More than 3,700 volunteers submitted their applications to the volunteer corps of the World Festival Assembly in Nizhny Novgorod. Based on the selection results, 450 caring assistants will support the organizers and guests at the international youth venue in the capital of the Volga Federal District, while another 70 will meet the participants in Moscow.
The volunteer corps of the World Youth Forum Assembly includes representatives of 54 regions of Russia. These include those who are making first steps in volunteering as well as experienced volunteers with years of participation in international events such as Olympiads and major festivals. Of course, there will be volunteers from the World Youth Festival at Sirius and from previous festivals as well.
The volunteers will help in nine functional areas: transport and logistics, media relations, accreditation, flow management, protocol, catering, program implementation, linguistic services, information service.
"There was an online-training for volunteers. We studied the basics of the volunteer code, the rules of interaction with different categories of guests, explored the meanings of the Assembly, and talked about services for volunteers. We have really motivated, caring assistants who are ready to support the organizers and participants. It was very nice to see the happy faces of the volunteers at our online meetings. We are already looking forward to seeing you at the Assembly in Nizhny Novgorod," said Marina Maslova, head of the volunteer program at the WYF Assembly.
There are also representatives of "silver volunteering" (volunteers over 55 years old) among the Assembly volunteers, the oldest of whom is 78 years old. Vladimir Kalmykov from Nizhny Novgorod, who turned 75, is admitted by the organizers of the volunteer corps as a favorite among students and volunteers. Vladimir Alexandrovich still works as a professor at the Linguistic University of the capital of the Volga Federal District. The "silver volunteer" is fluent in English, which he has been studying since the age of 14. He also speaks Spanish and Arabic. Natalia Kosyreva is 78 years old. She's from St. Petersburg. She has more than 10 years of volunteer experience. According to the head of the volunteer program, Natalia is proactive, knows how to work in a team, possesses the high speed of decision-making and her sense of humor helps her to resolve difficult situations. She speaks English and is also studying French. Natalia Kosyreva will help the Information Service.
There are also those among the volunteers who decided to help with the Assembly conduct as a family. For example, a young couple, Ivan and Olesya Vorobyov from Rostov-on-Don, or representatives of the "silver volunteer" movement from Voronezh, Valentina Dubinina and Vladimir Sapanyuk. It is worth noting that some volunteers will meet foreign participants and guests of the WYF Assembly in Moscow at airports and railway stations. 70 volunteers from “Mosvolonter”, the capital's main volunteer organization, will help with this.
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 assemblies for 2,000 participants will be held under the auspices of the WYF. The first Assembly is scheduled to take place in September 2025 in Nizhny Novgorod. 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.
