International Friendship Club Opened in Russia's Capital
On November 13, the International Friendship Club of Moscow was inaugurated. The ceremony was held in one of the main points of attraction for active young people in the capital – the "Youth of Moscow" multi-format space. The launch of the international communication platform featured representatives of Russian youth, foreign students of MGIMO, RUDN, University of World Civilizations, activists of youth communities.
Today, the International Friendship Clubs are being opened in all regions of the country continuing the Cultural Partnership programme, which has been implemented during the WYF-2024: each foreign delegation was assigned a partnering region of Russia. Now, over 70 IFCs have already been launched.
Deputy Director General for Regional Cooperation Viktoria Pavlova highlighted that the Festival gave an impetus to youth cooperation for representatives of 190 countries.
"Opening International Friendship Clubs in every region of the country brings young people together. Today, for example, the guys are meeting representatives of China and other partnering countries in Moscow to shape a vision of a common future. Russia has already launched 74 IFCs and there will be an IFC in every region of the country by the end of this year," said Viktoria Pavlova.
The International Friendship Club of Moscow will be shaping relations with youth from China, Turkey and Moldova. They sent video messages with congratulations to their Russian peers. In addition, young people from other countries also attended the ceremony. For example, a 1st year student of the Faculty of International Relations of MGIMO, Antonio Fernando Bange from Angola shared that participation in the Friendship Club would help strengthen relations among representatives of different countries.
“This is a very important event. Russia is a really big country. And it does a lot for the whole world. That’s why we, representatives of Africa, want to be friends with the Russian Federation to make the world better,” emphasized Antonio Fernando Bange.
As part of the Club's launch, student creative groups performed on stage, immersing all the participants in the atmosphere of Russian culture.
"The International Friendship Club will become a platform for exchange of ideas, culture and experience among young people from different countries. We believe that through joint efforts we will be able to build bridges of friendship and mutual understanding," said the Leader of the International Friendship Club of Moscow Egor Stativka.
The International Friendship Club of Moscow will operate in 5 tracks: media, entrepreneurship, civic engagement, regional specifics and community.
"The ‘Youth of Moscow’ multi-format space is a place where interesting and useful youth projects are forged, a platform for communication and development. It is symbolic that the International Friendship Club, created on the instruction of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin following the World Youth Festival, is opening here exactly. We are glad to continue maintaining contacts with the countries we have worked with during the WYF-2024. The capital pays great attention to international cooperation, especially in the youth environment,” said Pavel Simakov, Deputy Chair of the Committee for Public Relations and Youth Policy of Moscow.
Igor Tkach, Deputy Head of Department for External Economic and International Relations of the City of Moscow and Deputy Chair of the International Friendship Club of Moscow, greeted the participants of the opening ceremony and congratulated them on starting a new stage of international youth communication.
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 preservation and development of the Festival legacy, the World Youth Festival Directorate continues work aimed at strengthening international youth cooperation.