The World Youth Festival (WYF) Assembly opened in Nizhny Novgorod. It runs from September 17 to 21 and has attracted 2,000 participants from 14 to 35 years old from 120 countries. Continuing the tradition of the WYF 2024 Children’s Track, participants from 14 to 17 years old from 35 countries will take part in the Children’s Program of the Movement of the First, which will be a reflection of one of the WFM values—“A world of opportunities for everyone.” 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. Movement of the First is partnering with the events.
“More than 12,500 applications from 104 countries were submitted for the Movement of the First’s program at the World Youth Festival Assembly. Following the results of the selection, 200 schoolchildren from 14 to 17 years old gathered in Nizhny Novgorod to exchange experience in 7 tracks: media, sports, creative industries and creativity, education and science, digitalization and IT, public administration and entrepreneurship. The children will walk their own path of discovery, get acquainted with the culture of Russia, share the traditions of their homeland, and communicate with the world’s leading experts in various fields. I am sure that at the Assembly, children from different countries will find a lot of friends and like-minded people to develop initiatives that they can later implement in their homeland,” said Artur Orlov, Chairman of the Board of the Movement of the First.
The children’s track was organized for the first time at the WYF 2024. Now this festival tradition continues. At the Assembly in Nizhny Novgorod, teenagers will be included in the general agenda and will be able to attend the main events, learn from the experience of their elders, present their ideas to the participants of the Assembly and feel part of a large youth community.
“It was crucial for us to include a children’s track in the World Youth Festival Assembly program. When we first tried this successful practice at WYF 2024 at Sirius, we saw its great potential. Now the children’s track has become an integral and important part of the festival movement. And it is natural, because children are the future young leaders, engineers, diplomats, those who will have to build a just and multipolar world. Already today on our platform they get a unique experience: they get acquainted with peers from different countries, learn to understand each other and work together on projects that will shape their common future,” said Dmitry Ivanov, Director General of the World Youth Festival Directorate.
Participants of the Children’s Program of the WYF Assembly will develop projects in the following areas: education and science, diplomacy and management, volunteerism, entrepreneurship, creative industries and creativity, sports and media, which in the coming years will become the basis for the development of international children and youth community.
The goals of the Children’s Program include development of children’s international diplomacy, promotion of the values and projects of the Movement of the First, expansion of friendship of the Movement participants with their peers from abroad, discussion of common ideas for their further development in projects and implementation of the tracks of the International Association of Children’s Organizations (IACO).
Dmitry Kalutsky from Belgorod region, a participant of the Assembly, says that he visited the International shift BRICS World—a World of the Future in Artek, where he represented the International Association of Children’s Organizations (IACO). The young man is also at the origin of the project Volunteers of Diplomacy, which he intends to start implementing now, at the Assembly of the World Youth Festival.
“The World Youth Festival Assembly will pave the way for new leaders who care about children’s diplomacy. Throughout the Children’s Program I would like to bring something new to IACO, whether it be a new and interesting project or my own enthusiasm to inspire and enthuse other Assembly participants. It is an inexpressible feeling when you meet hundreds of like-minded people from all over the world in one place. Many of my friends will be at the Assembly: for example, Adrian from Italy, whom we met at the Festival of Childhood and Youth in Moscow, and Damira from Kazakhstan, with whom we work together on projects of the IACO.Dobro working group. I know for sure that after the Assembly I will remember with warmth the people and moments spent with them, realizing that we are one generation that wants to make this world a better place. I am sure that these acquaintances will develop into strong friendship and future joint projects!” said Dmitry Kalutsky.
Melak Shaaban, a participant of the Assembly from Egypt, said that in 2024 she was a participant of the World Youth Festival in Sochi, where she met kids and together they created a project on ecology.
“A year ago, I met some interesting and active kids. The process of creating the project gave us an incredible team building experience! This year I applied for the World Youth Festival Assembly to immerse myself in the atmosphere of communication and knowledge sharing with people from different countries again. I am actively involved in many activities, have a lot of experience in youth organizations and always try to share my knowledge and ideas with others. For example, I participated in the IACO 2025 Assembly. This project has given me a lot of new knowledge on promoting youth organizations and teamwork. I am sure that the WYF Assembly will become a place for exchange of ideas and strengthening of ties between children from different countries,” said Melak Shaaban.
