The first educational shift "SHUM.MediaCenter" of the Russian National Educational Forum "SHUM" of the platform Rosmolodezh.Forums took place in the Kaliningrad region. The event brought together 300 participants — representatives of student editorial offices, university press services, media teams and content creators from 85 regions of Russia and 16 countries. The participants came from the Republic of Belarus, Abkhazia, India, Serbia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bulgaria, and other countries. The shift was organized for the first time on the territory of the youth educational and recreational center in the Svetlogorsk district of the Kaliningrad region.
At the closing ceremony, Denis Ashirov, State Secretary and Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, addressed the participants.
"The SHUM Forum is a brilliant example of how the national "Youth and Children" project and other Rosmolodezh programs help young people develop as professionals and find their place in the future. The participants of the forum do not focus only on theory: they try their hand working on real projects, communicate with customers, learn how to make decisions and see the results of their work. Such a hands-on experience gives a real boost in professional terms — it helps to form a portfolio, make professional contacts and believe in their own strength. It is important for us to create such conditions in Russia, so that young people feel supported, get opportunities for growth and understand that there are prospects for a successful career and self-realization in our country," Denis Ashirov said.
On the final day of the program, tree planting took place, which continued the good tradition that originated here in May this year during the visit of the head of Rosmolodezh Grigory Gurov. The event was joined by participants of the educational shift, as well as guests of honor: Denis Ashirov, State Secretary and Deputy Head of Rosmolodezh; Anna Musevich, Minister of Youth Policy of the Kaliningrad Region; Ivan Shmonin, member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation and CEO of Extreme Sports Union; Ilya Ovchinnikov, Adviser to the Director General of the ANO WYFD; Vladislav Lobanov, Deputy Head of the Russian National Student Project "Your Move".
The main task of working in teams was to develop strategies for student brand media. Young media specialists presented the concept of promoting media trends in educational institutions. For example, for the medical university, the participants developed branding, formats for publishing on social media, as well as a content plan with entertainment and educational units. The participants were divided into teams and performed practical tasks from Rosmolodezh, the World Youth Festival Directorate, News Media Holding (Mash), the Moscow Metro State Unitary Enterprise, the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, Mediasphere TV, St. Petersburg State Aerospace University and the Entrepreneurship Support Center Foundation of the Kaliningrad Region.
"The first educational shift of the SHUM Forum has become a bright event for the Kaliningrad region. We see how different languages, cultures, and professional approaches meet on the same platform, and this exchange of experience turns into a powerful resource for the development of each participant. The forum's program is a combination of creativity, atmospheric events and an effective educational aspect. Renowned experts of the media industry and aspiring media specialists communicate on equal footing here, joint ideas are born, and future projects are formed. It is important for us that SHUM becomes a point of international contacts intersection, a center of attraction for talented youth and a platform where leaders of a new generation in media and journalism are forged who are ready to speak honestly about Russia to a large audience and broadcast the deeper values of our country," said Anna Musevich, Minister of Youth Policy of the Kaliningrad Region.
Working on the task from the Moscow Metro, it was important to show the metro as the main transport for young people — fast, convenient and connected to the cultural life of the city. The designed format includes videos, posters and advertisements in metro cars and at stations. Together with the World Youth Festival Directorate, a strategy was developed to create an international content center. The idea of the content center is for young people from different countries to create modern and relatable content about Russia and the country's values.
"Working with the international media community, the World Youth Festival Directorate notes the great interest of foreign media specialists in sharing experience and implementing joint projects with colleagues from Russia: The SHUM forum alone received more than 1,000 applications from bloggers and journalists from 123 countries. We, together with our partners in order to respond to this request, have initiated the creation of an international content center - an open platform for learning, sharing experiences and collaborating in content production. The concept of the international content center — from the working model and mechanisms of ciommunication to issues of joint production and distribution of content, was developed and presented by practicing media professionals participating in the international economic Forum "SHUM". This is not just a project, but a future ecosystem where young media specialists from all over the world will be able to find like-minded people, adopt best practices and implement bold ideas," said Dmitry Ivanov, Director General of the World Youth Festival Directorate.
The forum featured lectures from leading media industry experts, hands-on training, meetings with renowned journalists, workshops and creative sessions. The participants were addressed by Russian military blogger Mikhail Zvinchuk, First Deputy General Director of "Argumenty I Fakty" publishing house Marina Mishunkina, partner and creative director of "SMARTHEART" branding agency Stanislav Okrukh, and RT military correspondent Vlad Andritsa. Recognized industry experts, Yulia Shimarskaya, Director of Development at "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" Media Holding, and Yan Horovets, Head of Marketing and Development, shared their experience and knowledge. The participants also met with Olympic champion Sergey Fedorovtsev.
"SHUM is a place where participants immediately immerse in real work: they solve problems from federal and regional customers, argue, try, make mistakes and immediately find new solutions. Today, Russia is creating exceptional opportunities for young people in journalism and media. A new generation of media professionals is already actively defending the country in the information space, fighting fakes and false information, and creating an honest, deep and modern image of Russia for audience around the world. It is important for us to form a community of professionals not only throughout Russia, but also around the world. These are experts, participants, and organizers of the educational programs of the SHUM Center. With their content, graduates talk about Russia's achievements, beauty, traditions and strong values. The Forum has become a place where a new generation of media professionals is being formed — people who create bridges between Russia and the world, know how to speak loudly and honestly," added Tatiana Mandrykina, General Director of the SHUM Youth Media Development Center.
A creative evening with singer and musician Sergey Dragni was held at the forum. The atmospheric program includes environmental workshops, film evenings, yoga at sunset and an excursion program around Kaliningrad and Svetlogorsk. The "Market of Youth" also started its work at the forum. The first shift featured products from ten brands of young creators: jewelry, clothing, postcards, toys, ceramics, beauty products, and home decor.
"We defended our projects in front of our potential employers. Our team was working on a task from the representatives of the Moscow metro. I think this topic is very interesting and it is symbolic that it is dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the creation of the Moscow metro. We needed to try new formats and introduce the metro as a transport that is perfect for youngsters. Participating it the SHUM forum has been my long-standing dream. The time spent here was a boost to development of my career. I am sure that each of us will return home with new competencies, skills and knowledge," said Anastasia Shavkunova, a participant from Yekaterinburg.
A special moment of the closing ceremony was the marriage proposal. Kirill Beloglazov proposed to his beloved Vladislav Novikova on the forum stage. Their story began back in the student media center in the first year of university. A year ago, they applied for the SHUM Forum for the first time, but only Kirill passed as a media representative from the university to support Vladislav, who became a finalist for the SHUM award. A year later, they managed to come to the forum together, and it was here that Kirill decided to take the main step in their life together.
The project is being implemented by ANO "SHUM.Youth Center" with the support of Rosmolodezh within the framework of the federal project "Russia – Country of Opportunities" of the national project "Youth and Children" and the Government of the Kaliningrad region.
VK technology company is a strategic partner of the forum. Also partners in 2025 are the "Movement of the First", the World Youth Festival Directorate, the media holding "RG Media", the Moscow University of Finance and Law, AO Editorial Office of the newspaper "Vechernyaya Moskva", the Publishing House "Argumenty I Fakty", the RT School. The arrival of foreign participants is organized within the framework of Rossotrudnichestvo's flagship program "New Generation".
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.
