MINSK, 15 August (BelTA) – Belarus will display its achievements in education and sports at the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS2017) in Sochi on 14-22 October, BelTA learned from the Education Ministry of Belarus.
The festival will feature a large-scale exhibition which will display the Belarusian education system as well. Belarus will be presented as the host of the 2019 European Games and the co-host of the 2021 IIHF World Championship together with Latvia. The exposition will also highlight Belarus' tourism potential, support of the youth and its community involvement.
The Belarusian delegation at the WFYS2017 will be led by Education Minister Igor Karpenko. The delegation will comprise working youth and students, i.e. representatives of different public associations, including the BRSM Youth Union, the League of Youth Voluntary Service, the Belarusian National Scout Association, and the Belarusian Association of the UNESCO Clubs. Belarus will be represented at the festival by 300 young people, including journalists and athletes, participants and winners of creative and intellectual competitions. Sochi will also welcome veterans of the festival movement, those who took part in the WFYS in Cuba in 1997 and Venezuela in 2005.
According to the Education Minister, the Belarusian delegation will don special outfit decorated with the national ornament patterns. The clothes were designed at the Bellegprom Concern.
The Belarusian youth will take an active part in the events of the festival which will include debates, cultural, entertainment and sport activities. In line with the festival traditions, each day will celebrate one of the macro-regions of the planet (America, Middle East, Asia and Oceania, Europe, and the host Russia), its features and key sectors. Apart from that, each day will have a cross-cutting theme to unite panel discussions, conferences and seminars. “Such themes will include cultural cooperation, international security, education, science and environment, IT. The discussions will also cover issues related to youth employment, environmental and other issues. The themes of the program will be developed taking into account the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” the ministry said.
The WFYS2017 promises to become the biggest event in the area of international youth cooperation. It is planned that taking part in the festival will be more than 20,000 people from 150 countries. A colorful chamomile has been chosen as an emblem of the festival. It symbolizes tradition succession, generation bonds and the unity of the world community. The major element of the emblem is colorful pixels as a sign of unity for the youth of the world into the information and technological progress epoch.
The festival is aimed at consolidating young people of the world, promoting the development of international and intercultural cooperation. “The development of international cooperation is not only one of the priorities of the state youth policy in Belarus but also one of the areas of its foreign political activity. The participation of the Belarusian delegation in the festival will promote the exchange of cultural and professional experience, the strengthening of international concord, friendship, mutual respect, and the country's authority in the international arena,” the Education Ministry said.
