From October 14 to October 22, a Macedonian delegation of approximately 40 young people from several cities in Macedonia was part of the 19th World Student and Youth Festival held in Sochi, Russia’s sporting capital. Most of the Macedonian representatives are students, but some of them work in organizations for young people or universities. They come from various parts of Macedonia – Skopje, Kumanovo, Sveti Nikole, Veles, Bitola, Prilep, Kichevo …

This is the first participation of the Republic of Macedonia at this festival. The delegation composed of ambitious young people successfully introduced R. Macedonia in Sochi, setting up an info stand on the “Street of the World”, where stations from most of the participating countries participated in the festival. The Macedonian stand was visited by numerous foreign delegations, among which were India, Egypt, Pakistan, Russia, Indonesia, Jamaica, Cameroon, etc.

The World Festival for Youth and Students is traditionally to exchange messages among participants from different countries. The Macedonian delegation exchanged over 300 messages with students from around the world who share sincere wishes for future cooperation and friendship.

The Macedonian delegation took part in the international exhibition “World Inflorescence”, which was to redesign the official symbol of the festival, chamomile, with the national characteristics of each country. The design of the Macedonian “chamomile” was inspired by the National Emblem of Macedonia, and the final appearance was designed by the students of the International Slavic University from Sveti Nikole.

The International Slavic University, as the only institution that was part of the Macedonian delegation, took care of preparing the materials and souvenirs for representing Macedonia, some of which were provided by the Agency for Promotion and Support of Tourism.

At the festival we visited the stand of our partner university – Tambov State University “G. R. Derzhavin “from Russia.

Except in Sochi, almost all Macedonian participants at the festival had the opportunity to visit other cities in Russia, from Vladivostok to the east to Kaliningrad to the west. Macedonian participants who were not part of the regional program attended the opening ceremony of the Sochi Festival, something they describe as “the moment they will remember their whole life”.

The festival was a real inspiration for all the participants – it showed everyone how important it is for young people from all over the world to be united, regardless of their religion, culture or nationality. For a peaceful world, we need to have real friendships, build mutual trust and respect, and not rivalry.