Its veteran leader, Khamtay Siphandone, was routinely reappointed president of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party at its congress in March.
Griffith's romanticizing of the Klan and the Old South through cinema was a forerunner to the work of others who used film for propaganda means, notably Soviet directors from the end of World War I and into the Cold War and Leni Riefenstahl, the German auteur whose 1935 documentary "Triumph of the Will" celebrated Hitler's Nazi Party at its congress in Nuremberg.
"We had serious concerns about the Moscow conference, since there is no tradition of the PEN club organizing its congress in a country which is waging war," said Adam Pomorski, vice president of the Polish PEN club.
The party's leadership has hinted that its congress would strengthen the National Assembly, a rubber-stamp body.
The Workers Partyy last held its congress in 1980, when Kim's father Kim Jong-il made his political debut with an appearance that confirmed he was in line to succeed his father, the country's founder Kim Il-sung.
At its congress in the summer of 1978, the International Ice Hockey Federation approved proposals to hold the second and third Canada Cup tournaments in 1979 and 1982.
It is noble in its way, this organisation that, for one day a year when it meets for its Congress, has the outward appearance of a grand democracy.
At its congress, the CDU voted to allow EU member states voluntary exits from the euro, but rejected calls for ECB board membership to be weighted according to size of economy – a recipe for Franco-German domination.
With no support from top party officials, Mrs. Steinbach announced she would no longer stand for re-election as a member of the leadership board of the Christian Democratic Union when the party holds its congress later this year.
It was notable at its congress that IG Metall not only elected the hardline Mr Peters as chairman but also the more reformist Berthold Huber as his deputy.
But another big question came to the fore this week when Tony Leon, who heads the main opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA), said he would step down at its congress in May.
