NICOSIA, Cyprus—The United Democratic Youth Organization (EDON), the youth league of the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) of Cyprus, concluded its 37th Pancyprian Youth and Students Festival on July 4 after three nights of celebration.
According to Fotini Charalampous, head of the International Relations Office of EDON, “It’s the biggest cultural event of the island.”
The festival is held at the historic Famagusta Gate in the Mediterranean island’s capital of Nicosia every summer. It boasts thousands of attendees each night, as well as an impressive line-up of Greek rock stars, hip-hop artists, and traditional Cypriot musicians.
Every Cypriot knows of the festival, Charalampous said, and almost everyone who has grown up on the island has attended at least once. Even in the Turkish-occupied northern territory, posters advertising the festival can be found in shop windows and on city walls.
For many Cypriots, it is a tradition to attend every year. The many progressive forces of the island—Turkish-speaking and Greek-speaking, young and old—unite to celebrate the revolutionary culture of this country, which has resisted centuries of occupation, imposed segregation, and militarization.
Volunteers make the festival possible
Olga Manora has been attending the festival with her family since she was a child. Her connection to the festival runs deep: Her parents met there, and as soon as she was old enough to join EDON at 15, she began volunteering for the festival.
“[My parents] taught me that everything is achieved through collective struggles, and step by step I found my place in EDON,” she told People’s World. “EDON has been a constant part of my life.”
The festival is entirely run by EDON volunteers, who, during the week of preparation and celebration, develop lifelong connections with each other, with the community, and with the international progressive youth who attend as vendors and delegates of their fraternal organizations.
Charalampous explained that volunteering for the festival is a rite of passage for EDON members. They do promotional work months in advance through community service and local cultural events. In this way, the EDON festival is able to reach communities across all of Cyprus, thanks to the unified efforts of its young volunteers.
The experience of preparing for the festival draws EDON’s members into a lifelong international struggle.
“I feel deeply emotionally connected to this festival,” Manora said. “It’s a whole city that is built from volunteers and students.”
A historic cultural institution
The first EDON festival took place in 1951 in the city of Famagusta, before it was occupied by the Turkish military. The event is a continuation of the festivals of the Progressive Youth Organization (AON), EDON’s predecessor. It is inspired by the World Festival of Youth and Students, which has been organized by the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) since 1947 to promote peace and anti-imperialist solidarity.
Since the first edition in 1951, the festival has been used by EDON as a core part of its organizational work.
“Culture plays a significant role in our everyday struggles,” explained Charalampous. “We [EDON] understand culture, sports, and the everyday social life of the people as part of our struggles…. This festival actually brings the people closer to the left, closer to EDON, and the progressive movement in Cyprus.”
At most music festivals around the world, flags decorated with the faces of Che Guevara or Karl Marx might feel out of place, but at the EDON festival, they fit right in. The multi-generational audience expressed their enthusiasm and solidarity by hoisting the banners of EDON, AKEL, Palestine, the former Soviet Union, and more.
Thousands of Cypriots attended, listening to rousing music from artists like Natassa Borfiliou, Panos Vlachos, Buzz, Tiny Jackal, Petros Raibos, and others. Headlining the festival was Vasilis Papakonstantinou, the most popular Greek rock star in Cyprus, known for his protest songs.
This year also saw a major expansion of the festival due to the growing attendance of recent years. The festival hosted two separate stages at opposite ends of the venue. The first ws dedicated to the rock and hip-hop musicians popular among the youth, while the second stage showcased traditional Cypriot music and dance. Audiences of all generations and cultural persuasions could find representation in the festivities. The tone of resistance, joy, and solidarity resonated on both stages, creating a harmonious whole.
Connecting to international struggles
Also attending the festival were delegates from several other fraternal youth organizations affiliated to WFDY. Their booths constituted the “International City,” section of the grounds, where festival attendees could talk with representatives of progressive youth organizations from around the world.
“This festival demonstrates EDON’s capacity of organization, as well as its connection to Cypriot youth,” said Afonso Beirao, from the Portuguese Communist Youth (JCP). “It is a great demonstration of strength and hope, [and] the seeds it grows for the struggle of the Cypriot youth.”
The festival also became a space where delegates from the fraternal organizations could learn from EDON and the Cypriot working class.
Iddo Elam, Secretary of the Tel Aviv Branch of the Young Communist League of Israel (YCLI), said that learning from EDON is crucial, as both organizations face a struggle against occupation; Turkey’s occupation of parts of Cyprus mirrors Israel’s occupation of Palestine and the West Bank.
“[EDON] talking about how they reach out to the Turkish Cypriots and their connection with some of the leftists on the Turkish side—that’s something that we always try to work on between our Palestinian counterparts in the Palestinian People’s Party and other Palestinian communities,” Elam explained. “We have a lot to… learn about how to stay connected even though there is the [relationship of] oppressor and the oppressed.”
The long-lasting impact of the festival could be felt among the international delegates, many of whom took home ideas of organizing their own cultural events for the youth of their countries.
Henrie Kleinebenne from SDAJ (which stands for Socialist German Workers Youth), described her favorite aspect of the festival: “Seeing how another organization puts on such a festival, learning from each other, what we can do better in our own country, and recognizing that we are an international working class and we have to come together.”
The Hello Comrade Project, which sent 13 delegates from the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and the Young Communist League USA (YCL-USA), participated in setting up the festival and interacted with attendees in the International City.
The delegation served as a tool to expose young workers to the Communist movement outside of the United States. For some, it was their first time out of their own country. The experience, they said, renewed their energy and hope for a better society that they will bring home to their local communities.
“Attending the festival was a powerful reminder that we are not alone.” said Sharmain Siddiqui, a Hello Comrade Project delegate. “Being in community with comrades from around the world reminded me that international solidarity is not only possible—but it is alive, breathing, and necessary for us to take part in.”
Lifelong connections
The revolutionary spirit of youth that is fostered at the EDON festival is something all the fraternal youth leagues wish to share and cultivate among their cadres at home. EDON—along with its parent party, AKEL, and its children’s program, called the Young Pioneers—has shown that a progressive mass movement begins with organizing the youth.
“We [the Pioneers] used to meet as children and had discussions…about the rights of the children, solidarity, freedom, topics like this,” Charalampous said.
Many Young Pioneers then end up being recruited into EDON, where they continue to educate themselves on these lessons from childhood through practices like volunteering at the EDON festival.
The cultural and social significance of the festival has also translated into political importance. Charalampous explained that by the end of the festival each year, EDON’s membership sees noticeable growth.
The success of the festival at organizing the youth is reflected in the dedication to EDON on the part of its volunteers and members. Many festival volunteers and attendees who grow up within EDON and AKEL’s progressive culture then pass these values of community and solidarity onto their own children.
“The festival isn’t just about entertainment—it’s a space for growth, reflection, and collective development,” said Manora in explaining her favorite aspect of the festival. “Through my involvement [in EDON], I have built friendships that turned into true comradeships.” She laughed. “I am certain those friendships will last for a lifetime.”
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