On February 14, the International Friendship Club was inaugurated on the Sirius federal territory. Young people from the region will engage in dialogue with peers from the United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, and other countries.
As part of the opening ceremony, a teleconference was held with foreign representatives of the International Friendship Club. World Youth Festival participants sent video greetings to the young people committed to strengthening international youth cooperation.
“Today, we are launching the 87th International Friendship Club in our country. This is a special event because this place hosted one of the most significant events of 2024 – the World Youth Festival! The Sirius federal territory brought together 20,000 young leaders from 190 countries and the City of World’s Youth was created here. The region has unique experience in hosting major international events, which makes it especially valuable for us to open an International Friendship Club here. I am confident that young people from Sirius will actively engage in building cooperation with peers from their partner countries”, said Victoria Pavlova, Deputy Director General of the World Youth Festival Directorate.
During the Festival, youth from the Sirius federal territory participated in the “Cultural Partnership” programme, which was later transformed into International Friendship Clubs following the instructions of the President of Russia. They accompanied festival delegates from Finland, the Netherlands, Iceland, Canada, and the United Kingdom, introducing them to the history, traditions, and culture of our country. A series of events were organized for the foreign delegations, including a winter hike in the mountains in traditional Russian style, a creative kvartirnik (private home concert), the planting of the International Friendship Alley in the Ornithological Park, and tours of 2014 Olympic Games venues.
“The World Youth Festival in Sirius demonstrated that young people from around the world strive to communicate, build friendships, and create a shared future based on justice and openness. Establishing International Friendship Clubs in all regions of Russia will help maintain the friendly ties and atmosphere that were created during the Festival. In Sirius, we plan to hold both online and offline events. There are plans to create a foreign language speaking club, implement media projects, develop volunteering initiatives, launch joint socially significant projects, and much more. I am confident that this will be a platform for positive and engaging communication, uniting representatives from different countries”, said Dmitry Plishkin, Head of Administration of the Sirius federal territory.
International Friendship Clubs are a flagship project of the World Youth Festival Directorate, implemented according to the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin to preserve the post-festival legacy. The Clubs bring together youth from Russia’s regions and abroad.
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.