Phygital Sports Are the Future: Azat Kadyrov and Nikita Nagornyy Spoke about the Success of the Games of the Future to the Participants of the Znanie.Pervye Marathon

The legacy of the Games of the Future for the youth of Russia and foreign countries was discussed at the Znanie.Pervye educational marathon, which the Russian Znanie Society is holding from March 2 to 6 at the World Youth Festival in Sirius. First Deputy Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Azat Kadyrov and President of the All-Russian Phygital Sports Federation, Olympic Gymnastics Champion Nikita Nagornyy shared their views on innovative competitions with the marathon participants. The meeting was held on the second day of the program in the Kazan Pavilion of the World Youth City.

Azat Kadyrov and Nikita Nagornyy told the children about the stages of preparation of the first in the history of the planet championship at the junction of the real and virtual worlds.

"Phygital sports are gaining momentum at an incredible rate today, with more and more young people joining in. Importantly, the Games of the Future has been a catalyst for the development of the sport. Phygital sports are an opportunity to perform to the best of your ability and represent your country in international competitions. Personally, there is nothing better in life for me than to represent Russia at high-level competitions," said Nikita Nagornyy.

He also added that if desired, every young person can try their hand at this new sport discipline, and often residents of different cities of the country take the initiative themselves, and the All-Russian Phygital Sports Federation actively supports their endeavors. In the next couple of years, the main objective is to open regional offices in all regions.

Azat Kadyrov spoke about the peculiarities of the Games of the Future held in Kazan. According to him, the competition was held at the highest level of organization. He also noted the high viewer interest.

"Phygital sports are the future, which was demonstrated by the international competitions held in Kazan," Azat Kadyrov emphasized.

The Russian Znanie Society organized the work of the Znanie.Lectorium Stream Studio at the Games of the Future in Kazan. It was supported by the ANO Directorate of Sports and Social Projects. All major events of the tournament were covered live, and exclusive interviews were conducted. A series of offline workshops, film screenings and lectures from invited experts were also organized for guests and spectators of the competition.

The First Deputy Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation added that the All-Russian Phygital Sports Federation has grown very seriously over the year.

"A big leap has been made, today almost 70 regions are involved in the phygital movement. And for this sport to grow, you need simulators (where they don't exist) and sports facilities. We are building specialized phygital centers with the regions, where there is both a virtual block and a real physical site. But in fact it is possible to develop phygital on the basis of any existing facility, it is enough to put there specialized computer equipment. Realizing this, many regions are already starting to develop the movement on their own," Azat Kadyrov said.

The marathon participants asked the speakers about the prospects for the development of phygital sports in Russia.

"Our goal is for every region to join the Phygital Sports Federation soon. This is an ambitious but realistic goal, as the development of this discipline does not require huge financial investments," replied Nikita Nagornyy.

The meeting took place at the Znanie.Pervye marathon as part of the Multinational Unity Day, which is dedicated to national diversity, folk traditions, the right of every nation to identity and sovereignty.

The Znanie Society is the general partner of the educational program of the World Youth Festival, organized by decree of President Vladimir Putin. The Znanie.Pervye educational marathon is one of the main events of this program. The most striking presentations of lecturers can be seen on the 24-hour Znanie.TV media channel.

Also on March 3, the second day of the marathon, among the lecturers of the thematic track "Multinational Unity" is Tatyana Moskalkova, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Fabio Mastrangelo, chief conductor of the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra of Moscow, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT TV channel and Rossiya Segodnya media group, and many others.

The marathon takes place in Sirius and covers six venues of the World Youth City: WYF International Airport, and Yamal, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Belgorod, and Moscow Pavilions. The tracks of the educational marathon are consonant with the meanings of the Festival: “Responsibility for the fate of the world”, “Multinational unity”, “A world of opportunity for everyone”, “Saving the family for future generations” and “We stand together with Russia”.

In addition to the educational Znanie.Pervye marathon, as part of the educational program of the World Youth Festival, the Russian Znanie Society organized the intellectual tournament Znanie.Game with the participation of scholars from different countries and Znanie.Cinema Lectorium, where viewers can watch legendary Russian and foreign films and discuss them in the company of famous actors and directors. For the Festival participants a multimedia exhibition of the National Photo Contest Znanie.Russia will work, where they will be able to see the main achievements of Russia in the 21st century and immerse themselves in their atmosphere with the help of augmented reality technology.

The World Youth Festival shall become a platform for open dialog between young people from Russia and other countries. After the completion of the events on the Sirius Federal Territory, The Russian Znanie Society will continue the educational line of the World Youth Festival from March 9 to 17 within the framework of the WYF 2024 regional program, which will cover all federal districts of our country.

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Overview:

The World Youth Festival is held in accordance with the Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin to develop international youth cooperation. At the first meeting of the Organizing Committee chaired by Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration, it was decided to hold the Festival in the Sirius Federal Territory.

20,000 young leaders in education, science, international cooperation, culture, volunteering, charity, sports, business, media, etc., including 10,000 foreign participants, will take part in the WYF 2024. For the first time in the history of the festival movement, teenagers from 14 to 17 years old had the opportunity to join the event, including 500 from Russia and 500 from abroad. 5,000 volunteers from all regions of Russia, including 228 residents of the LPR, DPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions be involved in the organization and delivery of the Festival. The organizer of the World Youth Festival is the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh), the operator of the WYF 2024 is the World Youth Festival Directorate.

The first federal education marathon was held in May 2021 and became a symbol of the reboot of the Russian Znanie Society. More than 850 lecturers shared their experience during the marathon.

The Russian Znanie Society traces its history back to the Soviet public organization founded in 1947 on the initiative of representatives of the Soviet intelligentsia as the All-Union Society for the Dissemination of Political and Scientific Knowledge (since 1963 — the All-Union Znanie Society, since 1991— the Znanie of Russia Society). Members of the Society were engaged in popularizing science and lecturing on the achievements of the Soviet economy and industry. In 2016, Znanie of Russia was transformed into the Russian Znanie Society. On April 21, 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the need to restart the Russian Znanie Society on a modern digital platform in his address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.