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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 11, No. 1. March 17th. 1948

World Youth Week — Progress Through Unity

page 6

World Youth Week

Progress Through Unity

The third week in March is World Youth Week. Throughout the world youth organizations affiliated to the World Federation of Democratic Youth and the International Union of Students will be celebrating this week by holding special meetings and functions, by collecting money for World Student Relief, and by reviewing past activities and planning for the future.

Two main activities are to be held by our University in connection with World Youth Week. Firstly, a Youth Rally in the Blue Triangle Hall, and secondly, a Work Day for World Student Relief. Both should receive wide student support.

Previous International Youth Organizations

Perhaps the nearest approach to WFDY and IUS previously were the International Federation of Students and the Boy Scouts movement. The former, which disappeared in the war, was composed of students only, whereas WFDY organizes Christian, trade union, farming, political and student youth bodies. The Boy Scout movement is organized on quite different lines. It is mainly made up of boys from 11 to 16 or 17 whereas WFDY consists of people in approximately the 16 to 26 age group and of both sexes. The Scouts never look up the broad problems of youth, such as improved education and apprenticeship, dead-end jobs and youth unemployment, and bad working conditions and low pay, especially during slumps and in colonial countries. The Scout movement did organize large international gatherings which should have had a certain value in promoting peace but their value was completely lost as they failed to expose the main-spring of the drive to war. In fact, with its national jingoism the Scout movement directs the energies of youth as an agent of Imperialism, a fact well known to some of the reactionary politicians who work in leading position in the Scout movement.

Democratic Youth

"Through International Friendship and Reconstruction, Youth Helps to Build the Peace." This was the theme of the World Youth Festival held in Prague last summer by WFDY. Over 17,000 foreign youth and 65,000 Czechs participated in the festival. A vast, rich, varied programme of events was held during the festival—choirs and bands; drama and film festivals; ballet puppet and open-air theatre; international sports tournaments; art exhibitions and dance contests. The young people who participated were able to share each other's cultural heritage and also to learn something of the problems and needs of youth elsewhere, in a first-hand exchange of information and opinion on a scale that has never been seen in the past.

In the field of reconstruction the most outstanding part played by WFDY has been on the youth railway of Yugoslavia and the rebuilding of Lidice. The Yugoslav Youth Railway is 150 miles long, in Bosnia, in the very centre of Yugoslavia, and in one of its most mountainous regions. The experts said it would take two years to build. It was actually built, with only picks and shovels and enthusiasm, in 7½ months. Only a few older engineers and technicians were used and the line was built by 211,000 volunteers from the Yugoslav Youth movement and 6000 foreign youth. Only two New Zealanders visited the line so far as it known but quite a large team of Australians worked on the line the whole period. They returned at the end of January last. The first train ran over the line on November 16th, 1947.

WFDY has been very active in promoting the interests of youth. Over 30 commissions have been very active in promoting the interests of youth in various countries. A magnificent magazine "World Youth" is published in five languages—French, English, Russian, Spanish and Polish. It organizes and assists international travel by young people. WFDY is the United Nations Organization of Youth and it is a pity that its wide work on behalf of youth is not better known in New Zealand.

International Union of Students

The organization and activities of IUS are now fairly well known. At the last council meeting in Prague, N.Z. University Students' Association was represented by John Ziman and he has written a 38-page report. This is being cyclostyled and all students should endeavour to obtain and read a copy of this report. In particular his remarks on our responsibilities in the financial field and in WSR, in view of our prosperity and high living standards, should be taken to heart

New Zealand's Part

Twelve thousand miles from Europe, and twelve hundred miles from our nearest neighbour, we in New Zealand still have a part to play in the world youth movement. In student affairs particularly we have close links with Australia's NUAUS and with IUS. Our University can be proud that, together with the youth of Europe, Australia, India, Venezuela and many other countries we demonstrated vigorously at the opening of imperialist war against the Indonesian Republic. A photograph of our procession was published in "World Youth."