The Institute of Philosophy and Socio-Political Sciences of the Southern Federal University is responsible for the organization of the festival and systematic work with student couples in the Rostov region. The Student Family project became the winner of the Rosmolodezh competition.Grants within the framework of the comprehensive program "Open. Create it. Unite", and the April 25 festival became its key and final stage.

According to the authors of the initiative, the student family has a huge potential for harmonious development due to the similar educational level and common spiritual and moral orientations of the spouses. However, lack of life experience, economic difficulties, and psychological unpreparedness often become barriers to a happy family life. The aim of the project is to provide comprehensive psychological, legal and legal assistance to young couples, reduce anxiety before marriage and having children, and equip students with positive conflict resolution skills.

Evgeny Kostyrin, Senior lecturer at the Department of Social Technologies at The Institute of Philosophy and Socio-Political Sciences, head of the department "Organization of work with Youth" at SFedU, told:

"This festival is a platform for the development of cultural and leisure activities of young families. Its main task is to create a favorable environment for the development of student families in Russia, as well as motherhood and childhood, increasing the birth rate and the institution of the family as a whole, which meets the needs of modern society.

Within the framework of the festival, there are five thematic venues that are aimed at developing the spiritual and moral values of the family, as well as three creative venues where you can just have fun with family activities together."

The festival has become part of a large ecological celebration in the SFedU Botanical Garden. On this day, the alleys of the garden turned into an interactive space where the theory of strong relationships was tested in practice.

The guests traveled through five thematic venues, each of which symbolized the key values embedded in the concept of the project: "Continuity, generations and traditions", "Love and Loyalty", "Fatherhood, motherhood and childhood", "Care and respect" and "Trust and Honesty".

Alexander Afanasyev and Daria Gorbatykh, students of the SFedU Institute of Philosophy and Socio-Political Sciences, told:

"We believe that it is much easier to go through student life together: there is always someone who will back you up with your studies, support you in difficult moments and help you cope with stress, especially during the session. When you are not alone, but there is that very “center of support”, a lot of things are experienced more calmly. Besides, we understand each other in many ways — we study in the same field, share interests, and constantly discover something new together. This is probably the main advantage of a student family: the two of them are not only easier to cope with difficulties, but also more interesting to live, develop and build a common future."

In addition to the entertainment program, the most important part of the festival was the work of the interactive educational platform of the REC "FAMILY" SFedU under the guidance of senior lecturer of the Department of Social Technologies Fomenko Lyudmila Albertovna. Students of the Faculty of Economics and the Department of Social Work, as well as medical volunteers, conducted a Family Harmony Workshop for the participants of the festival, advised students, talked about government support measures, benefits and payments for young parents, and also helped couples work out techniques for overcoming crisis situations.

Creative and leisure workshops worked in parallel.: The participants created family charms, molded them from "Homemade plasticine", collected "Beads of family happiness" and left handprints at the "Warmth of native Palms" location. After lunch, there was also an intellectual battle — the board game "Family Picnic", developed at the Southern Federal University specifically for developing skills of teamwork in pairs.

The culmination of the day was the closing ceremony, where the results of the correspondence video business card contest "My family is my story" were summed up, as well as the drawing of memorable gifts in the "Family Lottery" from the project partners.

The Student Family project does not end there. By the end of April 2026, students of SFedU and other universities in the region will receive new educational modules, trainings and consultations aimed at creating a positive perception of the institution of the family, preventing divorce and preparing for the birth of children.

The first festival showed that a student family in the Rostov region is not just a status, but a conscious choice in favor of love, trust and shared responsibility for the future.