135 nations and 3000 participants – student of the Institute of International Programs, Sofia Efashina, became a part of the World Youth Forum 2022 in Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt)

World Youth Forum is the largest forum for youth under the patronage of the President of Egypt, Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi. Every year, the forum is attended by up to 10 thousand participants from all over the world, and the speakers are world-famous leaders of organizations dealing with sustainable development and topical issues of environment and society.

Sofia Efashina shared her experience on the participation:

“Throughout the forum I attended many events and workshops. However, the most interesting for my projects was the high panel discussion "From Glasgow to Sharm El-Sheikh: Combating Climate Change" dedicated to environmental issues.

The scale of the forum is astounding: 3,000 participants, 208 public speakers, 135 nationalities, 24 sessions, 17 workshops, and 95 work hours. All anti-covid measures were applied on the platform. The organizers cared about each participant's health, so the participant's gift bag included self-care stuff. In pandemic world, this is a great opportunity to be at such an event in sunny Sharm.

In the open space, I gave an interview for the main channel of Egypt – DMC TV, made a publication in the national newspaper, learned in detail about the programs of the United Nations in Egypt, the international organization for the protection of children's rights "Save the Children" and many others. All participants are very open, active, and friendly. Even the most experienced participants helped and guided the young professionals in their development. There was a sense of unity and friendliness throughout the forum. All problems were discussed openly and tactfully.

In the evening there were special interactive platforms "Freedom" and "WYF Theater". This provided an opportunity to find new acquaintances and business connections, support small businesses and women entrepreneurs.

The closing ceremony was especially beautiful. The event took place in the evening against the backdrop of the illuminated Sinai mountains, using a lot of digitalization. Since the event was held mostly in Arabic, the other participants were happy to help with the translation.

World Youth Forum, thank you for this opportunity!

See you next year!”