Foreign students presented their projects at the VFM gathering in Nizhny Novgorod.

      19 September 2025 18:05

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      Society — In Nizhny Novgorod, as part of the Rally of the World Festival of Youth (12+), a pitch session with project presentations dedicated to international cooperation took place on 18 September. The event was held at the Main Fair House venue. Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko and the region's governor Gleb Nikitin heard the most interesting ideas and shared recommendations, reports Komsomolskaya Pravda — Nizhny Novgorod.

      Italian student Carlo Di Martino spoke about his experience participating in the Summer School of the Directorate of the World Festival of Youth and proposed expanding its geography by attracting participants from different countries. Dmitry Chernyshenko supported the initiative and noted that such schools can also be established outside Russia.

      Loud applause greeted the presentation by Ayub Suan from Morocco. His project is aimed at adapting foreign students in Russia. Among the ideas are a mentorship system, the creation of a bank of best practices, and the introduction of educational programs to increase competencies.

      In response, the deputy prime minister recalled the federal project "Russia in the World", being implemented as part of the national project "Youth and Children". At the instruction of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the number of foreign students in the country should reach 500,000 by 2030.

      Brazilian blogger Pedro Daher Simao, who has more than 5 million followers, proposed a project of blog tours called "Russia in the Frame". According to him, this format is popular with audiences and can not only increase interest in the education sector but also help correct the distorted image of Russia in foreign media.

      Belgian lawyer Kevin Pierre S. De Rider presented an initiative to preserve historical memory called "Russia Can't Be Canceled". And Angelina Mayer, a student from Krasnoyarsk, proposed a new approach to adapting foreigners — placing them with Russian families. According to her, this format would give foreign students the opportunity to become more deeply acquainted with Russian culture, traditions, and everyday life, and would be an exchange of experience for the hosts.

      Dmitry Chernyshenko asked the young woman whether she would be willing to personally host a foreign student and what age and gender they should be. Angelina replied that her family would gladly share national dishes and would be happy to teach their guests, but stressed the need to screen host families. She proposed starting a pilot project in Krasnoyarsk with subsequent scaling to other regions.

      Summing up the meeting, Dmitry Chernyshenko noted the high level of preparedness of the participants: "All the pitches are incredibly professionally made. It is clear that true enthusiasts and professionals have gathered here. On our part we will do everything possible so that your ideas are refined and implemented, and that the youth festival next year can discuss the first results."

      You can view the photo report from the opening of the rally here.

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