
The session of the International Association of Children's Organizations "IACO World” at the World Youth Festival brought together 200 teenagers from Russia, the Republic of Belarus, and 35 countries around the globe. Jointly with experienced mentors, they discussed the future of a IACO participant in 10, 20, and 30 years.
In May 2024, at the World Youth Festival held in Sirius, it was the children who proposed bringing together young people from all over the world under the umbrella of a single organization. Today, IACO is already a recognizable brand that brings together young diplomats who want to change the world by implementing new ideas in a wide variety of areas. During a large-scale discussion, experts addressed the young diplomats of the “Movement of the First”. The key speakers at the event were representatives of the “Movement of the First” executives, the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, the World Youth Festival Directorate, and foreign partners.
The first speaker was Egor Litvinenko, Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs. He noted the particular importance of the Children's Directorate's presence in international events.
"It is important for us that IACO is not just a platform for various events, but a space where children themselves become the authors of projects and programs that we implement together with the “Movement of the First”. We want young people to continue to actively participate in the events of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh), the “Movement of the First”, and the World Youth Festival Directorate. Moreover, I am confident that IACO will become a platform where new trends initiated by children will emerge and be adopted by adults," Egor Litvinenko remarks.
He also reminded everyone that next year will bring an even more global event—the World Youth Festival, with 10,000 kids from all over the world participating.
Dmitry Ivanov, Director General of the World Youth Festival Directorate, speaking with participants in the Children's Program, noted that the idea of IACO is in demand and takes into account the voice of each of its participants.
"The idea of IACO is yours, a children's initiative that we supported. And today we see how alive and in demand it is. This is your association, where everyone's voice is important. Our task is to be your tool, your support. We are always ready to help you implement your initiatives, and the children's track will be an integral part of all festival programs," Dmitry Ivanov says.
Marat Zakirov, Deputy Chairman of the “Movement of the First” Board spoke about the scale of the organization's international activities. Today, 28 agreements have already been signed with organizations from 21 countries. Among these countries are China, India, Yemen, Austria, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Belarus, Brazil, Venezuela, Georgia, Indonesia, Italy, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Morocco, Turkey, Senegal, Uzbekistan, South Africa, as well as the Pan-African Youth Union and the Eurasian Association for Supplementary Education of Children. He emphasized that the key goal of the “Movement of the First” in this work is not simply to sign agreements, but to create an active international community.
"Today, the “Movement of the First” has more than 12.5 million members. I am delighted to see familiar faces in the hall today. This shows that our work is sustainable. But there are more unfamiliar faces, that means that we are developing and growing. I want to say that the international “Movement of the First” is you! You have great opportunities to implement your initiatives, find friends, and unite around the areas that interest you! The most precious thing in every country is its children. We are confident that the future is being built by you. You are capable of creating something new together. Our common task is to give you every opportunity to do so," Marat Zakirov says.
Parikh Madhish, President of the Elixir Foundation from the Republic of India, also spoke about the uniqueness of the idea of establishing the IACO organization and the incredible prospects it opens up for children and adults around the globe in his address to the young diplomats.
"You are all our future because you have the potential to change the world today. Each of you sitting in this hall has made this event possible. It is not just about moving forward, but about inspiring the whole world to follow. This event should awaken ideas, creativity, a spirit of cooperation, and a spirit of creating ideas for a better world. And you can all do it. You just need to believe in yourselves, and it will become a reality! As an organization, we firmly believe in the power of youth. We are very proud to be one of the founders of IACO, and I am very grateful to my dear friend Marat Zakirov and everyone present in this hall for believing in us and for making us part of this. Thank you very much!" Parikh Madhish remarks.
Svetlana Anufrieva, Minister of Youth Policy of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, expressed her readiness to support the new project of the “Movement of First” and Young Diplomats, "My First Friend," which was presented during the "IACO World" session. Dmitry Kalutsky introduced the idea and the ways for its implementation.
