On January 22, the All-Russian Competition for the International Festival of Youth 2026 Volunteer Recruitment and Training Centers has started. The organizers of the competition are the World Youth Festival Directorate and the Dobro.rf Association.

The competition is aimed at forming a network of centers in the regions of Russia that will take on a key role in recruiting, selecting and training the volunteer corps of the International Festival of Youth. The winners will receive the official status of the IFY–2026 Volunteer Recruitment and Training Center and will become the mainstays of the Festival's volunteer program in the regions.

The volunteer resource centers and volunteer organizations, universities and colleges implementing volunteer support programs, government agencies in the field of youth policy, as well as non-profit organizations are invited to participate in the competition.

The IFY-2026 Volunteer Recruitment and Training Centers will conduct an information campaign in the region, create conditions for involving residents in the volunteer corps of the Festival, participate in the development and implementation of training programs, form teams of volunteers in the required number and accompany volunteers at all stages of training.

Participants' applications are assessed according to several criteria, including: compliance with the requirements of the competition, experience in the field of volunteering, including participation in national and international events, the quality of proposals for the implementation of the center's goals, as well as the level of interaction with the region in which the organization claims to become a Volunteer Recruitment and Training Center.

Applications are open until February 8 on the Dobro.rf platform: https://contests.dobro.ru/fest2026

The examination of applications and summing up of the results by the Expert Commission will take place until February 18. The results of the competition will be announced on February 20.

According to the Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the International Festival of Youth will be held in Ekaterinburg in September 2026. 10,000 young leaders will take part in the Festival: 5,000 from Russia and 5,000 from foreign countries.

Earlier, on December 5, as part of the #WEARETOGETHER International Award ceremony of the #WEARETOGETHER International Forum of Civil Engagement, registration for the Festival's volunteer corps was launched. 2,000 volunteers will take part in the event. Registration takes place on the Dobro.rf platform until March 31, 2026: https://dobro.ru/event/11434992

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 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 Festival of Youth with 10,000 participants. In between, the World Youth Festival’s themed Assemblies will be held annually for 2,000 participants.

The first World Youth Festival Assembly was held in Nizhny Novgorod from September 17 to 21, 2025 and brought together 2,000 young people from 120 countries.

The World Youth Festival Directorate continues the work aimed at strengthening international youth cooperation.