A saturated program is prepared for young participants of the WYF Assembly. Each day for teenagers will focus on one of the key values: intercultural dialog to bring together people from different countries, developing trust and synergy through teamwork, as well as respect for diversity of opinions and co-creation. The main goal is to help each teenager to realize themselves not just as a participant, but as a real carrier and ambassador of these values, and to establish connections with peers from other countries and generate a practical impetus which they can use to launch their own projects. Young participants will attend master classes on personal brand building, communication skills, and immerse themselves in the development of projects in the areas of the International Association of Children’s Organizations in international teams. The kids will become co-creators in play theater. The WYF Assembly will bring together activists and representatives of different spheres: media, creative industries, sports, education and science, public administration, entrepreneurship. 200 volunteers from all regions of Russia will take part in the preparation and realization of the event.
The general partners of the World Youth Festival Assembly 2025 are the Russian Music Union, Russian Railways and Phygital Games. The general media partner is the international television channel RT, and the general media partner is ANO “Dialogue Between Regions”. The tour and regional program partner is the “More Than Trip” program. The strategic partner is the technology company VK. The partner program was also joined by: Rossotrudnichestvo’s New Generation program, Movement of the First, the presidential platform Russia — Country of Opportunities, Sovcombank, the technology company Avito, the Rosatom state corporation, the Russian “Znanie” (Knowledge) Society, the Soyuzmultfilm film studio, the Government of Krasnoyarsk region, the Central Bank of Russia, Rosmolodezh.Undertake, and the Mashuk Knowledge Center. Publicity 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 Directorate of the World Youth Festival. The event is realized in furtherance of the goals of the Youth and Children national project.
Overview:
In accordance with the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin on preserving and developing the legacy of the World Youth Festival, which took place on the Sirius federal territory in 2024 and brought together 20,000 young people from 190 countries, festival events will be held annually in the Russian Federation. 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 World Youth Festival-themed Assemblies for 2,000 participants will be held annually. The Directorate of the World Youth Festival continues its work aimed at strengthening international youth cooperation.
On December 6, on the platform of the International Forum for Civic Participation #WeAreTogether, the Movement of the First entered into a cooperation agreement with the World Youth Festival Directorate. The Declaration was signed by 12 children’s organizations and 11 countries of the world. The 2024 World Youth Festival was the first time that children from 14 to 17 years old participated in the World Youth Festival (1,000 people from 79 countries: 500 Russian and 500 foreign participants). The Festival hosted the Children’s Directorate Laboratory, where participants discussed the creation of the International Association of Children’s Organizations (IACO), which will unite children’s and youth structures from different countries. On May 30, 2024, as part of the list of instructions following the meeting of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin with the participants of the World Youth Festival, the instruction “On the establishment of an international association of children’s organizations” was signed. The founder of IACO on behalf of the Russian Federation is the Movement of the First. The outcome of the Movement of the First’s interaction with foreign partner organizations was the signing of the Declaration on the Establishment of IACO, which took place during a face-to-face meeting on May 30, 2025.
All-Russian public and state movement of children and youth Movement of the First is the largest community of children, teenagers and adults in the Russian Federation, uniting state and public institutions to form a unified educational environment for schoolchildren and students of professional educational organizations. More than 12 million people are members of the Movement of the First. About 50 thousand primary branches operate on a regular basis in 89 regions of Russia. The work of the Movement is carried out voluntarily by children and young people outside school hours in educational organizations, in organizations of culture, physical education and sport, youth policy, social protection and in enterprises. The Movement of the First implements the Program of educational work with children and youth on the basis of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, national cultural and historical heritage and the principle of indissoluble connection of generations, in order to create a unified educational space of equal opportunities for comprehensive development and self-realization of children and youth, formation of skills useful for practical application and career guidance. The projects of the Movement of the First are implemented within the framework of the National Project Youth and Children of the federal projects We are together (upbringing of a harmoniously developed person) and Russia—Land of Opportunity. Among them are the All-Russian project “Bol’shaya Peremena” (“Long Break”), the All-Russian project “First Aid”, the All-Russian military-patriotic game “Zarnitsa 2.0”, the All-Russian project “Young Naturalists of the First”, the All-Russian project “Keepers of History”, the All-Russian theatrical project “School Classics”, the All-Russian project “Media Attraction”, the program “We are Citizens of Russia!”, the All-Russian project “Challenge of the First”, the All-Russian project “Hikes of the First. More than Trip”, educational program “University Shifts”, All-Russian project “Do Good”, All-Russian project “Sound”, All-Russian project “First in Science”, All-Russian project “Safety in Motion.”