Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko has visited VK’s stand at the International Festival of Youth in Ekaterinburg. The guest was shown the stand’s main zones and given a tour of the digital ecosystem set up specifically for the event. A key feature was the interactive MAX zone, where visitors can use neural networks to create a digital avatar and exchange messages through a chatbot.

Festival participants could see how the ecosystem’s services – from VKontakte and MAX to Dzen and VK Video – work in everyday life: visitors can build a portfolio of in-demand IT skills, try out new games, send a message to other participants through the MAX messenger, and leave a digital donation in support of charitable foundations. VKontakte presented the IFY – 2026 mini-app, featuring a schedule, map, notifications, and a “Lost and Found.”

Thanks to these online services, news about IFY’s events and participants is reaching audiences far beyond the venue: Mail Media Projects runs the “World Youth City” guide, and VK’s space has opened the youth studio “Zoomed In.” Together with representatives of business and government, opinion leaders discuss careers, creative work, personal development, and the values of today’s youth. Interviews are published on the VK Video platform.

VK’s high-tech “Space of Dreams” zone is open to all participants from September 11 to 17.

VK is the general partner of the International Festival of Youth – 2026, taking place in Ekaterinburg under the motto “Follow Your Dream” and bringing together 10,000 young leaders from 191 countries. Updates and announcements about IFY – 2026 can be followed in the official VKontakte community and on the MAX channel.

Overview:

The International Festival of Youth, held as part of the Youth and Children national project, is taking place in Ekaterinburg from September 11 to 17, 2026. The decree establishing the event was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 29, 2025. The Festival is being held under the motto “Follow Your Dream”.

Participants of the IFY – 2026 include 10,000 young leaders from 191 countries, including 5,000 Russians and 5,000 international citizens. Among them are leading representatives of creative industries and the arts, public administration, science and education, sport, entrepreneurship, media, digitalization and IT, and civic engagement – people who are already shaping the future of their countries and the world. Continuing the successful practice established at the World Youth Festival 2024, those invited include 1,000 teenagers aged 14 to 17 – 500 from Russia and 500 from abroad. The Children’s Program is organized by the Movement of the First.

The World Youth Festival took place from March 1 to 7, 2024, in Sirius, in accordance with a decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, aimed at developing international youth cooperation. The WYF-2024 brought together 20,000 young leaders from 190 countries.

In line with instructions from Russia’s President on preserving and building on the legacy of the World Youth Festival, festival events are now held annually across Russia. The World Youth Festival Directorate continues its work to strengthen international youth cooperation and build a community of young people who care about the future of the world.