World Youth Festival Directorate and Movement of the First Strengthen Cooperation Within International Children’s Track
On December 6, the World Youth Festival Directorate and the Movement of the First signed a cooperation agreement at the International Forum of Civic Participation #WEARETOGETHER.
The agreement is aimed at experience exchange among children and youth projects from across the world, implementation of joint international programmes, as well as collective efforts to develop cooperation between Russian and foreign educational institutions. In particular, the agreement encourages further development of the International Association of Children’s Organizations (IACO). Let us remind you that its first gathering took place in Moscow from May 31 to June 3 as part of the International Festival of the Movement of the First coordinated by the World Youth Festival Directorate.
“As part of the preservation of the WYF-2024 legacy, the Directorate is actively engaged in strengthening international youth cooperation. The teenage track of the Festival, organized jointly with the Movement of the First, showed that the “children’s” movement is relevant around the world, as for the first time in the festival history, 1,000 teenagers from over 70 countries joined it. And it was then when the idea of the International Association of Children’s Organizations originated. The first point of the project implementation was a gathering that brought together teenagers from 44 countries and provided them with a platform to discuss future cultural, volunteer and educational projects. Undoubtedly, together with the Movement of the First, we are planning to further expand international children’s cooperation and attract more teenagers from the whole planet to participate in our projects. The children of today are future youth, young leaders who will be actively involved in developing the fields of politics, science, education, culture and sports in their countries, that’s why it’s important now to build strong cooperation at their level too,” said Daniil Bisslinger, Advisor on International Affairs to the Head of Rosmolodezh, Director General of the World Youth Festival Directorate.
Previously, the Directorate and the Movement of the First have implemented a series of joint programmes. Among them are the trip for Russian teenagers to the Songdowon children’s camp in North Korea, the children’s track of the Eurasia Global International Youth Education Forum in Orenburg, the presentation of the IACO activities as part of the III Kazan Global Youth Summit, the IACO Culture and Art Session in Tatarstan and many other.
“The agreement between the Movement of the First and the World Youth Festival Directorate is a logical follow-up to our joint international work. The Directorate provided active assistance in the implementation of the children’s programme of the Movement of the First at the WYF-2024, helped organize the participation of foreign delegations of children and youth associations in our summer festival. In the near future, we will be making major joint efforts to develop the International Association of Children’s Organizations. I am sure that cooperation between the WYF Directorate and the Movement of the First will help contribute significantly to the development of a fair multipolar world,” emphasized Artur Orlov, Chairman of the Board, Movement of the First.
Daniil Bisslinger also participated in the “Development of IACO. International Projects” discussion as a guest of honor. During the session, participants of the Movement of the First proposed key areas of work of the International Association of Children’s Organizations in 2025. These included culture and art, historical memory and patriotic projects, diplomacy, volunteering, science and education, media and mass media.
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 International Youth Festival, and in between, international themed gatherings and events will be held under the auspices of the WYF. 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.