Clubs (6)
· America
· Asia and Pacific
· Europe
· Middle East
· Africa
· Algeria
VII. Social Group Meetings
· Young Artists and Writers
· Young Parliamentarians
· Young Believers
· Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs
· Young Scientists
· Young Athletes
· Young Volunteers
VIII. Friendship Sport Tournaments
· Solidarity Marathon
· Chess
· Table Tennis
· Volleyball
· Football
· Basketball
· Wheelchair basketball
· Handball
IX. International Cultural Festivals
· Festival of Political song
· Festival of Modern Music
· Festival of Dance and Mime
· Festival of Traditional Folklore
· Festival of Film-makers
X. WFDY- UNESCO Conference on "the Role of Young Women in promoting
culture of peace in Africa".
XI. International Media Center
XII. Closing Ceremony
Themes of the Days
8th August -Opening
9th August -Africa
10th August-Americas
11th August-Asia and Pacific
12th August-Europe
13th August-Middle East
14th August-Festival (Celebrating the Festival Movement)
15th August-Algeria
16th August-Closing
To the Youth and Students of the World!
The 20th century was marked by the glorious victory of peoples' struggle for national liberation. Humankind is entering
the 21st century with new hopes and as-pirations. However, the turn of the century by itself does not change our lives
for the better. It depends on our joint struggle.
World peace and security today are threatened by imperialist domination, in-tervention and conflicts. People's basic
rights are deprived by neo-liberal policies. Exploitation and repression are world-wide. The global struggle of all
democ-ratic, progressive and anti-imperialist forces is urgently needed. The struggle of youth and students in the world
to face these challenges was encouraged and strengthened by the success of the 14th World Festival of Youth and Students
held in Havana, Cuba in 1997. In recent years this strug-gle, especially in denouncing capitalist globalisation and
imperialist aggression, is spreading in all parts of the world.
To further widen and strengthen the unity of youth and students all over the world in anti-imperialist struggle, we call
for the 15th World Festival of Youth and Students to be held in Algeria in August, 2001.
The Festival will be an open forum for young people to exchange experiences, work together for alternative solutions,
and establish joint programs of action on issues such as peace, solidarity, disar-mament, a nuclear-free world, the "new
world order", NATO and military alliances, conflicts and instability, occupations, blockades and embargoes, displacement
of people, neo-liberal globalisation, sci-ence and technology, culture and media, eradication of racism, gender
equality, education, employment, poverty, human and youth rights, environment, HIV/AIDS, drug abuse.
The World Festival of Youth and Stu-dents, to be held for the first time on the African continent, in the Arab region,
will be an opportunity for world youth and students to express their solidarity with the Algerian people and with the
struggle of all African and Arab peoples for na-tional and economic independence, sov-ereignty, self-determination,
peace, de-velopment and social progress. We call upon all youth and students to join us in this struggle, and to work
actively to prepare for and participate in the 15th World Festival of Youth and Stu-dents under the slogan:
Let's globalise the struggle for Peace, Solidarity, Development, against imperialism! The struggle continues! Together
we will win! See you in Algiers!
(Appeal calling the 15th World Youth Fes-tival, adopted in Havana, Cuba, June 2000.)