Published on: 2026-08-10
Source: Government of the Russian Federation –
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The formation of the volunteer corps for the International Youth Festival (IYF-2026), which will take place from September 11 to 17, 2026, in Yekaterinburg as part of the national project “Youth and Children,” has been completed. This was reported by Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Chernyshenko, head of Rosmolodezh Grigory Gurov, and Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy, head of “Dobro.RF,” Artem Metelev.
“The volunteer corps of the International Youth Festival, which will be held by the order of the President of Russia Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, includes 2 thousand of the most motivated and active volunteers. These are real stars, selected from nearly 22 thousand applicants. Each of them has proven that they can work in a team and approach their work responsibly. Most of the volunteers have already helped organize world-class events. I am confident that each will make a tangible contribution to the festival and help create an unforgettable atmosphere,” noted Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Chernyshenko.
The volunteer corps of MFM-2026 includes people of various ages and professions. For example, the spouses Vladimir Sapanyuk and Valentina Dubina from the Voronezh region engage in volunteer activities together – they are “silver” volunteers. Svetlana Kartashova from the Vologda region started involving her daughter Darya in volunteering from childhood, and now they represent a family dynasty of volunteers and actively participate in social projects. Olga Belyaeva from the Arkhangelsk region has extensive experience in volunteer work – in particular, she took part in the cleanup of the fuel oil spill on the Black Sea coast.
“The volunteer corps this year turned out to be very strong and united people with unique life experiences. The age difference between volunteers is 67 years—the youngest candidate is 16, and the oldest is 83 years old. We also attracted about 70 foreign volunteers. Each of the volunteers was trained very thoroughly. Special attention was given to the management level of the corps: managers and team leaders will receive additional training directly in Yekaterinburg from September 2 to 4. These are our ‘on-the-ground’ captains, and the coordinated work of the multi-thousand corps at all festival venues depends on their competencies,” noted the head of Rosmolodezh, Grigoriy Gurov.
The application campaign for the MFM-2026 volunteer corps began on December 5, 2025, during the ceremony of the international #WeAreTogether award. Nearly 22,000 applications were received during the campaign. The selection process included several stages: filling out a questionnaire, completing courses, an interview, and in-person training, within which 78 programs were held in 46 regions of Russia. The largest number of volunteers came from Sverdlovsk Oblast, Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Krasnodar Krai, and Moscow Oblast.
“Volunteers are among the main organizers of the festival on site. Without them, no event can be held at the proper level, as demonstrated by the experience of hosting major international events in our country. To make their work more comfortable, the MFM-2026 will use a web application developed by the Mosvolonter Resource Center. This digital service will allow volunteer team leaders to manage the composition and schedule of shifts in real time, track volunteers’ participation status, record communication results with them, account for working hours, and control shift attendance. Using the application will help make volunteer corps management more prompt and efficient, reduce the likelihood of organizational errors, and pay more attention to supporting festival participants,” emphasized the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy, head of Dobro.RF, Artyom Metelev.
To form the MFM-2026 volunteer corps, 28 centers for recruiting and training volunteers were opened in Russia. They supported candidates at all stages – from the information campaign and consultation to selection and training.
During the festival, volunteers will assist in 17 functional areas. They will create a comfortable and festive atmosphere for guests, handle accreditation and logistics issues, assist medical personnel, accompany experts, foreign and Russian delegations, provide support to participants with limited mobility, ensure oral and written translation, take part in organizing excursion programs, create content for social networks, and interact with the media. After the main program ends, volunteers will accompany foreign delegations as part of the festival’s regional program.
“For me, volunteering means always being ready to help, even if it means sacrificing my time and energy. I felt this especially keenly when I participated with the Arkhangelsk delegation in the cleanup of the fuel oil spill on the Black Sea coast. At that time, people from many professions worked alongside me—actors, models, entrepreneurs, students—but we were all united by one goal: to help nature and save animals. It is precisely in such moments that you realize that volunteering knows no borders and unites people more strongly than any differences. For me, becoming a volunteer for the 2026 International Youth Festival is an opportunity to become part of a large team of like-minded people, to meet people from different regions of Russia and countries around the world, to learn about their projects and initiatives, to exchange experiences and perhaps together create new ideas that will continue to bring benefits even after the festival ends. I want to apply my knowledge and do everything so that guests take away the warmest impressions of Russia and its people,” shared MIF-2026 volunteer Olga Belyaeva.
For reference:
The World Festival of Youth took place from March 1 to 7, 2024, at “Sirius” in accordance with the Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed at developing international youth cooperation. Twenty thousand young leaders from 190 countries around the world participated in WFY-2024.
In accordance with the directives of the President of the Russian Federation on preserving and developing the heritage of the World Festival of Youth, festival events are held annually on the territory of the Russian Federation. In 2025, the World Festival of Youth meeting took place in Nizhny Novgorod. The event brought together 2,000 young people from 120 countries around the world. In 2026, the International Youth Festival will be held with the participation of 10,000 delegates. The next World Festival of Youth will take place in 2030 and is expected to unite 20,000 people.
The Directorate of the World Youth Festival continues its work aimed at strengthening international youth cooperation and developing a community of young people who care about the future of the world.
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