Public Diplomacy, Horizontal Ties and Youth Cooperation: Training for 180 Leaders and Curators of International Friendship Clubs Launched
On December 2, a seminar-meeting for 180 leaders and curators of International Friendship Clubs from all Russia’s subjects was launched in the Moscow Region. The event was organized by the World Youth Festival Directorate and the Senezh Management Workshop of the Russia – Land of Opportunity Presidential Platform.
The seminar-meeting was attended by leaders and curators of International Friendship Clubs – the World Youth Festival Directorate’s flagship project, aimed at building long-term ties between young people from Russia and abroad. According to the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation on the preservation and development of the post-festival legacy, the Clubs are being opened in all regions of the country and in the Sirius Federal Territory.
As part of a networking session, Daniil Bisslinger, Advisor on International Affairs to the Head of Rosmolodezh, Director General of the World Youth Festival Directorate, addressed the participants. He noted that the decision to create International Friendship Clubs was made following the Cultural Partnership programme. During the Festival, people from Russia’s regions communicated with foreign participants from partner countries, discussed history, culture and traditions of our country.
“The programme was really popular among Russian and foreign youth, which made us launch it again in every region of the country. 79 International Friendship Clubs have already been opened – they strengthen youth cooperation with representatives of more than 130 countries that have taken part in the World Youth Festival. Over 3500 people from Russia and abroad are already involved in the Clubs’ work. Without a doubt, we are planning to keep on expanding the project’s geography and number of participants. Thanks to International Friendship Clubs, Russian and foreign youth understand that our approaches are popular abroad, our educational and social products are universal and in high demand around the whole world and Russia has good friends in the majority of countries that want to implement projects together. Today, leaders and curators of International Friendship Clubs have come together at the seminar-meeting to discuss roadmaps, exchange experience and learn about the specifics of interaction with foreign youth,” said Daniil Bisslinger.
On the first day of the seminar-meeting, Clubs’ representatives also met with Maria Zakharova, Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry. As part of the “Trends in Global Politics and Evolution of Russia’s Foreign Policy: Shaping Soft Power” lecture, she talked about the importance of public diplomacy in today’s geopolitical agenda.
“What you do is one of the dimensions of public diplomacy which the fabric of international relations wouldn’t be complete without. In different historical periods, its importance has been prioritized or sidelined. When official relations among countries are undergoing a crisis, it’s public diplomacy and human contacts that become ‘a bridge and a thin thread” which help build ties among people from different countries. Sometimes, it’s vice versa, public diplomacy is substituted by official contacts and performs additional functions. Now, we are witnessing both of these stages in relations between Russia and unfriendly and friendly states,” Maria Zakharova, Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, addressed representatives of International Friendship Clubs.
Maria Zakharova also gave recommendations to Clubs’ leaders – she advised them to start from making a list of partners, outline specific goals and tasks and, according to them, think through events and create a calendar of important dates, as well as gather a team of like-minded people.
Additionally, seminar-meeting participants learned about horizontal diplomacy and world regions in Russia’s foreign policy. This was discussed by leading experts in the field of international trade, including Konstantin Kolpakov, Head of the Commission for Humanitarian and Youth Cooperation of the Public Council under Rossotrudnichestvo, and Timofey Bordachev, Scientific Supervisor of the Center for Complex European and International Studies at the Higher School of Economics.
The seminar-meeting will last until December 4. During this time, participants can dive into the specifics of modern diplomacy, learn about geopolitical and intercultural trends, communication tools, exchange experience and best practices of building interaction with foreign youth. Clubs’ representatives will attend sessions, master classes and lectures by Russian and international experts in diplomacy and communication Among them are Deputy Executive Director of the Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund Sergey Orlov, Executive Secretary of the SCO Youth Council Alexey Karpenko, President of the BRICS Business Council Vicente Barrientos, Russian military blogger, author of the “Rybar’ Telegram channel Mikhail Zvinchuk, President of the Commonwealth of Sports Diplomacy, Head of the Youth Cooperation Directorate of the Eurasian and African Peoples Assembly Anna Subbotina, Vice-Rector of the Universal University of Creative Industries Lyudmila Stepnova and many others.
Overview:
The World Youth Festival took place on March 1–7, 2024 in Sirius, according to the Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the development of international youth cooperation. The WYF-2024 brought together 20,000 young leaders from 190 countries.
On the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation, the WYF will be held in Russia on a regular basis – once in six years. Also, every six years 10,000 young people from all over the world will get together at the International Youth Festival, and in between, international themed gatherings and events will be held under the auspices of the WYF. Festival events of various formats will be held in Russia annually.
According to the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation on the preservation and development of the Festival legacy, the World Youth Festival Directorate continues the work aimed at strengthening international youth cooperation.
This year marks a 5-year anniversary of the Senezh Workshop. The Mission of the Senezh Management Workshop is to make strong Russian people even stronger, serve those who serve Russia. The organization’s masters and mentors are heads of federal bodies, state, and private corporations, governors, public opinion leaders.