International Contacts through the World Youth Festival to Continue

The World Youth Festival is drawing to a close. The main week of the WYF 2024, which took place in Sirius, ended on March 7, and there is also very little time left before the regional program of the Festival ends. Nevertheless, the goals and meanings of the Festival will continue to live on, introducing and uniting young people from all over the world.

Daniil Bisslinger, Coordinator of the WYF International Bloc, spoke about the results and plans during a meeting with Festival ambassadors, participants and heads of National Preparatory Committees. The meeting was held at the VDNH Youth Center.

The meeting discussed specific initiatives of the participants for the post-Festival work.

"Suggestions include opportunities for Festival participants to learn Russian, continuing international meetings in Russia and other countries, and holding regional conferences for those who registered but could not come to the WYF 2024. The establishment of international shifts within the framework of Russian youth forums was also discussed. Representatives of the NPC also raised issues of joint work with international communities of journalists, politicians, human rights activists, environmental communities, issues of strengthening cultural youth exchanges, increasing the volume and dynamics of participation of foreign representatives in educational processes in Russia and abroad," said Daniil Bisslinger.

The possibility of involving Russian foreign institutions, including embassies, trade missions and Russian houses, was also discussed.

"Russian houses can become centers of attraction for meetings and communication of international youth representatives," said the Coordinator of the WYF International Bloc.

Furthermore, a number of international formats will be implemented as part of the Russia Exhibition at VDNH. At the WYF 2024, participants presented 100 projects. These will become the legacy of the Festival. One of them is the idea of creating the International Association of Children's Organizations. On June 1, the meeting of the International Association of Children's Organizations will be held as part of the Russia International Exhibition and Forum. The International Association will implement projects aimed at developing and popularizing cultural exchange, social responsibility and volunteering among children and youth. In addition, as part of Entrepreneurship Day on May 26, the first meeting of the international community of young entrepreneurs will be held at the Russia Exhibition. The participants will share the best practices of their countries, the first results of the community's work, and schedule upcoming joint events.

The exhibition will continue its work in an interactive format, where visitors will be able to communicate in real time via GigaChat with digital avatars of great people of the past, such as Alexander Pushkin, Leo Tolstoy, and Fyodor Dostoevsky. On July 8, the International Council of the Festival will gather the heads of National Preparatory Committees from all regions of the world, Festival ambassadors, and heads of youth and children's organizations at the exhibition.

Daniil Bisslinger noted that the success of the WYF 2024 is confirmed by the fact that there has been a multiple increase in the interest of foreign youth in Russia for communication and the establishment of positive relations between foreigners and the Russian youth.

"All continents of the world were represented at the Festival. There are 193 countries in the UN and 189 of them have registered for the Festival. Many people also connected online. Today, those who could not come to the WYF are asking for the content from the Festival in one form or another. There is a very positive response from the youth of those countries where the official government pursues an unfriendly policy toward Russia. The friendship between the nations prevails. There is a clear demand for an increase in the level and volume of participation of young people from Western Europe and the United States," said Daniil Bisslinger.

During the discussion, all participants noted the importance of one of the meanings of the Festival, the joint construction of a multi-polar world.

Michel Bertrand Amougou, representative of Cameroon, expressed his gratitude.

"Thank you for the fantastic organization and for the opportunity to come to Russia and meet young people from all over the world. No one has ever given me this opportunity before. The project was very useful. I met a lot of like-minded people from different countries. Our productive communication will not end after the Festival. We stay in touch and will be happy to participate in similar projects in the future. If the post-Festival work continues at other venues or platforms, the delegation from Cameroon will definitely be there," said Michel Bertrand Amougou.

Delegates from Brazil confessed that the Festival convinced them not to believe everything written in the media about Russia. 

"Coming to Russia, many of us became convinced that not everything coming from the United States and the European Union is true. Here I saw that Russia, first of all, invests a lot in education and in young people. Russia is a multinational country that supports a multi-polar world, honors traditions, and cares about its future. Russia is not evil, as the West tries to convince us. Hopefully, thanks to the Festival, everyone will know about it," said Joao Ricardo from Brazil.

Ambassadors and representatives of the National Preparatory Committees of India, France, Iran, Mexico, Egypt, Bulgaria, and other countries also participated in the meeting online.

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The World Youth Festival is taking place according to the Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the development of international youth cooperation.

The World Youth Festival is organized by the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh) and operated by the World Youth Festival Directorate.