On September 9, 2021 the first Russian-Spanish Youth Meeting was held online bringing together more than 50 participants: representatives of youth associations, students and young professionals from both countries.
The program of the event consisted of two parts such as a plenary session with the participation of officials from Russia and Spain and interactive discussion platforms for representatives of Russian and Spanish youth. Moderators of the Russian-Spanish Youth Meeting were the Chairman of the National Youth Council of Russia Grigory Petushkov and the President of the National Youth Council of Spain Elena Ruiz.
In the framework of the plenary session on the role of youth and public diplomacy in the development of bilateral relations between Russia and Spain Dmitry G. Sokolov, the Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Kingdom of Spain, Agustin Nunez, the Director of the Department of State Youth Policy and Educational Activities of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Denis V. Ashirov, the Director of the Euro-Latin American Youth Center of the Spanish Institute for Youth Affairs Jose Ismael Criado, the Head of the Russian House in Madrid Sergey A. Sarymov, the Director of International Relations of the Cervantes Institute Rafael Soriano.
The second part of the meeting was held in the format of discussion interactive platforms on topics "Youth access to social rights", "Climate change and sustainable development" and "Youth participation as a tool for creating positive changes in society". As a part of the work of the platforms, participants were able to hold a networking session in order to get to know each other and establish partnerships. They also managed to discuss problem areas, priorities and prospects for cooperation on given topics of discussion tracks.
Participants were 57 people – representatives of youth public associations, leaders of youth projects, representatives of state authorities in the field of youth policy and youth work, young compatriots living abroad, students interested in developing Russian-Spanish cooperation.
Outcomes: As a result of the active work of interactive platforms, young people formulated three priority areas of action which in the future will become the basis for cooperation and bilateral projects between youth of Spain and Russia. Among identified priorities were the development of volunteering and cooperation in the field of education, science and culture, increasing the role and participation of young people in the process of developing and making decisions (including the political participation of youth), ensuring sustainable development (projects related to the environment, overcoming the climate crisis, sustainable consumption and production, waste disposal and recycling, and much more).
In addition, a proposal to hold the Russian-Spanish Youth Forum in person in 2022 was made.
