International Committee of Children's and Youth Organizations

(Comité International des Mouvements d’Enfants et d’Adolescents, CIMEA), an organization operating in conjunction with the World Federation of Democratic Youth.

Founded in 1958, CIMEA brings together organizations from about 30 countries, with more than 50 million children and about 500,000 adult leaders (1974). Its purpose is to better the legal and material position of children, to improve their education and upbringing, and to impart a greater unity to the international children’s democratic movement.

CIMEA systematizes and generalizes the work of the various children’s democratic organizations. It has initiated international movements and campaigns in defense of children’s rights, as in the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It organizes international meetings, friendship camps, and artistic and athletic competitions for children. CIMEA holds scientific conferences and symposia on current problems of education and upbringing. It maintains permanent liaison with the World Peace Council, the Women’s International Democratic Federation, the World Federation of Teachers’ Unions, UNESCO, and other organizations. It publishes an information bulletin in English.

The Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization is represented on the CIMEA’s Presidium. The headquarters of the CIMEA are in Budapest. (See alsoCHILDREN’S DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZATIONS.)