Welcome Almaz and Altyn the WorldSkills Kazan 2019 Mascots

Welcome Almaz and Altyn the WorldSkills Kazan 2019 Mascots. The official WorldSkills Kazan 2019 Mascots were announced in Russia on July 15th during the celebration of the Tatar national holiday Sabantuy and World Youth Skills Day.

The Mascots boast traditional Tatar names – Almaz for the boy and Altyn for the girl.

"The choice of the names is no coincidence,” said Emil Gubaidullin, Deputy General Director of Directorate for Sports and Social Projects, organizer of WorldSkills Kazan 2019. “Firstly, we wanted to highlight the local character of the event as the Competition is going to be held in Kazan, Tatarstan. Secondly, Almaz and Altyn are translated from Tatar language as “diamond” and "gold", symbolizing excellence in skills.”

Last year, WorldSkills Kazan 2019 hosted a contest to design the Mascots. Maxim Ovchinnikov, a 27-year-old architect from Samara, was the winner. The Mascots are twins whose main characteristics are curiosity, diligence, and intelligence. Almaz and Altyn represent the excitement of learning a skill and the motto of the Competition,  "Skills for the Future".