National Flag Day is celebrated annually in Russia on August 22. On this day, a flag-hoisting ceremony took place at the office of the World Youth Festival Directorate. About 100 international students, participants of the World Youth Festival in Nizhny Novgorod, representatives of the WYFD International Friendship Club of the Moscow Region, foreign and Russian bloggers, as well as employees of the World Youth Festival Directorate joined the celebration.
Dmitry Ivanov, Director General of the World Youth Festival Directorate, delivered a speech at the ceremony. "We are proud to have representatives of our partner countries with us on this day. Your presence clearly demonstrates our unity. The Russian tricolor is a symbol of solidarity, as well as dignity, honor and friendship of the multinational people of Russia. As people who work in the field of international cooperation, we consider the flag to be a special symbol that evokes inexpressible feelings when we see it at international events. I would like to emphasize that the Russian flag will flutter over our building in the center of Moscow not only today, but every day, embodying our friendship, unity and faith in shared future," said Dmitry Ivanov, Director General of the World Youth Festival Directorate.
Milosh Tanaskovich, participant of the WYF-2024 from Serbia, spoke at the ceremony on behalf of the international youth community.
“I want to thank the World Youth Festival Directorate, because its employees are working tirelessly uniting young people from different countries. "I want to thank the World Youth Festival Directorate, because its employees are working tirelessly bringing together young people from different countries. We, the younger generation, communicate and make great progress together. The World Youth Festival, which took place in March 2024 on the federal territory of Sirius, changed my life. I began to actively work with youth projects. Today, at this event, I feel like I am among my friends," said Milosh Tanaskovich, participant of the WYF–2024 from Serbia.
A flash mob "Poems about Russia" was also held during the celebration. Dmitry Kravchenko, a Russian writer, poet and playwright, read his own works about love for the Motherland.
Dmitry Ivanov, Director General of the World Youth Festival Directorate, Milosh Tanaskovich from Serbia, participant of the WYF–2024, and Anastasia Demyanenko, participant of the World Youth Festival Assembly, representing the delegation of the Moscow Region, took part in the flag-hoisting ceremony.
The whole country celebrated the Russian National Flag Day. Thus, representatives of the WYFD International Friendship Club of the Sverdlovsk Region took part in a patriotic race organized jointly with the "Your Move" project, the Association of Student Sports Clubs and universities of the region. In the Tyumen region, young people joined a flag march, an open-mic concert program for creative youth was held in Kabardino-Balkaria, and young people from the Voronezh Region took part in the flag deployment. Representatives of the WYFD International Friendship Clubs of St. Petersburg, the Rostov Region and the Republic of Mordovia also joined the action, in which they unfurled the Russian flag on the background of the main sights of the cities. Activists of the WYFD International Friendship Club of the Kurgan region made brooches and coins to remember.
Actions dedicated to the National Flag Day of Russia were also held on the territory of foreign countries. They were attended by representatives of the WYFD international project offices, partner organizations that carry out their activities in the youth, social, humanitarian, and socio-political fields with the support of the World Youth Festival Directorate. The Russian flag was unfurled at landmarks in Venezuela, Italy, Mexico, Argentina, Georgia, Peru, the Czech Republic, Australia, Japan, Brazil, Belgium, Slovakia and Serbia.
Overview:
The World Youth Festival took place on March 1–7, 2024 in Sirius, according to the Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the development of international youth cooperation. The WYF-2024 brought together 20,000 young leaders from 190 countries.
On the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation, the WYF will be held in Russia on a regular basis – once in six years. Also, every six years 10,000 young people from all over the world will get together at the International Youth Festival, and in between, international themed assemblies for 2,000 participants will be held under the auspices of the WYF. The first Assembly is scheduled to take place in September 2025 in Nizhny Novgorod. Festival events of various formats will be held in Russia annually.
According to the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation on the preservation and development of the Festival legacy, the World Youth Festival Directorate continues the work aimed at strengthening international youth cooperation.
