Russian-German youth cooperation is carried out in accordance with the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany in the field of youth cooperation of December 21, 2004.
The goals
- development and strengthening of partnerships for the implementation of Russian-German youth exchange projects in the field of mass sports,
- informing about the possibilities of Russian-German youth cooperation,
- acquaintance with the system of sports work with youth in Russia and Germany.
The participants
In total 100 people:
- representatives of partner organizations from Russia and Germany who already have experience in organizing joint youth exchange in the field of mass sports,
- representatives of Russian organizations interested in conducting Russian-German youth exchange in the field of mass sports,
- representatives of organizations promoting the development of Russian-German youth cooperation.
One of the priority areas for the implementation of the 2004 Agreement is the holding of joint youth events in the field of sports (meaning mass sports, since the Agreement does not address issues of youth exchange in the field of elite sports).
In 2017, in order to intensify bilateral youth cooperation in the field of mass sports, the Russian Coordination Bureau for Youth Cooperation with Germany initiated the creation of the partnership between the Russian Student Sports Union and the German Sports Youth Association Deutsche Sportjugend (dsj) im Deutschen Olympischen Sportbund e.V. (the corresponding cooperation Agreement was signed on September 14, 2017 in Rostov-on-Don).
Traditional events within this area of bilateral cooperation became joint forums of organizers of youth sports exchange aimed at creating partnerships between Russian and German organizations for the further implementation of youth exchange projects in the field of mass sports. The first forum took place from September 24 to 29, 2017 in Berlin, the second – from October 7 to 12, 2018 in St. Petersburg, the third one – from September 22 to 27, 2019 in Dortmund.
At the XV meeting of the Russian-German Council for Youth Cooperation it was decided to hold the 4th forum in 2020 in Russia. Due to the spread of COVID-19 infection, the forum was held online.
The results
As part of the program of the 1st day of the forum with the participation of representatives of partner organizations from Russia and Germany who already have experience in organizing joint youth exchange in the field of mass sports, the discussion on the current situation and prospects for Russian-German youth exchange in the context of the COVID-19 infection took place. The issues of financing and visa support for youth exchange were also discussed. In addition, successful youth exchange practices in the field of sambo, scuba diving and volleyball were presented.
As part of the program of the 2nd day of the forum the webinar for representatives of Russian organizations interested in conducting Russian-German youth exchange in the field of mass sports was held. The participants got acquainted with the possibilities of Russian-German youth cooperation, the system of sports work with youth in Russia and Germany and the methodology for conducting Russian-German youth exchange in the field of mass sports.
On the final day of the forum partner organizations from Russia and Germany presented joint projects planned for 2021 in sports such as sambo, boxing, handball, football, mountaineering, sports tourism, chess, underwater sports and others.
