The Avito technology platform has partnered with the World Youth Festival Assembly for the first time, which is being held from September 17 to 21 in Nizhny Novgorod. Avito has arranged for a School of Entrepreneurship at the Assembly’s venue, with a program that includes 11 sessions and 7 interactive pitching sessions. Avito's events are aimed at developing participants of the Assembly who have chosen the following areas: entrepreneurship, creative industries and artistic endeavours, education and science, media, public administration, digitalization, and IT.
"At the Avito School of Entrepreneurship, we have created an atmosphere of openness, drive, and mutual support that is inherent in our company. Here, participants feel comfortable asking the questions, clarifying details, sharing contact information, and presenting ideas. Thanks to technological developments, young people have incredible opportunities to reach a multi-million audience, and given Avito's low entry threshold, it is possible to launch a start-up and receive your first orders in a single day. It all depends on the capacities of the business idea and hard work," Vlad Fedulov, Managing Director at Avito comments.
The international event brought together 2,000 young leaders from 120 countries to communicate, share experiences, and collaborate on projects.
"When preparing for the Assembly, we focused, first of all, on the real benefits for participants—acquiring new knowledge and skills, making useful ties, and receiving support from experienced experts. As part of the “Entrepreneurship” program, which brought together 230 young entrepreneurs from across the globe, Avito launched the “School of Entrepreneurship.” This platform has become a real center of attraction: it brings together top speakers, challenges young people, provides unique information for starting and scaling their business, and selects the best ones based on the results of pitches for further interaction. It is the full embodiment of our concept, where Russia is a center of friendship, cooperation, and unlimited opportunities," Vakhtang Khiklandze, Deputy Director General for External Communications at the World Youth Festival Directorate says.
For four days, the Entrepreneurship School is open to all interested participants of the Assembly. On September 17, Avito held a business game called “The Sea” to practice effective communication, strategic thinking, and negotiation skills. On September 18, experts from Avito Goods held events at the School of Entrepreneurship. Participants learned how to launch own start-up limited seed funding, why it is important to promote their own brand, and what trends businessmen should take into account.
Tamara Kvirkelia, Head of Onboarding for New Avito Sellers, also talked about whether it is possible to combine studying and online business. "Nowadays, teenagers as young as 14 are launching hobby projects, drawing, creating things with their own hands, and bringing them to market. 22% of novice entrepreneurs on the platform are young people between the ages of 14 and 18. They are already developing behavioral patterns that can grow into full-fledged businesses," Tamara Kvirkelia notes.
On September 19, Avito Services provided practical advice on finding customers on digital services and analyzed striking and effective advertisements. "We are confident that the online services market is only beginning to reveal its capacities. Young professionals are increasingly choosing a flexible lifestyle, preferring freedom in choosing tasks to an office routine schedule. Digitalization allows you to work anywhere in the country, creating transparent conditions for interaction. Thanks to our partnership with the World Youth Festival, we are not only developing entrepreneurial initiatives, but also forming international ties for future leaders," Oleg Vinzhegin, Sales Director at Avito Services summarizes.
Alexey Butenko, Head of Avito Auto Magazine, held a master class on creating media—from searching for your identity to distribution, monetization, and dealing with neural networks. Participants received practical insights and tools that will help them implement their own projects in the media and digital areas, as well as build their personal brands. On September 20, participants of the Assembly will enjoy a variety of thematic sessions:
• Avito Job will explain how to find a dream job for a novice specialist and what to look for when searching for a job. • Avito Auto will talk about how to use digital technologies to find a free niche for business even in conservative markets, using the practical case study of Avito Special Equipment. Timur Osipov, director of Avito Special Equipment, will share lifehacks on structuring the market, implementing transparent processes, and developing new forms of cooperation. • Avito Travel will talk about trends in local tourism, including the promising market for daily rentals. • Avito Advertising will reveal what businesses should pay attention to when setting up their promotion and will give advice on using advertising tools to scale their business.
Similar events under the auspices of the World Youth Festival will be held in the country annually. Next year, a larger-scale event is planned— the World Youth Festival for 10,000 participants. The main goal of the organizers is to strengthen international youth cooperation.
The general partners of the WYF Assembly-2025 are the Russian Music Union, JSC Russian Railways, and Phygital Games. The general information partner is the international television channel RT, and the general media partner is ANO Dialog Regions. The partner for the excursion and regional programs is the More Than Trip program. The strategic partner is VK Tech. Co. The following have also joined the partnership program: “New Generation” program arranged by the Federal Agency for Affairs of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Residing Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo), the Movement of the First, the presidential platform “Russia – Country of Opportunities”, Sovcombank, the Avito Tech. Co., State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, Russian “Znanie” (Knowledge) Society, the Film Studio Soyuzmultfilm, the Government of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Central Bank of Russia, program for young entrepreneurs “Rosmolodezh.Undertake” and the Mashuk Knowledge Center. Information support for the event is provided by Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Argumenty i Fakty publishing house, the African Initiative and the Window to Russia project of ANO “TV-Novosti”.
The organizer of the World Youth Festival Assembly is the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh), the co-organizer of the event is the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the event operator is the World Youth Festival Directorate. The Festival pursues the goals of the Youth and Children national project.
Overview:
In accordance with the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on preserving and developing the legacy of the World Youth Festival, which took place on the Sirius Federal Territory in 2024 and united 20,000 young people from 190 countries of the world, festival events on the territory of the Russian Federation will be held annually. The next World Youth Festival for 20,000 participants will be held in 2030. In 2026, there will be a smaller event, an International Youth Festival with 10,000 participants. In between, the World Youth Festival’s themed Assemblies will be held annually for 2,000 participants. The World Youth Festival Directorate continues its work aimed at strengthening international youth cooperation.
