Russia Hosts 6th Global Forum of Young Diplomats Focusing on Polycentric World

The 6th Global Forum of Young Diplomats took place in Kazan on August 17-21. The theme of this year’s event was “Diplomacy in a New Multipolar World” and was attended by some 130 diplomats from 40 nations of the former USSR, Asia, Africa and Latin America, including young foreign policy officials and heads of foreign diplomatic missions.

The forum was organized by the Council of Young Diplomats of the Russian Foreign Ministry with the assistance of the Ministry of Youth Affairs of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Academy of Youth Diplomacy NGO, and the Alexander Gorchakov Public Diplomacy Fund.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Leonid Slutsky, Senator and Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev all addressed the participants with welcoming speeches.

The forum consisted of four sessions on information security in modern international relations and the role of soft power. Among the main speakers were Deputy Prime Minister of Tatarstan Leyla Rinatovna Fazleyeva, Rector of the Russian Institute of Theatre Art Grigory Anatolievich Zaslavsky, head of the international multisport tournament Games of the Future Igor Yurievich Stolyarov and Areg Gareginovich Aghasaryan, advisor to the chairman of the Board of the Movement of the First for International Activities.

Participants were particularly interested in presentations of major youth projects such as the World Youth Festival 2024 and the Games of the Future.

On the sidelines of the event, members of youth structures from countries making up the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) took part in multilateral consultations, reviewed prospects for further cooperation and outlined plans for joint projects, including in the information sphere.

The forum's last day wrapped up with the signing of a final document, which noted the importance of joint efforts in shaping a polycentric world order based on international law, as well as the necessity to develop the concept of "horizontal diplomacy" (i.e. networking among young active diplomats) at the national, regional and multilateral levels as an effective tool for cooperation among young diplomats. The delegates also spoke out against the resurgence of fascism and Nazism.

During the forum, an official ceremony was held to welcome new members to the International Association of Young Diplomats (IAYD). Twenty diplomats, including those from Abkhazia, Angola, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Tajikistan, South Ossetia, South Sudan, Venezuela and the Central African Republic, joined the International Association of Young Diplomats (IAYD).

The IAYD is a global non-profit informal organization. It aims to bring together young career diplomats aged between 18 and 40 and operates in accordance with the norms and principles of the UN Charter and international law.

The association facilitates interaction among aspiring diplomats, which will subsequently contribute to strengthening ties and trust between countries and their political elites.