The XVI All-Russian Muslim Youth Forum was successfully held in Bolgar from 16 to 23 August. The topic of the event was popularization of charitable activities among Muslims. The forum was attended by 130 young Muslims aged 18 to 30, representing Indonesia, Egypt, Great Britain, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, as well as various Russian regions, including the Republic of Tatarstan, Crimea, Bashkortostan and others.
The main goal of the forum was to create communication environment to support youth initiatives, promote self-realization of young Muslims and enhance spirituality. Young people had an opportunity to realize their own ideas and projects through educational, creative and practical platforms of the forum. The event program included religious knowledge, scientific and cognitive lectures, trainings, workshops, TED talks, debates, as well as a cinema hall and a book club. There were also hikes and excursions.
Special attention was paid to the headliner of the forum, Abdurrahim Lakrim, a direct descendant of the Prophet ﷺ and a renowned sheikh from Morocco and a teacher from the Etablissement Ajial Boufekrane Foundation.
At the opening ceremony of the event, First Deputy Mufti of the Republic of Tatarstan Ilfar Hazrat Khasanov, Master and Professor of the Etablissement Ajial Boufekrane Foundation (Morocco) Sheikh Abdurrahim Lakrim, Sheikh Hamdallah Safti, expert on Islamic law and doctrine, as well as other renowned specialists addressed the participants.
The forum was organized by the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan and the Foundation for the Support of Islamic Culture, Science and Education.
As part of the XVI All-Russian Muslim Youth Forum in Bolgar, the best idea projects were selected. The participants whose ideas were selected were given grants to realize their ideas.
The project selection process was conducted with the participation of experts in the field of social entrepreneurship, modern technologies, social service and Islamic economics. The commission responsible for the selection was headed by Anton Dyganov, an expert of the Resource Centre for Support of SO NOPs and head of the Innovative Development Department at Kazan Federal University.
According to Aygul Biktimirova, head of the Social Development Department of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan, after careful study and preparation, 52 projects were selected from the initial 100. Among them there were ideas related to IT, cinema, Islamic education, ecology, sports, charity, as well as those aimed at women, children and young people.
As a result, 17 projects made it to the final stage, and their authors presented them before an authoritative panel of experts. Young participants presented their ideas, talked about the objectives, goals, timeframes and other aspects of their projects. Then they answered questions from the commission members.
The projects that made it to the finals were characterized by their relevance and modernity. Among them there were ideas related to sex education for young people, helping “newcomers” to Islam through social networks, halal tourist routes, creating telegram bots for halal products, organizing tent camps for children, providing spiritual and health support for children and teenagers, and many other ideas.
According to the results of the competition, three best projects were selected and their authors were awarded grants from the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Tatarstan in the amounts of 100, 80 and 60 thousand rubles.
Aidar Shagimardanov, president of the Association of Muslim Entrepreneurs of the Russian Federation, noted that business community is interested in new ideas that can develop halal areas. He suggested holding a defense of projects in front of Muslim entrepreneurs next year. Grants from the Association of Muslim Entrepreneurs of the Russian Federation were awarded to the projects of the children’s tent camp, “Lisan: Tel Achkychy” and “Muslim Woman’s Guide”.
Amal Financial House promised to support the Warmth about the Body project with printing services, become a partner of the INDEEN project and provide financial support for the BlogEtnotur project. The ProNastavnik project received a cash prize of 50 thousand rubles from the Khansky Dom construction company.
The main winner of the forum was the Warmth about the Body project, oriented towards sex education for teenagers aged 9 – 14. The authors of the project received a grant of 100 thousand rubles to implement this idea. The winners are planning to create a collection of comics containing answers to questions about the difficult period of puberty and distribute it through offline and online platforms.
The second place went to the Lisan: Tel Achkychy project, aimed at teaching reading in the Old Tatar language. The authors of the project received support in the amount of 80 thousand rubles to realize their idea. Students Azat Yakupov, Ainur Abdullin and Alim Khisameddinov are working on the creation of a textbook of exercises in Old Tatar and iske imlya writing. The workshop textbook will be based on Ahmadhadi Maqsudi’s book Sharigat Khokemnare and will represent a new format for teaching materials. The grant funds will also be used for text processing, translation into modern Tatar and Russian languages, layout of the book, creation of a website based on it, publication of the book and its distribution among students of Islamic educational institutions of Tatarstan.
The third place went to Aisha-Suman Nabieva from Ufa with her BlogEtnotur project. She received support from the Muftiate of Tatarstan in the amount of 60 thousand rubles and 30 thousand rubles from the Amal Financial House. Her idea is to attract foreign bloggers and students to villages of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan to familiarize themselves with local culture and customs. The project is focused on the development of ethno-tourism.
Thus, the XVI All-Russian Muslim Youth Forum, where innovative ideas and projects of young participants were selected and supported, came to an end. The grants received by the winners will allow them to implement their ideas and contribute to the development of Muslim youth community.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"