The Russian Coordinating Bureau for Youth Cooperation with Germany was established in Moscow in 2006 in accordance with the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany on youth cooperation dated December 21, 2004.
Initially, the activities of the coordination bureau were organized at the Federal State Institution "Centre for International Educational Activities", a subordinate institution of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.
In January 2012 the functions of the coordinating bureau were transferred to the Federal State Budgetary Institution "International Children's Center", a subordinate institution of the Ministry of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy of the Russian Federation. Since June 2012 it has been transformed into a subordinate institution of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (hereinafter "International Children's Center" was renamed into "International Youth Center" and then into "Resource Youth Center").
Since 2019 the functions of the Russian Coordinating Bureau for Youth Cooperation with Germany have been performed by MIREA – Russian Technological University (the bureau operates at the Institute of Youth Policy and International Relations).
In accordance with the intergovernmental Agreement in the field of youth cooperation, the coordinating bureau:
- provides practical assistance to participants and organizers of Russian-German youth exchanges from Russia (methodological, information and consulting, visa support, search for partner organizations in Germany),
- responsible for the formation of the annual program of Russia-German youth, school and professional youth exchanges on the Russian side,
- is the organizer of the main events of the annual Program of Russian-German youth, school and professional youth exchanges on the Russian side,
- informs young people and youth organizations from Russia about the possibility of participating in the events of Russian-German youth cooperation,
- carries out activities to improve the skills of organizers of Russian-German youth exchanges (together with the coordinating bureau from the German side the Foundation for German-Russian Youth Exchange),
- participates in the preparation and holding of meetings of the Russian-German Council for Youth Cooperation,
- develops proposals for the development of Russian-German youth cooperation.
The Head of the Russian Coordinating Bureau for Youth Cooperation with Germany is a permanent member of the Russian-German Council for Youth Cooperation.
In 2021 15 years have passed since the creation of national coordinating bureaus – the Russian Coordinating for Youth Cooperation with Germany and the Foundation for German-Russian Youth Exchange. On November 23, 2021 a solemn event was held in Hamburg in honor of the 15th anniversary of the coordinating bureaus, the President of Russia V. Putin and the Federal President of Germany F-V. Steinmeier sent greetings to the two coordinating bureaus.
Joint activities of the Russian Coordinating Bureau for Youth Cooperation with Germany and the Foundation for German-Russian Youth Exchange (the main activities of the Exchange Program) are being implemented with the support of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (from the Russian side) and with the support of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth of Germany and the Federal Foreign Office (from the German side).
Source: Sokolova D. International cooperation of the Russian Federation in the field of youth policy // 30 years of state youth policy of the Russian Federation / MIREA – Russian Technological University. – M., 2022. – P. 225–333.
