International Friendship Clubs are being established in all regions of Russia. Multiple opening ceremonies recently took place across the regions of the Volga Federal District, including the Republics of Tatarstan, Mari El, Bashkortostan, Udmurtia, Chuvashia, and the Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, Orenburg, Penza, Saratov Regions, as well as the Perm Territory. On October 25, a Friendship Club was inaugurated in the Ulyanovsk Region as part of the “BRICS Melody” international project where 30 musicians from Russia, Brazil, India, South Africa, Iran, the UAE, China, and Ethiopia performed using traditional instruments.
“Russia is becoming a center of attraction for youth across various fields of activities. International Friendship Clubs are a flagship project of the World Youth Festival Directorate. The success of the Cultural Partnership programme has been recognized by our country's leadership, with the initiative now included in the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation on the preservation and development of the festival legacy. We are building an ecosystem of international youth projects and look to establish Friendship Clubs in every region of Russia by the end of this year. The Festival welcomed 20,000 participants from 190 countries. This community remains actively engaged with us. Today, we are taking the next step towards building our common future”, said Victoria Pavlova, Deputy Director General of the World Youth Festival Directorate, during the opening ceremony in Ulyanovsk.
Young people from the Volga Federal District will be building international cooperation with representatives from 20 foreign countries, including Kazakhstan, Iraq, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Bhutan, Serbia, Pakistan, Egypt, North Korea, Guinea, Venezuela, Uganda, Bangladesh, Nigeria, the Dominican Republic, Palestine, Botswana, the Republic of Vanuatu, Abkhazia, and Peru.
Let us reiterate that International Friendship Clubs followed the Cultural Partnership programme, under which each foreign delegation of the WYF-2024 was assigned partner regions of Russia. For example, young Russians from the Nizhny Novgorod Region helped delegates from Brazil learn about the history, traditions, and culture of Russia. According to Svetlana Anufriyeva, Minister of Youth Policy of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the Festival demonstrated that young people from different countries genuinely want to make friends and create joint projects.
“With the opening of the International Friendship Club, we are starting a new chapter in our work with our partner country – Brazil. We invited international students from local universities and foreign WYF-2024 delegates who’d visited Nizhny Novgorod during the Regional Programme in March 2024 to join the project. As part of the Friendship Club, participants will hold meetings, learn Portuguese and Russian together, and prepare for grant competitions. Additionally, Russian youth will share information about the opportunities available for young people in Russia. The Club’s opening is just the beginning, and we have an exciting journey ahead”, stated Svetlana Anufriyeva, Minister of Youth Policy of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.
In the near future, International Friendship Clubs will be launched across all regions of the Volga Federal District, with upcoming openings scheduled in the Samara Region and Mordovia.
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.
In the future, the World Youth Festival will become a platform for the development of a permanent international youth movement aimed at creating a just multipolar world. 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 international themed gatherings and events will be held under the auspices of the WYF annually.
The World Youth Festival is organized by the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh). The WYF-2024 was operated by the World Youth Festival Directorate.
