The Communist Youth of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστική Νεολαία Ελλάδας ''Kommounistiki Neolea Elladas'', KNE) is the youth wing of the
Communist Party of Greece
The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a political party in Greece.
Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its curren ...
(KKE).
It publishes the monthly newspaper ''Odigitis'' (Greek: Οδηγητής, "guider") and hosts
Odigitis festival
''Odigitis'' festival (named after the central publication of KNE and the poem of Kostas Varnalis "Odigitis"), is a series of annual festivals organized in most of the major towns and cities of Greece by the Communist Youth of Greece
The Communis ...
s in most of the major towns and cities of
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
.
KNE is a member of the
World Federation of Democratic Youth.
History
KNE was founded on 15 September 1968, with a decision of Politburo of the Central Committee of the KKE, during the
Greek military junta of 1967-1974, as an organization of youth with revolutionary and communist features.
It was the historical continuation of OKNE (Organization of Communist Youth of Greece), of all the organizations of youth which had already taken part in people's struggle in Greece, such as EPON (
United Panhellenic Organization of Youth
The United Panhellenic Organization of Youth, abbreviated EPON ( el, Ενιαία Πανελλαδική Οργάνωση Νέων (ΕΠΟΝ)), was a Greek resistance organization
that was active during the Axis Occupation of Greece in World ...
), DNE (Democratic Youth of Greece), D.N.Lampraki (Democratic Youth "Lamprakis").
In 1989-1991, a deep crisis shocked KNE and KKE. In autumn 1989, disagreeing with the participation of KKE in the
Tzannetakis and
Zolotas national unity governments, a large group, including the major part of KNE under its secretary-general , from the KKE and formed the
New Left Current
The New Left Current ( el, Νέο Αριστερό Ρεύμα για την Κομμουνιστική Απελευθέρωση (ΝΑΡ), ''Neo Aristero Revma'', NAR) was formed in late 1989, mainly by former Communist Youth of Greece (KNE) members ...
(NAR). The KKE, then part of the
Synaspismos
The Coalition of the Left, of Movements and Ecology ( el, Συνασπισμός της Αριστεράς των Κινημάτων και της Οικολογίας, ''Synaspismós tīs Aristerás tōn Kinīmátōn kai tīs Oikologías''), com ...
coalition, attempted to dissolve KNE into the
Synaspismos Youth League. Later in 1991, KKE left the coalition, purged all non-hardliners (incl. 45% of the central committee and KKE secretary-general ), and restored KNE with the efforts of some hundreds of members. In March 1993, the 6th Congress of the Organization took place.
In the late 2000s, KNE decided to constitute MAS (Front of Students' Struggle) ( el, Μέτωπο Αγώνα Σπουδαστών, ΜΑΣ ) which was finally founded by students' organizations in Athens, 6 November 2009.
The congresses of KNE
*1st Congress (19–22 February 1976)
*2nd Congress (4–7 April 1979)
*3rd Congress (14–18 December 1983)
*4th Congress (1–5 June 1988)
*5th Congress (25–27 January 1990)
*6th Congress (19–21 March 1993) "The hope is in our struggle, with KKE we open the road to the future"
*7th Congress (1–4 May 1997) "Youth's counter-attack to imperialism, with KKE for Socialism"
*8th Congress (21–23 December 2001) "Youth dynamic in struggle with working class and the people,for the Front, for the Socialism"
*9th Congress (12–14 May 2006)
Resolution*10th Congress (7–9 May 2010) - "Communism is the youth of the world, KNE our organization"
*11th Congress (18–21 December 2014) - "Pioneer youth of KKE - combatively en route for the socialist tomorrow - without crises, wars, exploitation"
*12th Congress (15-17 February 2019) - "Even more, more capable, we pave the way for what is truly contemporary and young, for a world “worthy of our dreams, and worthy of our people”, Socialism!"
List of Secretaries
#Dimitris Tsiaras (1968-1972)
#Dimitris Gontikas (1972-1979)
#Spyros Chalvatzis (1979-1984)
#Giorgos Grapsas (1984-1989)
#Takis Theodorikakos (1989-1991)
#Nikos Sofianos (1991-2000)
#Themis Gionis (2000-2007)
#Giannis Protoulis (2007-2011)
#Thodoris Chionis (2011-2015)
#Nikos Abatielos (2015-today)
Odigitis festival
Odigitis festival is a series of annual festivals organized in most of the major towns and cities of Greece by the KNE.
See also
*
Young Communist League of Greece
Young Communist League of Greece ( el, Oμοσπονδία Kομμουνιστικών Nεολαιών Eλλάδας; OKNE) was the youth wing of the Communist Party of Greece. OKNE was founded on November 28, 1922. The journal ''I Neolaia'' (Η Ν ...
External links
{{commons category, Communist Youth of Greece
Communist Youth of Greece (KNE)– Official site
Odigitis newspaper
Youth wings of communist parties
Youth wings of political parties in Greece
Communist Party of Greece
1968 establishments in Greece