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Interview with Javier Hurtado Mira, Chairperson of DEMYC – Democrat Youth Community of Europe 

04.06.2020

On June 1, on our Instagram account @youthrussia we hosted a live stream with Javier Hurtado Mira, Chairperson of DEMYC – Democrat Youth Community of Europe , which is an international umbrella organization comprising youth wings of Christian Democratic, Conservative and like-minded parties in Europe bringing together 45 national representations from 33 European countries. Javier shared some insights about Russia – EU youth dialogue amid current political context.

Javier told the views about DEMYC’s work in strengthening cooperation between Russian and European youth, about his experience of participating in various Russian youth forums and his cooperation with the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs within the preparations for the 19th World Festival of Youth and Students. He also shared his impressions of the most fascinating youth events he had visited in Russia. He described his trip to Iturup Youth Forum in the Kuril Islands as more than an ordinary event, rather an adventure. «To fly direct flight 9 hours from Moscow to the Sakhalin Island and to see the Russian-Japanese culture mix was incredible. However, there are more bears than human beings and you have to bring a gun when you walk around in the forest. All of this is for sure an unusual experience for people from Western Europe who are used to a different level of comfort. But it was amazing to reconnect with the nature,” he recalled.

Speaking about the attitude of the EU towards international youth forums held in Russia, Javier mentioned that some governments still saw this kind of youth activities in Russia as a propaganda tool. However, he highlighted that modern youth had sufficient level of critical thinking regarding politics, therefore they are able to easily detect propaganda. «I don’t think it is not only Russia that uses propaganda, because propaganda itself is not bad or good. It exists in any country that is trying to defend its interests in the international arena,” he stressed.

Answering the question regarding the status of Crimea, Javier underlined that when personal priorities and political views are based on values and principles, the territorial issues become secondary. In general, he urged everyone to defy stereotypes and to acquire their own experience and knowledge about the situation. «I didn’t have the same idea of Russia the first time I visited it and now. I think that’s personal and intellectual growth, an evolution of things. It’s very important not to be stuck in the past, because young people are more upgraded  and more open-minded than their parents,” he said.

Javier also shared his thoughts about the role of Russian and European youth in improving the relations between Russia and the EU. He believes that the work of youth NGOs is «to put little seeds in the ground that would flourish one day». It means that the leaders of tomorrow wouldn’t communicate just for the show, but in order to cope with crucial problems and challenges due to their experience of engaging in youth activities.

This is only a small part of the fascinating interview with Javier Hurtado Mira. We strongly recommend you to watch the full interview to learn more about Javier’s adventures in Russia, his political ideas, his experience of working at MGIMO and visiting Pyongyang.

Full interview is available here: https://youtu.be/3EI5pXG0OJ8