On April 16, as part of the World Youth Festival's Birthday celebration, Russian and international WYF 2024 participants toured the “Russia” National Center. More than 100 young people aged 14 to 35 discovered unique features of all federal districts of the country, their cultural heritage, traditions, and economic potential, as well as the history of Russian architecture from ancient times to the present day.

During their tour around the architectural exhibition “The Birth of Scale”, participants explored the evolution and diversity of Russian architecture: industry's heritage from traditional wooden structures to modern skyscrapers. The exhibition features both exhibits from the “Russia” National Center and items provided by museums and private collectors from across the country.

On top of that, the youth enjoyed a large-scale installation “Journey Across Russia”. They highly appreciated the innovative technologies it uses: VR, video content, infographics, and photo zones, that allowed them to fully embrace the atmosphere of traveling across Russia in just an hour and a half.

“The tour helped me learn about the history of Russian culture and architecture, and I really enjoyed it. The World Youth Festival left me with so many positive emotions. I remember President Vladimir Putin's speech at the closing ceremony. I think that speech inspired everyone to pursue new achievements. I met new enthusiastic young people at the Festival. Now we're organizing events aimed at preserving historical truth. I plan to stay here in Russia and develop social initiatives as part of Czech-Russian cooperation efforts to restore friendly relations between our countries”, shared WYF 2024 participant Jakub Zieba from the Czech Republic.

To conclude the event, the guests explored the National Center's Department Store and the Gastronomic Rows of the “Journey Across Russia. Food” project.

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 World Youth Festival Forum, 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.