The 11th

World Festival of Youth and Students 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. History The festival has been held regularly since 1947 as an eve ...

was held from 27 July to 3 August 1978 in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, capital city of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. The festival was attended by 18,500 young people from 145 countries. The motto of the festival was "For Anti-imperialist Solidarity, Peace and Friendship". This was the first time the festival was held in the western hemisphere of the world. The proposal to hold the 11th festival in Cuba was supported at the 10th General Assembly of the

World Federation of Democratic Youth The World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) is an international youth organization, and has historically characterized itself as left-wing and anti-imperialist. WFDY was founded in London in 1945 as a broad international youth movement, o ...

held in November 1974 in

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. The First Congress of the

Communist Party of Cuba The Communist Party of Cuba ( es, Partido Comunista de Cuba, PCC) is the sole ruling party of Cuba. It was founded on 3 October 1965 as the successor to the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution, which was in turn made up of the 26t ...

approved a resolution on hosting the 11th Festival, followed by a similar resolution at the 3rd Congress of the

Young Communist League The Young Communist League (YCL) is the name used by the youth wing of various Communist parties around the world. The name YCL of XXX (name of country) originates from the precedent established by the Communist Youth International. Examples of YC ...

(UJC). The festival started on 28 July 1978, thousands of young people from around the world marching three kilometers through the main avenues of the capital towards the Latin American Stadium where the opening ceremony was held. It ended on 5 August 1978 with a huge demonstration in the historic Plaza de la Revolución José Martí.

References

World Festival of Youth and Students 1978 in Cuba Festivals in Cuba Havana Events in Havana 1978 festivals {{festival-stub