As part of the International Book Giving Day campaign, participants of the International Friendship Clubs from various regions of Russia gifted and recommended their favourite books to their peers.
For example, Vyacheslav Tereshenko, Leader of the International Friendship Club of the Perm Territory, gifted the book “In the Heart of Parma” by Perm writer Alexey Ivanov to Zimbabwe’s Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Torerayi Moyo. Activists of the Club of the Republic of Mordovia sent their favourite literary works to young people from Peru, Bolivia, and El Salvador, while youth from the Kaluga Region gifted books to friends from Costa Rica and the Republic of the Congo.
The campaign also took place online, with young people from different regions recording videos to recommend their favourite books. Alisa Kiptilaya, member of the International Friendship Club of the Arkhangelsk Region, suggested that representatives from foreign countries read one of the most significant literary works of the North.
“I was an ambassador at the World Youth Festival and am now actively involved in the International Friendship Club. I’d like to recommend the short novel “Childhood in Solombala” by Yevgeny Kokovin to my friends from around the world. This book tells you the story of a boy growing up in the harsh conditions of the North. It helps you dive into the atmosphere of those times, feel the smell of resin, and meet fishermen and shipbuilders”, Alisa Kiptilaya said.
Participants of the International Friendship Clubs sent and gifted books by both Russian and foreign authors. Among them were Alexander Pushkin, Ivan Turgenev, Leo Tolstoy, Chingiz Aitmatov, Alexander Belyaev, Boris Polevoy, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Ernest Hemingway, Lewis Carroll, Jane Austen, Gabriel García Márquez, and many others.
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.
