Elizaveta Fadeeva took part in the IV Russian-Egyptian Forum
Elizaveta Fadeeva, a 3rd year student of International Relations programme, took part in the IV Russian-Egyptian Forum, which was held in Cairo from November 16 to 23, 2023. Elizaveta shared her impressions of the event, reports from speakers from different countries and even a bachelorette party with Egyptian women. The trip completely changed the student's idea of Egypt and all its diversity allowed her to fully experience the country.
What is the essence of the forum?
The fourth Russian-Egyptian Youth Forum is held annually alternately in Russia and Egypt. For example, Dagestan became the venue in 2022. The agenda is determined by the receiving party. This time the theme of the event was “blue economy”. I found out what it was when I first read the description. In fact, everything is simple – it is the sustainable development of water resources: seas, oceans, rivers, etc.
What was the forum format?
The format was an exchange of experience between delegates from Russia and Egypt. Speakers from each side presented reports on topics related to the “blue economy”. The sample was wide: from oceanology and fisheries to artificial intelligence and trade. I did a report on aquatic ecotourism in Russia. By the way, only 2% of the entire tourism industry falls under the concept of “ecotourism” in our country. After the speeches, the participants were asked questions and there was an improvised discussion.
What else was included in the program?
In addition to the reports, we had a very rich program: an excursion to the pyramids, a trip to Alexandria to the Institute of Oceanology, a walk through the Oriental bazaar in Cairo, a visit to the Alexandria Library (the ancient one has not survived to this day, so a modern one was built in its place, somewhat resembling the HSE building on 11 Pokrovsky Boulevard).
I memorize most of all the reception at one of the Egyptian officials, who spoke about the project of the new administrative capital of Egypt near Cairo. By the way, the construction is almost finished and looks fantastic. Why did it take to build a new capital? – Cairo is extremely overpopulated and needs to be “unloaded”. So, all the ministries of Egypt have been moved to a new location and concentrated in one block – an impressive sight.
Where were the participants from?
20 people from Russia and about 15 from Egypt took part in the forum. The Russian delegation was represented by people of different ages (18-35 years old) and professions. They were mostly students of Moscow universities studying international relations (the majority), Oriental studies, law, linguistics, chemistry, and IT. Three participants from Makhachkala, the organizers of last year's forum, also arrived in Egypt. And finally, the most productive part of our delegation is oceanologists – already established scientists. They prepared amazing reports on Arctic marine research and actively engaged in a dialogue on cooperation with Egyptian oceanologists.
What motivated you to participate in the forum?
In general, I love such events and I am constantly looking for opportunities for education/self-development, especially if they are related to international relations.
I found out about the forum completely by accident. I thoughtlessly scrolled through the Rosmolodezh website (interesting projects sometimes appear there) and saw an announcement about recruitment to the Egyptian forum.
To apply, you had to write an essay about the prospects of cooperation between Russia and Egypt in the “blue economy” and attach your resume. I can give you one piece of advice regarding applications, where you need to offer something - write as specifically as possible. For example, I wrote about the limited trade between Russia and Egypt in the field of seafood – I also inserted supporting statistics from the Trade Map. Or about the possibilities of scientific cooperation – I found the names of real Russian and Egyptian institutes dealing with oceanology and included them in my essay. Ironically, we had an excursion to one of these institutes as part of the program.
Can you give some advice on how to apply for such events in order to accurately qualify?
I'll call this method “saving nerves on scale”.The point is as follows: you send a huge number of applications to all kinds of forums, volunteer events, educational programs, etc. After the 10th application, you stop remembering them and, accordingly, worry.
Over the summer, I sent 37(!) applications for everything that can and cannot be imagined: from studying nuclear disarmament in Japan to painting fences in Spain. How many programs have I been hired for? That's right, for one. It was a course on the Paris Agreement from Harvard, but as pathetic as it may sound, the course was online on the record, and there were several thousand participants, so I doubt there is a competition.
I applied to Egypt three weeks before the forum itself, and to be honest, I hardly believed that I would receive any response in such a short time. It turned out that the results of the selection were summed up a week before departure).
What advice should do you give to those who are afraid to participate in international forums?
Every time I feel something like fear or excitement, I remember the class of political and economic history… It seems to me that we have such a wealth of experience in terms of the ability to convey our thoughts under stress that any international forum will seem harmless.
What skills are needed to successfully participate in an international forum?
The obvious: good English.
Not so obvious: curiosity. Such events are usually very intense, and in order not to faint from the next message “we leave at 6 a.m.”, you need to have a very high motivation to learn something new. This quality helps to find contact with foreigners – I was incredibly interested in learning about Egypt's role in international relations from the Egyptians themselves, so we spent several hours on the bus discussing Egypt's positions in the Middle East. Curiosity helps out during meetings too: don't you understand anything about oceanology? It's time to discover this mysterious science and ask a question, even a trivial one).
