Misplaced Pages

#564435

25-636: The World Festival of Youth and Students is an international event organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) and the International Union of Students after 1947. The festival has been held occasionally since 1947, mainly in communist states, as an event of global youth solidarity for democracy and against war and imperialism. The largest festival was the 6th , held in 1957 in Moscow , when 34,000 young people from 131 countries attended

50-582: A leading force in the 1950s protest era in which the government outlawed any movements that opposed their policies. In addition to her work with The Guardian and its successors, the South African Congress of Democrats (COD), a white-only wing of the Congress Alliance, was founded in 1953 with support from First. In 1955, she assumed the position of editor of a radical political journal called Fighting Talk . First and Slovo were also members of

75-460: A young white girl living in South Africa with anti-apartheid activist parents, although the family is called Roth in the film. Barbara Hershey plays the character based on Ruth First. The 2006 film Catch a Fire about the activist Patrick Chamusso was written by Shawn Slovo, and in it First is portrayed by another daughter, Robyn Slovo , who was also one of the film's producers. In 2005,

100-563: The Congress Alliance . Following four years of harassment by the state, First alongside the 155 other activists were all acquitted of their charges. After the state of emergency that followed the Sharpeville massacre in 1960, she was listed and banned. She could not attend meetings or publish, and she could not be quoted. In 1963, during another government crackdown, she was imprisoned and held in isolation without charge for 117 days under

125-617: 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

150-652: The University of the Witwatersrand in 1946. While she was at university, she found that "on a South African campus, the student issues that matter are national issues". She was involved in the founding of the Federation of Progressive Students, also known as the Progressive Students League, and got to know, among other fellow students, Nelson Mandela , future President of South Africa , and Eduardo Mondlane ,

175-528: The World Youth Congress Movement of the 1930s, a popular front of youth of a broad range of political tendencies, from religious to secular, liberal, socialist, and communist, which attempted to advocate a progressive programme and promote world peace. Shortly after the 1945 World Youth Conference, with the onset of the Cold War and Winston Churchill 's Iron Curtain speech, the organization

200-519: 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,

225-585: The African National Congress, in addition to the Communist Party. She also played an active role during the extensive riots of the 1950s. First was one of the defendants in the Treason Trial of 1956–1961, alongside 155 other leading anti-apartheid activists who were key figures in the Congress Alliance . First's early work and writings were largely used as evidence to prove treason on behalf of

250-743: The Ninety-Day Detention Law. She was the first white woman to be detained under this law. In March 1964, First went into exile in London , where she became active in the British Anti-Apartheid Movement . She was a Research Fellow at the University of Manchester in 1972, and between 1973 and 1978 she lectured in development studies at the University of Durham . She also spent periods on secondment at universities in Dar es Salaam and Lourenço Marques, Maputo . In November 1978, First took up

275-457: The Special Branch". Her daughter, the writer Gillian Slovo , published her own memoir, Every Secret Thing: My Family, My Country , in 1997. It is an account of her childhood in South Africa and her relationship with her activist parents. The film A World Apart (1988), which has a screenplay by her daughter Shawn Slovo and was directed by Chris Menges , is a biographical story about

SECTION 10

#1732852062565

300-666: 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. We pledge that we shall remember this unity, forged in this month, November 1945 Not only today, not only this week, this year, but always Until we have built

325-509: The event. This festival also marked the international debut of the song " Moscow Nights ", which subsequently went on to become a widely recognized Russian song. There were no festivals between 1962 and 1968, as events proposed in Algeria and then Ghana were cancelled due to coups and political turmoil in both countries. Until the 19th festival in Sochi , Russia in 2017 (with 185 countries participating),

350-664: The first leader of the Mozambique freedom movement FRELIMO . After graduating, First worked as a research assistant for the Social Welfare Division of the Johannesburg City Council. In 1946, her position in the Communist Party was boosted significantly after a series of mine strikes during which leading members of the Party were arrested. First then became the editor-in-chief of the radical newspaper The Guardian , which

375-692: The largest festival by number of countries with participants was the 13th, held in 1989 in Pyongyang when 177 countries attended the event. The most recent festival took place in Sochi, Russia, from 13 to 22 October 2017. World Federation of Democratic Youth On 10 November 1945, the World Youth Conference, organized in London, founded the World Federation of Democratic Youth. This historic conference

400-635: The post of director of research at the Centre of African Studies (Centro de Estudos Africanos), Universidade Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo, Mozambique . She was assassinated by the order of Craig Williamson , a major in the South African Police , on 17 August 1982, when she opened a parcel bomb that had been sent to the university. Bridget O'Laughlin, an anthropologist working with First, was in First's office when she

425-566: The unity of all youth salute our comrades who have died-and pledge our word that skilful hands, keen brains and young enthusiasm shall never more be wasted in war The WFDY conducts a General Assembly every four years, the last taking place in Nicosia in 2019. During the Assembly, leadership and a General Council are elected and an organizational declaration is approved. Ruth First Heloise Ruth First OLG (4 May 1925 – 17 August 1982)

450-401: The world we have dreamed of and fought for We pledge ourselves to build the unity of youth of the world All races, all colors, all nationalities, all beliefs To eliminate all traces of fascism from the earth To build a deep and sincere international friendship among the peoples of the world To keep a just lasting peace To eliminate want, frustration and enforced idleness We have come to confirm

475-564: Was a South African anti- apartheid activist and scholar. She was assassinated in Mozambique , where she was working in exile, by a parcel bomb built by South African police. Ruth First's Jewish parents, Julius First and Matilda Levetan, emigrated to South Africa from Latvia in 1906 and became founding members of the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), the forerunner of the South African Communist Party (SACP). Ruth First

500-586: 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

525-597: 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. 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. The WFDY's first General Secretary, Alexander Shelepin ,

SECTION 20

#1732852062565

550-520: Was born in 1925 and brought up in Johannesburg . Like her parents, she joined the Communist Party, which was allied with the African National Congress in its struggle to overthrow the apartheid government of South Africa. As a teenager, First attended Jeppe High School for Girls and then became the first person in her family to attend university. She received her bachelor's degree from

575-540: 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. The conference adopted a pledge for peace. The WFDY was an indirect successor of

600-543: Was murdered, and testified to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission . First's book, 117 Days , is her account of her arrest, imprisonment and interrogation by the South African Police Special Branch in 1963. It was first published in 1965. The memoir provides a detailed account of how she endured "isolation and sensory deprivation" while withstanding "pressure to provide information about her comrades to

625-470: Was subsequently banned by the state. Through investigative journalism, First exposed the racial segregation policies known as apartheid , targeting black South Africans following the rise of the National Party in 1948. In 1949, she married Joe Slovo , a South African anti-apartheid activist and Communist, with whom she had three daughters, Shawn , Gillian and Robyn . Together, Slovo and First became

#564435