MINSK, 12 September (BelTA) – Young Belarusians will share their best practices and present socially important projects during the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS), which is scheduled to take place in the Russian city of Sochi on 14-22 October, BelTA has learned.
Dmitry Subtselny, Chairman of the Belarusian Association of UNESCO Clubs, said that during the festival the association will be represented by volunteers with extensive experience and participants of major international events on youth policy. During the forum panel sessions, conferences, and seminars will be held to discuss education, the development of leadership potential, and international youth cooperation. Representatives of the association intend to take part in as many events as possible in order to demonstrate Belarus' potential, the potential of Belarusian youth organizations.
The public organization Belarusian Association of UNESCO Clubs is interested in encouraging as many new partners from CIS and non-CIS states as possible to partake in the association's projects — international volunteer camps and linguistic camps for children.
Dmitry Subtselny noted that the association had taken an active part in preparing the festival. For instance, a peacemaking festival to support the World Festival of Youth and Students took place in Gomel in spring 2017. Delegations from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine took part in the festival. Apart from that, representatives of the Belarusian Association of UNESCO Clubs took part in the forum of youth organizations from the CIS states in Ryazan and Moscow in November 2016. Participants of that forum discussed the program of the forthcoming 19th World Festival of Youth and Students.
The Belarusian youth delegation also includes members of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRSM). They are activists from all over the country. BRSM representatives told BelTA that during the festival the organization will be represented by prominent leaders, activists of volunteer teams, participants of summer work projects for university students, members of voluntary citizen patrols, winners of the contest 100 Ideas for Belarus. The source reminded that encouraging international youth cooperation is a high priority for the BRSM. Attending the WFYS 2017 is an excellent opportunity for establishing new contacts, an opportunity to talk about oneself, about the state youth policy pursued by the Belarusian government, an opportunity to present Belarus and its accomplishments in the international scene.
BelTA reported earlier that Education Minister Igor Karpenko will head the Belarusian delegation during the WFYS 2017. The delegation will include young Belarusians, who are workers and university students, all in all, 300 people. Reporters and athletes, participants and winners of artistic and intellectual contests will be among them as well. Sochi will also welcome veterans of the festival movement, those, who took part in the WFYS 1997 in Cuba and the WFYS 2005 in Venezuela.
There are plans to arrange a large exhibition to present the Belarusian education system during the festival. Apart from that, Belarus will be presented as the country to host the 2019 European Games and the ice hockey world championship that Belarus and Latvia will host in 2021. Belarus' tourism potential will be in focus as well as support for young Belarusians, participation of young Belarusians in public life.
Young Belarusians are expected to take an active part in various events during the WFYS 2017 such as discussions, cultural events, all kinds of entertainment, sport events, and so on. Every day will be traditionally dedicated to one of the macro regions of the planet such as America, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania, Europe, and Russia as the host country. Peculiarities and key spheres of each macro region will be highlighted. Apart from that, each day will be assigned a cross-cutting theme that will bring together panel discussions, conferences, and seminars. The topics will include cultural interaction, international security, education, science and environment, information technologies. Participants are expected to discuss the employment of young people, environmental problems, and other things. The program has been put together bearing in mind the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The 19th World Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS) is expected to become the largest event in the sphere of international youth interaction. Over 20,000 people from 150 countries are expected to attend the festival. A chamomile with petals of different colors has been chosen as the festival's symbol. It represents the continuity of traditions, connections that span generations, peace and unity of the entire international community. Colored pixels play a major part as a token of unity of all the young people in the world in the age of information technologies. The festival is meant to consolidate young people of the world, encourage interethnic and intercultural cooperation.
