From December 2 to 4, 2024, a training seminar-meeting for leaders and curators of International Friendship Clubs (IFC) was held on the territory of the Senezh Management Workshop of the presidential platform “Russia is the Land of Opportunities.”

More than 150 participants from different regions, together with Russian and international experts, learn intercultural communication and diplomacy, and get acquainted with the best practices of international cooperation.

Leading experts from our region took part in the event: Valentina Klepikova, specialist in the youth and public projects department of the Youth Policy Department of the Government of the Penza Region, and Ekaterina Syagaylo, Head of the Student Affairs Department of the International Education Office, the Institute of International Cooperation, Penza State University, as well as the leader of the International Friendship Club of the Penza Region.

International Friendship Clubs are the flagship project of the Directorate of the World Youth Festival (WYF). They were created in all subjects of the Russian Federation and in the federal territory "Sirius" following the meeting of President Vladimir Putin with participants of the World Youth Festival in May 2024. The key task of such units is to ensure effective work in the regions on implementing international activities and to establish long-term ties between young people from Russia and abroad.

The seminar was held in the format of lectures, workshops and trainings, the main goal of which was to improve competences in the field of international cooperation.

Maria Zakharova, Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, met with the leaders and curators of the IFC. She spoke about the trends in world politics, the evolution of the foreign policy concept of the Russian Federation and the importance of developing public diplomacy, which often becomes a "bridge and a thin thread" between countries.

Konstantin Kolpakov, Head of the Commission on Youth and Humanitarian Cooperation of the Public Council under Rossotrudnichestvo, and Timofei Bordachev, programme director of the Valdai Club, scientific director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, spoke with participants about the features of horizontal diplomacy and regions of the world in Russia's foreign policy.

The seminar also included meetings with Sergei Orlov, Deputy Executive Director of the A.M. Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Support Fund, Aleksei Karpenko, Executive Secretary of the SCO Youth Council, Vicente Barrientos, President of the BRICS Business Council, member of the BRICS High Level Expert Council Presidium, Mikhail Zvinchuk, Russian military blogger, author of publications in the Telegram channel "Rybar", and other experts, and the WYF Directorate discussed with the participants the main directions of development of the "Friendship Clubs" in 2025.

As part of her team, Ekaterina Syagaylo became the winner of the project session of the “Initiative 2025” seminar with the development of a motivation system for participants of the International Friendship Clubs.

"The seminar gave good experience and a huge contact base of new acquaintances with leaders of other regions. We were able to exchange experiences, gain knowledge from lecturers and leading figures of our country. I would like to express special gratitude to representatives of various Embassies for their openness and support! Participants from all over the country asked questions of interest and received useful answers! Thanks to the strategic session, it was possible to build a trajectory for the development of the International Friendship Club and consider difficult situations that may arise. Let's grow and make friends with the whole world!", shared her opinion Ekaterina Syagaylo, leader of the International Friendship Club of the Penza Region.

At the end of the seminar, the leaders of the international friendship clubs were awarded plaques commemorating the opening of the IFC.