On September 18, within the World Youth Festival Assembly arranged on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation, a talk show “The Soft Power of Youth, or How New Generations Are Changing the World” was held. Representatives from Russia, Mexico, Slovakia, and South Ossetia served as experts in the new format. Participants from dozens of countries were able to discuss the role of youth movements in global social transformation in a direct dialogue with the speakers.
The talk show was attended by Alan Tibilov, Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of South Ossetia; Egor Litvinenko, Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh); and Alfredo Jalife-Rahme Barrios, a Mexican professor, lecturer, writer, and political analyst of Lebanese origin specializing in international relations, economics, geopolitics, and globalization, and Jan Čarnogurský, member of the Board of Directors of the Pan-European University in Bratislava, former Prime Minister of Slovakia.
Egor Litvinenko spoke at the session on the topic “Government support as a catalyst for youth initiative: the balance of trust and control,” where he drew attention to the importance of supporting youth initiatives with an emphasis on traditional values.
"National values are not just lines in documents. They live in the heart of each of our people - they grow up with these values and mature with them. Our key task is to cultivate these values within projects and programs, notably, by creating conditions where young people can choose the direction for their development that suits them best. We are creating a ‘menu of opportunities’ for young people in Russia — a detailed roadmap for their development. We see how enthusiastic they are about their ideas and projects, and our mission is to help them in this development by providing support at every stage of the way", Egor Litvinenko, Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, said.
Alan Tibilov, in turn, drew attention to the willingness of young people from all over the world to work together.
"Our republic is small in size but it has a big heart. Every young person is ready to befriend and communicate with young people from all over the world. Young people are not concerned with political conventions; they want to create joint projects, and I think we will succeed in this," Alan Tibilov, Deputy Head of the Administration of the President of the Republic of South Ossetia says.
The talk show is an experimental and vibrant format for dynamic interaction between the participants of the WFY Assembly and international experts. It allowed the audience to be fully involved in the discussion of various issues. The discussions focused on the following topics: generational theory, formats of interaction between countries, the values of young people, and the opportunities offered by international youth dialogue.
“I am grateful for this meeting. I noted for myself how we can use our youth power in the political and geopolitical areas. I even managed to talk to Professor Alfredo and get useful advice and guidance, which I think will stay with me for the rest of my life,” Alan, a participant of the WFY Assembly from Kurdistan-Iraq, says.
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: the “New Generation” program arranged by the Federal Agency for Affairs of the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Residing Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo), 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, the program for young entrepreneurs “Rosmolodezh.Undertake” and the Knowledge Center “Mashuk”. 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 thousand 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.