The World Youth Festival (WYF) in Russia is a real opportunity for Egyptian youth to interact with youth from all over the world, exchange ideas, knowledge, and experiences in various fields such as culture, arts, technology, sciences and sports, Egypt’s Minister of Youth and Sports said on Monday.
This came during Minister Ashraf Sobhy meeting with the members of the Egyptian Preparatory Committee for the 20th World Youth Festival in Sochi, Russia from March 1-7- 2024.
“The festival is a real chance consolidating the bonds of cooperation in the fields of youth and sports with all countries in light of the political leadership’s directives,” Sobhy affirmed.
The top official indicated that the aim of establishing the preparatory committee is to organize and coordinate the participation of Egyptian youth in the classy festival and ensure the best experience for them.
“It reflects the commitment of the Egyptian government to enhance the role of youth, empower them, and encourage them to participate in important international events,” added Sobhy, underlining the government’s interest in enhancing international relations and exchanging experiences in the field of youth and sports.
During the meeting, some details about the festival were reviewed, which includes the participation of 20,000 young people representing 180 countries, including 1,000 children between the ages of 14 and 17. Young people between the ages of 18 and 35 are given the opportunity to participate, selected through competitive tests after registration on the festival’s website.
The preparatory committee will determine the final number of participants from Egypt (140 people) after personal interviews with the applicants.
For the first time, the Egyptian delegation includes a number of Russian-Egyptian youth from the Russian community in Egypt.
The organizing committee had chosen 6 languages for the festival: Russian, Arabic, English, French, Spanish and Chinese.
The idea of the World Youth Festival originated in London in 1945, after the end of World War II, to organise an annual festival for young people.
The first edition was launched in Prague in 1947 with the participation of 17,000 young people from 71 countries.
The festival continued until its 19th edition in Sochi in 2017 with the participation of 185 countries, including Egypt with a large delegation of 102 young people.
