WYF Directorate Launches Internship Programme for Abkhazian Youth

Abkhazian youth will get a chance to intern at the World Youth Festival Directorate as part of the “Internship Without Borders” competition. The idea to integrate Abkhazian youth into international cooperation efforts arose in response to the young people’s strong interest in building international youth dialogue.

“Young people from Abkhazia will become the first participants of the “Internship Without Borders” competition. It is one of the significant joint projects in the field of youth policy aimed at fostering neighbourly relations between our countries. The most active and motivated participants of the competition will be involved in the activities of the World Youth Festival Directorate. Their initiatives will form the basis of future cooperation between Russia and Abkhazia. Young people aged 18–35 are eligible to participate in the competition. Applications must be submitted from March 1 to March 15, 2025. Further on, we are planning to expand the competition to include youth of other countries too”, said Head of Rosmolodezh Grigory Gurov.

Candidates must send their applications to the World Youth Festival Directorate’s email address international@wyffest.com with a description of their activities and interests, as well as a portfolio and a self-introduction video.

The selection committee will evaluate the applications and choose the best candidates, who will then proceed to have an online interview. Experts will assess candidates' communication skills, creativity, structured thinking, and level of Russian language proficiency. The interviews will help select up to five winners to intern at the World Youth Festival Directorate from April to June 2025, where they will be involved in international projects alongside the Russian team.

Youth from Abkhazia actively participate in international events and programmes in Russia. For example, more than 100 people took part in the World Youth Festival, which was held on the Sirius federal territory in March 2024. After the festival, Russia-Abkhazia cooperation continues: representatives from the Donetsk People's Republic and Adygea are involved in strengthening friendly ties with international youth as part of the activities of International Friendship Clubs.

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 gatherings and events will be held under the auspices of the WYF. 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.