News

The International Youth Conference LOCALFRIENDS 2019 in Togliatti

1 October 2019

From September 21 to September 25, the first International Youth Conference Localfrends and an informational tour with the participation of youth delegations from sister-cities of Wolfsburg (Germany), Nagykanizsa (Hungary) and partner-city of Novo Mesto (Slovenia) took place in Togliatti.

The event was held in accordance with plans for cooperation between sister-cities and partner-cities for the implementation of the LOCALFRIEND International Youth Project to promote educational and tourism potential of the sister-cities among the international youth community.

The conference was organized by the Togliatti City Administration, the Togliatti Academy of Management (TAOM), the Togliatti branch of the Russian Schoolchildren Movement (RSCM).

The conference was attended by 22 schoolchildren from Togliatti, 16 schoolchildren from the sister-cities of Wolfsburg (Germany) and Nagykanizsa (Hungary), the partner city of Novo Mesto (Slovenia), 2 foreign schoolchildren - participants in the academic exchange program AFS-Interculture, 8 students from Togliatti Academy of Management as tutors of the teams, as well as team leadres - Mr. Matja?tih, the teacher of the Gymnasium Novo Mesto, Mrs. Eva Rak, teacher of Russian, English and German languages of the Lajos Batthyany Gymnasium, and Mr. Frederik Boog, the Youth Union g.Volfsburg Mr. Frederick Boog, consultant for educationStadtjugendring Wolfsburg e.V.

For the period of the youth informational tour and conference, 48 participants were divided into 8 multinational teams for acquaintance, interaction and joint project activities aimed at exploring places attractive for the youth community. Guests from the sister-cities were as foreign experts in the field of youth and educational tourism, while the Togliatti schoolchildren became their local guides.

According to the participants of the IYC LOCALFRIENDS 2019 from Togliatti, Wolfsburg, Nagykanizsa and Novo Mesto, they gained significant experience in communication and work in multinational teams, acquired initial skills in project activities, got acquainted with the Russian language and culture, and also made new friends among the representatives of youth communities of sister-cities. Students plan to continue communication and exchange of experience on the online sites of the Localfriends project in social networks. Based on the results of the conference, a film was created by the RSCM media center.