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24-643: The World Youth Congress Movement was founded in 1936 as a result of the First World Youth Congress, organized by the International Federation of League of Nations Societies in Geneva from August 31 to September 6, 1936, and involving 700 delegates with representatives of Christian, students’, women's, youth and political organizations from 36 countries, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, France, Irish Free State, Netherlands,

48-574: The Defence of Canada Regulations deny our traditional rights of free speech, free assembly, organization and trade union action, free press, radio and pulpit" and also opposing conscription in Canada , in a statement title Youth Want Jobs Not Conscription ". The organization as surveilled by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as a suspected subversive organization, due to the involvement of

72-723: The First World Youth Congress in Geneva from 31 August to 6 September 1936. This organization-related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Canadian Youth Congress The Canadian Youth Congress was a left-wing youth movement that existed from 1935 until 1942, when it was declared illegal under the Defence of Canada Regulations . It was founded in Toronto in May 1935 as an organization to mobilize youths and youth-oriented organizations across Canada to lobby

96-637: The Hitler Youth to send a delegation. The German organization said it would attend on the condition that German was made an official language of the Congress, no German émigré organizations would be allowed, no criticism would be made of the Nazi regime, and that all Communists be barred from attending. The WYCM refused to accept the final demand and the Hitler Youth boycotted the congress as a result. The Second Congress

120-578: The League of Nations as a tool for world security and for preventing war, against protectionism , for improved treatment of colonies and against war and called on delegates to promote peace and internationalism in their own countries. The 1938 World Youth Congress at Vassar College passed resolutions calling for social justice as a requirement of peace, in favour of labour reforms, for humanitarian aid to victims of aggression, and for boycotts and intervention against fascist aggression. The congress also passed

144-738: The Soviet Union undermined the WYCM's anti-fascism. On 31 August 1939, one day before the German Invasion of Poland and the start of the Second World War, the WYCM's International Council issued an emergency resolution reaffirming its support for the Vassar Peace Pact, denouncing “the policy of delivering entire peoples over to the aggressor nations,” and calling upon youth to unite against military aggression. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact would bring

168-722: The Young Communist League of Canada , which was a constituent organization of the CYC that would be been banned under the Defence of Canada Regulations in 1940. The RCMP claimed that of the 730 participants at the 1936 congress, 50 were members of the Young Communist League and a further 150 were "straight Communists" and claimed that 85% of participants at the 1940 congress were Communists. The CYC's anti-war statements at its 1940 congress resulted in several organizations that supported

192-633: The CYC issued the Youth’s Peace Policy which stated that “war is not inevitable” and that “lasting peace can only be organized on a basis of justice” and calling on nations to adhere to the Covenant of the League of Nations . It called for Canada to make its own independent decisions in regards to war rather than automatically following the lead of the United Kingdom in foreign policy. At its height, it

216-613: The Communist movement's popular front strategy to an end, with Joseph Stalin instructing the Comintern on September 9, 1939, to end the anti-fascist Popular Front strategy and instead oppose "imperialist war". It would also see a split between liberals and Communists, with most of the WCYM's remaining liberal supporters withdrawing their support. The WYCM continued until 1940, with its international secretary, Elizabeth Shields-Collins, announcing that

240-584: The Second World Youth Congress held at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1938. At the 1936 Canadian Youth Congress national meeting in Ottawa, the group reported that it represented “men and women: youth from all the different religious denominations; from schools and universities; from the Y.M. and W.C.A.’s; from all political groupings; from different racial groups; from farms, factories,

264-826: The Soviet Union in June 1941, Shields-Collins and other Communists reversed their position about the war to see it as an anti-fascist struggle. In London, Communists organized the International Youth Rally for Victory at Albert Hall on 11 October 1941 Shields-Collins as former secretary general of the WYCM, was chosen to set up a preparatory committee to organize the International Youth Council of Great Britain as an umbrella group for anti-fascist youth and exiles from Allied countries living in Britain. This, in turn, led to

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288-596: The Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Yugoslavia and delegates from provisional committees in Australia, China, New Zealand, Palestine, Romania, and Switzerland. The congress was boycotted by Germany and Italy, both of which withdrew from the organizing committee before the conference began. Japan also did not send delegates. Its objectives were: The 1936 Congress resulted in

