The International Project Office of the World Youth Festival Directorate in Morocco has been awarded the National Prize "Patriot-2025" in the category "Best International Project". This award was presented at the All-Russian Patriotic Forum, which took place at the National Center "Russia".

The well-deserved award was presented by Maria Zakharova, Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

"Today we celebrate Heroes of the Fatherland Day, a holiday that is actually more than one year old, not one decade old. On this day, we honor the heroes of our country, the holders of St. George awards — those who were ready to sacrifice their lives and give their fate for the good of the Motherland. It's amazing how everything coincided: today we celebrate Heroes of the Fatherland Day, 2025 became the year of Defender of the Fatherland, and this year we celebrate the anniversary of the Great Victory. They say there are a lot of resources in Russia: minerals, fields, meadows, seas, and rivers. But after all, the most important resource is the people who saved it, fought for it all and turned the bowels into the property of both our country and the entire planet. Moreover, the All-Russian Patriotic Forum has become international: representatives of 25 countries participate in it," said Maria Zakharova, Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.

Since its establishment in the spring of 2025, the WYFD International Project Office in Morocco has been promoting a productive dialogue between the youth of Russia and Morocco, promoting an impartial image of Russia abroad and developing its own projects aimed at promoting the ideas of multipolarity, preserving traditional values and historical memory.

"The World Youth Festival Directorate has established stable partnerships with representatives and organizations from over 130 countries. These partnerships involve the youth of these countries in dialogue with Russia, and they develop projects aimed at promoting international dialogue and the ideas of multilateralism, preserving traditional values, and preserving historical memory. A clear example of this work is the World Youth Festival Project Office in Morocco. This project introduces young people from around the world to real Russia, allowing them to participate regularly in key Russian events such as the World Youth Festival, Global Digital Forum, and World Atomic Week, the IV Kazan Global Youth Summit, and many others. The office also has a network of representatives in 35 countries, and has signed agreements with 21 regions of Russia. For their significant contribution to the advancement of international youth cooperation and their active involvement in promoting a positive image of our country, I believe that the Moroccan partners deserve to be nominated for the "Best International Project," said Dmitry Ivanov, Director General of the World Youth Festival Directorate.

Darina Vikulova, the ambassador of the World Youth Festival Directorate project office in Morocco, spoke at the ceremony. She noted that the project is aimed at maintaining the image of Russia abroad and forming friendly ties between the youth of our countries.

"Our project is aimed at supporting Russia abroad, promoting traditional values and forming a new generation of young friends and supporters of Russia on the continent. We will continue to expand cultural and humanitarian ties. And we will defend Russia to the very end. Glory to Russia, glory to the multipolar world!" said Darina Vikulova.

The ceremony brought together the patriotic community of the whole country: teachers, volunteers, search engines, mentors, representatives of government agencies, security agencies, business and culture. The applications were evaluated by more than 50 experts from federal and regional authorities, law enforcement agencies and leading public organizations.

"Each of you who will go on this stage today is proof of a simple and great truth: Russia's strength lies in its people. This is the sixth time we have presented this award, and for each name on the short list there are thousands of lives saved from oblivion, hundreds of youth projects implemented, tens of thousands of children and teenagers who, thanks to you, have seen what it means to be a patriot in practice. You give your strength, knowledge and heart so that our historical memory is indestructible, and our love for the Motherland is conscious and active," said Elena Belikova, head of the Rospatriotcenter of Rosmolodezh.

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 Youth Festival 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.

On December 7-9, 2025, the All-Russian Patriotic Forum "Heroes through the Ages" was held at the National Center "Russia" in Moscow. This large-scale event brought together over 4,000 participants from all regions of Russia and representatives from 24 foreign countries, including Belarus, Abkhazia, Italy, Kazakhstan, India, China, and Cuba. The forum was organized by Rospatriotcenter, which implements the state youth policy in the field of civic and patriotic education and supports youth initiatives aimed at preserving historical memory and strengthening spiritual and moral values. The forum marked a key point in the consolidation of the patriotic community and was the final event to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War and the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland. The National "Patriot" award is a public-state initiative and is held within the framework of the federal project "Patriotic education of citizens of the Russian Federation" of the national project "Education". The award is aimed at identifying and supporting the best practices in the field of civic and patriotic education. The award is traditionally presented at a ceremony on December 9, the Day of Heroes of the Fatherland. In 2025, the prize will be awarded for the sixth time. Since 2020, more than 10,000 applications have been received as part of the National Patriot Award.