"The idea of the 'My First Friend' project is that we are creating a corps of volunteers who help foreign students adapt to everyday issues in a country that is new to them. These may be issues such as applying for a bank card, where to go in case of fire, how to ride the subway, and so on. We believe that this project is very important to implement because there are foreign students everywhere, including in the countries of the International Association of Children's Organizations," Dmitry Kalutsky, a participant in the Children's Program of the “Movement of the First” says.
"As Minister of Youth Policy, I would now like to propose launching a pilot project in our universities in Nizhny Novgorod. We have around 8,000 foreign students studying here. We won't be able to cover everyone right away, but we can definitely start and test this project here. I am confident that we will demonstrate how this project works and that it will spread throughout the country!" Svetlana Anufrieva, Minister of Youth Policy of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, emphasizes.
During the session, IACO also announced an assembly of school diplomacy clubs, which will be joined by foreign partner countries next year.
The participants discussed new project ideas from young diplomats, which will be implemented in the near future and will become the next confident steps in the IACO development, because the key skill that the Association aims to cultivate is the ability not only to generate ideas, but to implement them in specific projects.
The image of a future IACO participant is presented to its members as follows: a person who values their culture and history, respects other cultures and engages in equal dialogue with them, a patriot who has strong ties to their homeland, and a citizen of the world who knows how to make friends. This person is open, responsive, and sees their peers from other countries not only as representatives of their countries, but also as like-minded friends. They are creators who build bridges of friendship through joint projects.
The general partners of the WYF Assembly-2025 are the Russian Music Union, JSC Russian Railways, and Phygital Games. The general information partner is the international television channel RT, and the general media partner is ANO Dialog Regions. The partner for the excursion and regional programs is the More Than Trip program. The strategic partner is VK Tech. Co. The following have also joined the partnership program: “New Generation” program arranged by the Federal Agency for Affairs of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Residing Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo), the Movement of the First, the presidential platform “Russia – Country of Opportunities”, Sovcombank, the Avito Tech. Co., State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom, Russian “Znanie” (Knowledge) Society, the Film Studio Soyuzmultfilm, the Government of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Central Bank of Russia, program for young entrepreneurs “Rosmolodezh.Undertake” and the Mashuk Knowledge Center. Information 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 World Youth Festival Directorate. The Festival pursues the goals of the Youth and Children national project.
Overview:
In accordance with the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on preserving and developing the legacy of the World Youth Festival, which took place on the Sirius Federal Territory in 2024 and united 20,000 young people from 190 countries of the world, festival events on the territory of the Russian Federation will be held annually. 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, the World Youth Festival’s themed Assemblies will be held annually for 2,000 participants. The World Youth Festival Directorate continues its work aimed at strengthening international youth cooperation.
The All-Russian Public-State Movement of Children and Youth "Movement of the First" is the largest community of children, adolescents, and adults in the Russian Federation, uniting government 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”. Approximately 50,000 primary branches operate on a regular basis in 89 regions of Russia. The Movement's work is carried out through voluntary activities for children and young people outside school hours in educational institutions, cultural, physical education and sports organizations, youth policy, social protection, and enterprises. The “Movement of the First”implements an educational program for children and young people based on traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, national cultural and historical heritage, and the principle of an unbreakable bond between generations, with the aim of creating a unified educational space of equal opportunities for the comprehensive development and self-realization of children and young people, and the formation of skills useful for practical application and career guidance among participants. The “Movement of the First” projects are implemented as part of the national project "Youth and Children" and the federal projects "We Are Together (Educating Harmoniously Developed Individuals)" and "Russia - Country of Opportunities". These include the All-Russian project "Big Change," the All-Russian project "First Aid," the All-Russian military-patriotic game "Zarnitsa 2.0," the All-Russian project "Young Naturalists of the Firsts," the All-Russian project "Guardians of History," the All-Russian theater project "School Classics," the All-Russian project "Media Attraction," the program "We Are Citizens of Russia!," the All-Russian project "Challenge of the Firsts," the All-Russian project "Hikes of the Firsts. More Than Trip," the educational and tourism program "University Shifts," the All-Russian project "Blago Tvori," the All-Russian project "Zvuchi," the All-Russian project "First in Science," and the All-Russian project "Safety in Motion."