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What happens when you handpick 30 smart, articulate teenagers from across the globe and bring them to New York for 3 months during the Cold War? They lived with American families, attended American schools, and participated in forums in person and on television, discussing Middle East conflicts, South African apartheid, the Vietnam war, American civil rights, and women's place around the world. Lauded as the voices of youth and hope, they jammed with Pete Seeger, chatted with US Presidents, were star-struck by Harry Belafonte and Ingrid Bergman, took inspiration from Noam Chomsky, and had tea with Eleanor Roosevelt. Many delegates later had significant roles in politics, academia, and international affairs. The Herald Tribune World Youth Forum was both an idealistic attempt to create a better, more peaceful postwar world and an exercise in Cold War soft power diplomacy. Using over 200 oral history interviews, archives and memorabilia scattered across the globe, and the fabulous surviving footage of the 1950s televised debates (now viral on YouTube), award-winning historian Catherine Bishop brings to life the story of the Forum and its impact on young delegates. For some it was simply a pleasant interlude. For others, it changed their world completely.
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Dr Catherine Bishop is a historian and award-winning author living in the Blue Mountains in Australia. She is a postdoctoral fellow at Macquarie University. Her books include Minding Her Own Business: Colonial Businesswomen in Sydney, Women Mean Business: Colonial Businesswomen in New Zealand, and Too Much Cabbage and Jesus Christ: Australia's 'Mission Girl' Annie Lock.
