The jubilee “InterYes! 5.0” International Forum on Public Diplomacy, which gathered more than 100 young leaders from 45 countries, ended in Ulyanovsk. At the event, which took place in an online format, young people discussed key mechanisms of international interaction.
The forum participants focused on issues related to the second track diplomacy – horizontal ties between youth communities of the BRICS countries. During the three thematic sessions, speakers and experts shared successful examples of public diplomacy and presented their ideas on the development of the BRICS youth agenda. The moderator was Diana Kovela, the Deputy Head of the Project Office of International Youth Cooperation in the direction “Russia – BRICS”.
One of the innovations of the forum was the involvement of teenagers aged 14-18, who actively engaged in discussing the prospects for youth cooperation. According to the organisers, the session on involving children in the BRICS+ agenda was of particular interest.
The importance of such initiatives was emphasised by Mikhail Malkov, Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Foreign Policy Planning Department. He said that platforms like BRICS give young people an opportunity to jointly address global issues and inspire creativity and openness. Aleksey Russkikh, Governor of the Ulyanovsk Region, expressed a similar opinion, adding that the need to work with children was reflected in the final declaration of the BRICS Youth Summit, which was held in Ulyanovsk in 2024.
The forum was part of the Action Plan of the Brazilian BRICS Presidency in 2025.
“In the year of its presidency, Brazil will continue to actively involve young leaders in addressing important issues on the global agenda,” said Nilson Florentino Junior, Director of Transversal Public Youth Policy at the Brazilian National Youth Secretariat, at the meeting.
The forum is organised by the Russia-BRICS Project Office for International Youth Cooperation and the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs.
African Times published this article in partnership with International Media Network TV BRICS
