The Russian-German youth parliament began its work in Germany. He has been held 12 times, and aims to promote the development of civil dialogue and the emergence of new projects and forms of cooperation between the youth of the two countries. The main theme of the meeting in 2016: «Refugees and migrants — migration opportunities and challenges for the state and society». Young people from Russia and Germany at the age of 16 to 25 years engaged in public activities, the young parliamentarians and journalists were participants of the Parliament.
The opening ceremony was held at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany. Commissioner for Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany Andreas Peschke wished productive work for young parliamentarians.
«The future of our country depends on you! Whatever the differences there are between us, there is always an opportunity to find common ground. I am very glad that there are such grounds, which help strengthen the youth dialogue between young people in Russia and Germany «, — he stressed.
Specialist of International Programs of the International Youth Centre, Dmitry Aleshin, read a greeting of the Acting Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs — Alexey Palamarchuk to the participants:
«Dialogue and cooperation are the foundation of the harmonious development of relations between democratic countries in the world today. Cooperation for the benefit of our common future, the development of relations between the citizens of Russia and Germany, including youth that will be an important component of the entire system of bilateral relations. The site of the Russian-German Youth Parliament provides an excellent opportunity for young people from our countries to get acquainted with the political culture of each other and creates the conditions for the establishment of joint projects in the humanitarian sphere», — is noted in the letter.
The Deputy Chairperson of the Association of NGOs «The National Youth Council of Russia» — Lukyana Suvorova told the audience about the history of the Parliament. According to her, the project every year becomes more and more interesting and popular. This year, the competition for participation was about 10 people for place. In addition, she mentioned about the main youth event, which will be held in Sochi in 2017 — World Festival of Youth and Students:
«We know that Berlin also held this wonderful holiday in 1973. We want to invite the youth of Germany to share its experience in the field of youth policy, to organize your site as part of the Festival, make suggestions to the program and, of course, to form a delegation to attend!», — said Suvorova Lukyana.
From the National Preparatory Committee of the Festival she gave a mosaic of WFYS symbol — multicolored daisy as a present to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany.
The Executive Director of the Fund «German-Russian Youth Exchange» Thomas Hoffmann greeted the young people of the two countries.
«This week you will be working on a unique site, which will give you the opportunity to get to know the culture and traditions of your countries! I wish you good luck and look forward to the final plenary session on Thursday,»— he said.
Parliament takes the form of a business game, due to which participants may be acquainted with the peculiarities of parliamentarianism in Germany from the inside, by the method of simulation. Youth Parliament reflects the legislative procedure in the Bundestag, and the next year the 13th Russian-German Youth Parliament will play the mechanism of passing laws in the State Duma of the Russian Federation.
Participants of the meeting expect rich educational and cultural programs. In particular, the first day of Parliament’s delegation visited the monument to the Soviet Liberator Soldier in Treptow Park.
The National Youth Council of Russia jointly with the «German-Russian youth exchange» Fund organizes the event. The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth of Germany, the Eastern Committee of German Economy and the Robert Bosch Fund support youth Parliament.