312-538: The Vassar Peace Pact opposing wars of aggression, for fair peaceful settlement of disputes and collective security when such diplomacy fails, against aerial bombardment of towns, in favour of the self-determination of the colonial world . The peace pact stated: International Federation of League of Nations Societies The International Federation of League of Nations Societies (IFLNS) (French: Union internationale des associations pour la Société des Nations - UIASDN ) gathered national associations promoting

336-649: The colonial world including Indonesia, Burma, and India while the South African delegation added Black delegates and the Mandatory Palestine delegation included Arab delegates, in contrast to their delegations to the first congress. The Soviet Union, Germany, and Italy did not send delegations, while Japan and the Dominican Republic only sent observers. The Catholic church and the Boy Scouts of America boycotted

360-638: The establishment of the World Youth Congress Movement with an executive committee and international council. While the WYCM maintained a relationship with the International Federation of League of Nations Societies, it was autonomous and not under the IFLNS's auspices. The First World Youth Congress was organized as a result of a decision by the International Federation of League of Nations Societies assembly in 1933 that “the hour had come for

384-703: The foundation of a World Youth Council in 1942 with representatives from 29 countries. With the war coming to an end, the World Youth Council organized a World Youth Conference in London at Albert Hall with 600 delegates from predominantly Communist-led organizations in November 1945 which founded the Communist-led World Federation of Democratic Youth . The 1936 World Youth Congress passed resolutions supporting internationalism and calling for strengthening

408-467: The generation which was not old enough to have participated in the world war itself to take action for the reform of international and social policies that their elders had followed with such unhappy results". The Second World Youth Congress was held in August 1938 at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York . In an attempt to include youth of all political tendencies, the WYCM's international council invited

432-542: The government for change in the face of mass unemployment during the Great Depression in Canada . At its height, it had a constituent membership of over 400,000 and offices across the country and held annual congresses that attracted several hundred delegates. The organization was part of the World Youth Congress Movement and sent delegates to the First World Youth Congress held in Geneva in 1936 and

456-486: The ideals of the League of Nations . At its height, it claimed member-Associations in forty countries. It was founded in Geneva , Switzerland in 1919, and ceased operations in 1939. It is considered to be the forerunner of the World Federation of United Nations Associations , founded in 1946. By the initiative of the leadership in 1933 the federation founded an international youth organization, which resulted in

480-562: The meeting. The WYCM faced divisions after its 1938 congress as the European situation deteriorated in the lead-up to World War II . The Swiss national committee resigned due to a loss of faith in collective security during the Munich crisis . Socialist Youth International , the youth movement associated with social democratic parties, also stopped attending meetings of the WYCM's council. The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 between Nazi Germany and

504-545: The professions; peace, cultural, athletic societies—English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians. The congress expressed the thought of awakened and intelligent youth opinion throughout our country”. In 1936, the CYC's Ottawa congress issued the Declaration of the Rights of Youth calling for youth employment training, public health care , social security , recreational and educational facilities, and world peace . Later in 1936,

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528-593: The work of the WYCM would continue but be in the form of agitating for peace rather than anti-fascism, despite the WYCM's earlier support for collective security. The WYCM ceased to function and several national affiliates such as the Canadian Youth Congress and the Australian Youth Council were banned as subversive organizations due to their opposition to the war effort. Following the German invasion of

552-816: Was able to attract speakers at its conferences ranging from Tommy Douglas of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation to Paul Martin, Sr. of the Liberal Party of Canada and Denton Massey of the Conservatives , to Tim Buck of the Communist Party of Canada . In 1940, after World War II had broken out, the CYC's annual congress, held in Montreal, issued a declaration in support of civil liberties , stating that “the War Measures Act and

576-415: Was widely criticized by anti-Communist politicians and media for the involvement of Communists and was investigated as a possible communist front organization by the newly formed House Un-American Activities Committee , but had the support of Eleanor Roosevelt and other liberal progressives. The second congress included 700 delegates and observers from fifty-four countries and included delegations from

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