The year 2022 has special significance for the Russian Muslim community. Apart from the fact that this year marks the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria, Kazan has been officially recognized as the Youth Capital of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. This is the first time in history that an OIC observer country has been honored with this.
What does this status entail? The Youth Capital of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation is the status that is awarded to a city for year, during which the winner city obtains an opportunity to demonstrate best practices in the development of social, economic and political activity of the youth. The title of ‘OIC Youth Capital’ also makes it possible to implement major international youth events on topical issues with the involvement of leading experts and leaders of the Islamic world, gives young people an opportunity to realize their potential at the international level, and contributes to the promotion of the city on the international stage.
‘OIC Youth Capital’ is a project of the international organization ‘Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum’ (ICYF). The idea of it emerged at the second General Assembly held in October 2014. Since then, Istanbul (Turkey), Shiraz (Iran), Putrajaya (Malaysia), Fez (Morocco), Doha (Qatar) and Dhaka (Bangladesh) have become OIC Youth Capitals.
What awaits Kazan this year?
The inauguration ceremony of Kazan as the Youth Capital of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation took place at the House of Receptions of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The participants of the meeting included Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov, President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, Director General of the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum Rasul Omarov, Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs Ksenia Razuvayeva, Minister of Youth Affairs of the Republic of Tatarstan Timur Suleimanov, Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin, representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry, top officials of international organizations, Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the OIC countries, representatives of the Group of Strategic Vision ‘Russia – Islamic World’, community leaders in public diplomacy, youth policy and Islamic cooperation.
According to Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the dialogue between the Russian Federation and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation is gradually progressing in all directions, while opening up new prospects for joint efforts, including those in parliamentary and humanitarian spheres. Lavrov said the Group of Strategic Vision ‘Russia – Islamic World’ led by Rustam Minnikhanov continued to contribute to that work.
‘The predominant part of Muslim countries is long-standing, good international partners of Russia. We are united by a commitment to developing interstate cooperation on the principles of equal rights and mutual consideration of interests and concerns. We are consistent supporters of respect for cultural and civilizational identity of peoples in the world and their natural right to determine their own paths of development. In this context, the choice of Kazan as the OIC Youth Capital is a bright evidence of mutual willingness to further develop friendly relations on a truly equal and mutually beneficial basis. I have no doubt that the leadership of Tatarstan will brilliantly cope with this function and successfully implement all the plans,’ the Foreign Minister stressed.
Sergey Lavrov also reminded the audience at the inauguration ceremony that Tatarstan and the ancient city of Kazan were a vivid example of coexistence of religions, cultures, ancient traditions and a combination of respect for ancestral heritage and rapid adoption of modern technologies. This is the key to success of any country’s development.
‘We are glad that Tatarstan is one of the undisputed leaders of the Russian regions in developing foreign relations on a mutually beneficial democratic basis. For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry is ready to provide all possible support to the implementation of functions of the OIC Youth Capital and is ready to cooperate in any other endeavors,’ the speaker concluded.
In his turn, Rustam Minnikhanov, Chairman of the Group of Strategic Vision ‘Russia – Islamic World’, President of the Republic of Tatarstan, expressed his gratitude to the OIC Forum for choosing Kazan as the Youth Capital, and thanked the entire staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for supporting Tatarstan’s international initiatives.
‘The recognition of Kazan as the OIC Youth Capital is a unique event, as it is the first time in history that an observer country has obtained this status. It is symbolic that it takes place in the year when the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria is celebrated. This historical date is of great significance for all the Russian Muslims. Thus, from May 19 to 21 in Tatarstan a festive event will be organized to mark the anniversary. In addition to it, there will also be a session of the Group of Strategic Vision ‘Russia – Islamic World’, the International Economic Summit ‘Russia – Islamic World: KazanSummit’ and other events,’ Rustam Minnikhanov announced the upcoming events.
Timur Suleimanov, Minister of Youth Affairs of the Republic of Tatarstan, made a presentation of the event program of ‘The OIC Youth Capital – Kazan 2022’.
‘Over the past 10 years more than 50 projects have been implemented in Tatarstan, consolidating international ties between Russia and OIC in the areas of education and culture, entrepreneurship and science, youth policy and diplomacy. This year Kazan will host 10 major international events with participation of over two thousand people as part of the OIC Youth Capital. As an outcome of the year of the OIC Youth Capital in Kazan and its humanitarian heritage it is proposed to adopt the Global Action Plan backed by a long-term program for the development of international youth cooperation between Russia and the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’.
In his turn, Ksenia Razuvayeva, Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, stressed that each year Russia hosted and organized a lot of international youth forums that brought together active young people from all over the world. According to her, Tatarstan has gained the informal status of Russia’s youth student capital in recent years.
‘You are setting high standards not only for the Republic, but also for the country as a whole and for other regions. And today’s event is a new stage in the implementation of youth cooperation, consolidation of trust and ties between the youth of our countries, which will be able to create additional conditions for the realization of young people’s potential, exchange of experience, communication and cooperation,’ Razuvayeva noted.
The inauguration ceremony culminated with the handing over of the symbolic key from the city of Dhaka (Bangladesh) to the city of Kazan, which opens a series of events in the youth capital. Thus, the first event will be the Quran Recitation contest which will be held in Kazan at the end of March, on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan. In total, over 12 large-scale events are expected to take place in offline and online formats, covering all areas of life and youth development in the Islamic world: science, culture, sports, entrepreneurship, social design, education, creative industries.
Ilmira Gafiyatullina
Photo: official website of the President of the Republic of Tatarstan