September 11, The educational and creative festival to kick off in Smolensk. The Belarusian delegation includes young performers, journalists and representatives of creative groups, about 100 members in total.

Before the ceremonial departure, the participants laid flowers at the monument to the soldiers who liberated Minsk, the legendary T-34-85 tank standing at the Officers' House.

The head of the Permanent Committee of the Union State in Minsk, Marianna Shchetkina, gave a parting word: "This is the year of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the German invaders, the year of the 25th anniversary of the signing of the treaty on the creation of the Union State, so all the events are dedicated to that. This year, 37 events will be held at the expense of the union budget, 25 of them are socially oriented and 14 are for children and youth. One of the largest is the festival "Youth - for the Union State" in Smolensk. This year it is special because it will include not only a competition program and creative meetings, but also a patriotic component. There will be meetings with famous journalists, athletes, and for the first time a forum of young people and historians will be held. The guys will discuss very important topics - the unity of the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War, historical truth, and will also analyze the information wars of the 21st century, discuss double standards in the politics of Western countries and their attempts to rewrite history. The main goal of all our youth events is the formation of a multi-million youth motivated team of builders of the Union State."

In turn, the first secretary of the BRSM Central Committee Alexander Lukyanov noted that the most talented guys and girls from different regions went to Smolensk: "It is very important in the year of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of our country to carry our culture, the Belarusian national identity through the creativity of young people. Smolensk will feature groups from different parts of Russia, and, of course, the talented Belarusian youth will once again demonstrate the openness of our country. This is, first of all, a major humanitarian mission, so that through creativity children can meet, find new friends and strengthen ties between the youth of the two countries. A very serious competitive selection was held, so for each of the participants the festival will be an important step on the path of their creative career."

The festival will last until September 15. Ahead of the participants are excursions around Smolensk and the surrounding area, master classes, meetings with experts and many other activities.