The World Esperanto Youth Organization is an organization dedicated to supporting young Esperanto speakers around the world and promote the use of Esperanto. TEJO was founded in 1938 as the Tutmonda Junular-Organizo and took its current name in 1952. In 1956, TEJO became the youth section of the Universal Esperanto Association. In 1971, the finances and administration of TEJO were fully integrated into those of UEA. TEJO is an organization for young Esperanto speakers. TEJO has individual members as well as member organizations. There are 42 member organizations, as well as 13 national organizations that TEJO has contact with but that are not members. TEJO organizes an International Youth Congress each year in a different location around the world. During the IJK there are concerts, presentations, excursions, and recreation, usually one week long and attended by a few hundred young people from several different countries. TEJO also publishes the Pasporta Servo, which is an international hospitality network of Esperanto speakers that accept Esperanto-speaking guests. TEJO publishes Kontakto, a magazine aimed at beginners and youth. TEJO organizes several youth seminars each year. These seminars bring together an international group of young people to discuss a current issue. Past seminars have focused on human rights, globalization, language problems on minority languages, intercomprehension and the Internet. The seminars last for one week.
Timeline
1920: World Esperantist Youth Association was established
1938: During the first International Youth Congress in Groet, Netherlands, according to a decision of more than 200 participants from 10 countries the World Youth Organization was born.
1947: TJO became a special section of the Universal Esperanto Association
1948: The organization "Native Esperanto speakers" became part of TJO. The third IJK took place in Ipswich, the United Kingdom and it's taken place every year since then.
1952: During the 8th IJK in Ry, Denmark, TJO became TEJO. In that period TEJO was going through a financial and structural crisis.
1956: During the 12th IJK in Büsum, Germany, the committee of TEJO proposed that TEJO become the youth section and an integral part of UEA. A period of internal reorganization started.
1960: The reorganization process was concluded during the 16th IJK in Rotterdam, Netherlands. TEJO opened itself to the outside world by starting cooperation with several non-Esperanto YNOs.
1963: Kontakto, an international magazine of TEJO, was born. It continues to be published six times a year and is a magazine in Esperanto, but not about Esperanto.
1965: The first of a series of seminars was organized in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia, with the goal of discussing the language problem and exchange experiences with different YNOs. Seminars soon also discussed more practical topics, such as exchange of experiences between generations and other issues of youth work.
