Kemenpora opens the door for Indonesian youth to join IFY 2026 in Ekaterinburg. Seven days that benefit you, Indonesia, and the global conversation you enter.

 
Indonesia already has a seat at Cannes, a pavilion at Venice, and a gold medal in Sanya. Ekaterinburg in September is the next room. Kemenpora is holding the door open. The question is who walks through it.

The International Festival of Youth 2026 runs September 11 to 17 in Ekaterinburg, Russia, bringing together 10,000 young leaders from 190 countries across seven days of programming, networking, and field-specific work. The reserve registration window is open until May 31, 2026 at wyffest.com. There is no application fee.

FY 2026 groups 10,000 young leaders by field: science, media, entrepreneurship, sport, and culture.

What IFY 2026 Actually Is and What Happens Inside It

This is not a youth tourism program. It is not a conference where you sit in an auditorium and listen to speakers for a week.

The International Festival of Youth 2026 selects participants by field of activity, placing leading representatives from creative industries, public administration, science and education, sport, entrepreneurship, media, digitalization and IT, and the social sector into dedicated programming tracks. That selection logic is the first thing worth understanding. You are not placed in a general audience. You are placed in a room of peers who were chosen for the same reason you were, from 190 different countries.

The program format includes TED-style talks, trend sessions, cultural programs, sports competitions, networking events, and city tours across seven days. The structure moves between formal programming and deliberate informal exchange, because the relationships built in the corridor between sessions are often the ones that carry furthest.

After the main festival, 1,000 selected foreign participants aged 18 to 35 join the Regional Expedition Program, a fully funded post-festival journey through one of 30 regions of Russia or the Republic of Abkhazia, built around people, spaces, and traditions rather than standard tourism. Research routes, not itineraries. Real communities, not performance.

That is what seven days in Ekaterinburg looks like from the inside. Now consider what it means from the outside.

What Indonesia Gains and What You Gain Personally

All selected participants receive free accommodation, meals, and local transportation during the festival. International travel is fully covered for participants aged 14 to 17, and for top-scoring applicants aged 18 to 35. There is no application fee at any stage.

But the more significant gain is not logistical. It is relational.

Every Indonesian who attends IFY 2026 carries Indonesian culture, professional identity, and national perspective into direct conversation with young leaders from science institutions, media organizations, startups, governments, and creative industries across 190 countries simultaneously. That is not something any formal bilateral program can manufacture at the same speed or intimacy.

Indonesia has been building its global presence across 2026 with consistent results across culture, sport, and diplomacy. Sending a strong delegation to Ekaterinburg extends that pattern into the space where the next generation of global decision-makers is forming its network.

Endonesian delegates at IFY 2026 carry more than themselves into the room. They carry the country.

What Russia Gets and Why That Context Matters

The festival was established to continue the legacy of the 2024 World Youth Festival held in Sirius, and aims to unite young leaders from across the world who are ready to take responsibility for the future and jointly shape tomorrow's agenda.

An analysis of the UN ECOSOC Youth Forum 2025 confirmed over 90 percent of questions received from foreign youth were about Russian programs and projects, reflecting genuine international interest in what Russia is building through this platform.

Russia's benefit is direct: 5,000 international young leaders on Russian soil, meeting Russian peers, seeing Russian regions, and forming impressions that no diplomatic communication can replicate. The festival is not neutral. No state-sponsored international program is. Indonesian participants should understand that context clearly before applying.

What the opportunity offers within that context, specifically the field-specific programming, fully funded participation, global peer network, and regional expedition, remains real and substantial regardless of the geopolitical frame around it.

The reserve registration window is open until May 31, 2026. First selection results will be announced after June 22, 2026.

Register at wyffest.com and follow @kemenpora on Instagram for Indonesia's national selection updates.

 
You Might Also Want to Read : 

Indonesia at Cannes Film Festival 2026: What to Watch — rsvpclique.com

Indonesia Returns to Venice Biennale 2026 With 21 Etchings — rsvpclique.com

 
The Reserve Window Closes May 31
Apply now at wyffest.com before the reserve registration window closes on May 31, 2026. There is no application fee. Follow @kemenpora on Instagram for Indonesia's national selection timeline, and check wyffest.com directly for field-specific program details and the Regional Expedition application.

Sources of Photos and Informations
All photography and information related to the International Festival of Youth 2026 was sourced from official event and government documentation.

Kemenpora Official Instagram — @kemenpora

NPC Indonesia of the WYF Directorate - @inpcwyf

Hello Gullo Instagram - @hellogulo