On September 19, the case study session “Story Revolution: How to Cut Through the Information Noise,” arranged by the African Initiative News Agency as part of the World Youth Festival Assembly in Nizhny Novgorod, held on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation, brought together Russian and African media experts. In an interactive format, participants learned storytelling techniques that allow them to attract the attention of the audience and create viral content, despite the overload of information.

The session was attended by Artem Kureev, editor-in-chief of African Initiative, Dmitry Polikanov, Deputy head of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo), Murungi Sabin, a journalist from Rwanda and founder of ISIMBI TV, Xander Pratt, a designer, musician, and influencer from Zimbabwe, and Mantula Nongkulukelo, CEO of GSQ Media House from South Africa, Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN) expert.

Emotions, simplicity, and visuals Dmitry Polikanov, Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo), notes that the viral effect is most often achieved through the emotional response of the audience.

“Any content goes viral when it touches not our brains, but our emotions. When we want to laugh, cry, empathize—that's when drama works,” he says.

Mr. Polikanov highlighted several principles for creating popular content: emotionality, simplicity of execution, vivid visuals, sincerity, and the involvement of opinion leaders. As an example, he cited the story of a Russian blogger whose videos showing him cooking whole animal carcasses became famous even in Africa.

“We never know what will catch on. Sometimes the most unexpected and even strange stories become symbols of a country abroad,” he emphasizes.

Murungi Sabin, a journalist from Rwanda and founder of ISIMBI TV, raised the issue of the reproduction of Russia's negative image in Western media. According to him, the structure of a good narrative always includes a beginning, development, and conclusion, and the main element is a strong character.

“In Rwanda, we tell the stories of widows who survived the 1994 genocide. These stories touch the heart and evoke a response. True storytelling should connect people and cultures, not serve the interests of foreign media,” Murungi Sabin notes.

Designer and influencer Xander Pratt, in turn, emphasized the importance not only of popularity, but also of responsibility to the audience.

“Fame is a toy. It's easy to become famous, but difficult to make an impact. Power lies in what I do today. Responsibility lies in what I leave behind,” he says.

Pratt called on young creators to find their “superpower” and remember that true art and storytelling should serve humanity.

"Ego destroys the artist. But when you know who you are, no one can stop you. When your message is true, presidents and kings will hear it," he adds.

South African expert Mantula Nongkulukelo emphasized that cutting-edge platforms give creators not only access to millions of viewers, but also responsibility for the accuracy of the facts they disseminate.

"Try to work with reliable sources and distribute verified content. <...>; Every fact needs to be checked. But in reality, we are often too busy and don't have enough time for this. That is why special structures are so important, such as the Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN), where I am one of the experts. This network has training programs available to journalists, media professionals, social media content creators, and authors," she notes.

Following the case study session, participants noted that viral content is born at the intersection of emotion, simplicity, and sincerity, and that storytelling is becoming a universal language capable of connecting different cultures and breaking down stereotypes. As Artem Kureev, editor-in-chief of African Initiative, emphasizes, such formats help young people not only to master new media tools, but also to learn how to use them to promote ideas that are important to society.

"Africa is a young continent. Young people are people who do not trust official data too much, but trust their friends, acquaintances, and personal experience. Therefore, the only correct decision is to ask our African partners to show Russia to Africans themselves. Africans themselves should convey Russian ideas, and we should help them do so. We need TikTok to be 'exploding' with Russian ideas so that our ideas go viral," he concludes.

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 participants 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, the 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 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.