Workshops, creative meetings and family discussions: what the Movement of the First has prepared for Children’s Day

On International Children's Day, the Movement of the First will open the Festival of Childhood and Youth. It will be held in all regions of the country, and the main venue will be the RUSSIA EXPO at VDNH. A rich program with useful masterclasses, family activities and educational games awaits the participants. Famous artists and public figures will take part in the festival together with children and adults.

The festival at the RUSSIA EXPO will unite more than 3,000 people - active participants of the Movement, families of the "Dear — Loved Ones" community, mentors, as well as children from all over the country, including from new and border territories. All visitors of the RUSSIA EXPO will join the festival.

The festival will start on June 1 with a solemn ceremony at 11:00 on the Main Stage of the RUSSIA EXPO. The First will be congratulated not only by the guests of honor, but also by popular artists. After the official part, the festival participants will be able to join the activities of the educational and cultural program.

Within the framework of the educational program, business games, quizzes, motivational discussions and meetings with experts will be held from 12:00 to 17:30. Thus, at the discussion "Achieve and Win with the First" young athletes will be given advice by Olympic medalist in figure skating, choreographer Ilya Averbukh and biathlete, two-time Olympic champion in relay race Olga Zaitseva. Artist Konstantin Khabensky will talk about the importance of volunteering and helping others, and the latest trends in the media will be discussed by Roman Plusov, a news anchor on Russia-24 (Rossiya-24) and Russia-1 (Rossiya-24) TV channels, and radio and TV presenter Yulia Baranovskaya. Also, at the creative meetings the First will be able to speak with the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, rector of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet Nikolai Tsiskaridze, and host of the Vesti program on the Russia-1 TV channel Ernest Mackiavicius.

At the festival, guests will be able to learn more about the Movement of the First and find an activity to their liking. For two days, the Main Stage of the RUSSIA EXPO will host the presentation of the largest activities of the Movement — "Challenge of the First", "Pilots of the Future", "Height", "Bolshaya Peremena" (lit. "Big Change"/"Big School Break"), "Media Attraction" and others, and at the project fair schoolchildren and students will participate in thematic activities and determine an interesting development path for themselves.

The principle of the festival is to do things together with children, so the events of the festival on June 1 and 2 will include team and family formats. In this way the Movement will unite different generations: it will give children an opportunity to express themselves, and parents will be able to spend time with their children. Together young and adult participants from 10:00 to 17:00 will attend workshops on beading, assembling a grain feeder, painting a matryoshka doll or ceramics with watercolor, creating a kite and a glider plane. Children and their parents will be able to join the tourist format "Conversations By the Campfire" on June 1 with actor Viktor Dobronravov, and on June 2 — with blogger Katya Adushkina and figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva, as well as hold "Family Readings" on June 1 with actor Ivan Stebunov, and on June 2 — with actor Kirill Yemelyanov.

Festival participants will also be able to visit the expositions of the RUSSIA EXPO. On the usual routes children will lead tours together with adults, and in the pavilions of major Russian companies, the First will enjoy special thematic activities. Rosatom, VK and Sberbank have prepared interactive formats for festival participants in their pavilions. Guests will be able to participate in the activities from 10:00 to 21:00.

In addition to the useful program, cultural events are planned for the First and their parents. For two days on the stages of the RUSSIA EXPO beginners and experienced artists will present musical concerts and choreographic performances. Theater and cinema lovers will enjoy the performance "Legends of Chivalry", the performance-discussion "One", animated film "Mystery of the Third Planet" and many others. Also, the festival guests will be addressed by the Choir of the First and artists of the production center "Sound".

The main theme of the festival will be the dream and the opportunity for every child in Russia to fulfill their cherished wishes. For this reason, on June 1 at 18:00 all guests will take part in the Procession of Dreamers. Children and adults will line up in five columns, each of them symbolizing one of the letters of the word "dream", and carry flags of different regions of Russia. Each letter at the head of the column will symbolize one of the key elements in achieving the dream: youth and wisdom, unity and like-mindedness, humanity and honesty, diligence and talent, activity and ambition.

Each of the days of the festival will end with a festive concert program.

All-Russian public and state movement of children and youth "Movement of the First" is the largest community of children, teenagers and adults in the Russian Federation, uniting state and public institutions to form a unified educational environment for schoolchildren and students of professional educational organizations.

More than 6 million people are members of the Movement of the First. More than 46,000 primary branches operate on a regular basis in 89 regions of Russia. In 2023, the Movement's activities covered more than 7 million people.

Program and project activities of the Movement are carried out in the following areas: "Education and Knowledge", "Science and Technology", "Labor, Profession and Own Business", "Culture and Art", "Volunteering and Voluntarism", "Patriotism and Historical Memory", "Sports and Healthy Lifestyle", "Media and Communications", "Diplomacy and International Relations", "Ecology and Nature Protection", "Tourism and Travel".

The largest projects of the Movement of the First include: the All-Russian project "First Aid", the All-Russian campaign "Windows of Victory", the All-Russian campaign "New Year Tree of Wishes", the All-Russian volunteer project "WeAreChildrenTogether", the All-Russian military-patriotic game "Zarnitsa 2.0", All-Russian project ''Young Naturalists of the First", All-Russian project ''Guardians of History'', All-Russian theater project ''School Classics'', All-Russian project ''Media Attraction'', program ''We are Citizens of Russia!'', All-Russian project ''Safety in Motion''.