Ekaterina Kozlova became a participant of the International Youth Forum “Eurasia Global”

Ekaterina Kozlova, a 4th year student of the program “Asian Studies”, presented her project “Dialogues about the East”  at the Eurasia Global Forum, which took place from June 8 to 14 in Orenburg

Eurasia Global International Youth Forum traditionally takes place in Orenburg, the city that symbolizes the border between Europe and Asia. For this time, delegations of more than 60 states arrived at Orenburg: not only residents of the Eurasian continent, but also others, in particular, Africa and South America. The main theme of the Forum was building sustainable interethnic relations and developing intercultural communication between Russia and other countries among young people. The speakers of the Forum were representatives of Russian and international media, NGOs, research institutions and government agencies.

During the Forum, Ekaterina presented her own project “Dialogues about the East”, which she created two years ago. The concept of the project matched perfectly with the atmosphere of the Forum - it is an open interethnic community capable of destroying the barriers of myths and stereotypes between states. Participants of the “Dialogues about the East” study the East, communicate with famous orientalists, create media materials and take interviews, contributing to the “approach” of Asia to the people of Russia. “Thanks to the Forum, I got some useful contacts, received feedback on the project, and I now think about bringing new ideas to life,” said Ekaterina of her experience of interacting with Forum participants at the Eurasia site.

“I was glad to see that the most talented representatives of other countries were there in Orenburg: famous personalities, athletes, artists, leaders of youth associations, young civil servants and employees of NGOs. Thanks to such a constellation of talents, the level of the Forum was very high, and the discussions within the framework of the program were extremely interesting,” noted Ekaterina.

For Ekaterina, the Forum became a great opportunity for language practice: not only English as the lingua franca of the modern world, but also the Chinese language which she has been studying at the “Asian Studies” program.

The Forum organizers provided not only a rich educational program, which included teamwork in English and many lectures from well-known speakers, but also an exciting cultural program. Every participant had the opportunity to walk around the center of Orenburg and visit the famous bridge “Europe-Asia”.

Ekaterina already has experience of participating in such prestigious events: for instance, she was a participant of the All-Russian Student Forum in Kazan and the Congress of Young Scientists in Sochi. However, participating in Eurasia Global became for her a “challenge and exit from the comfort zone” due to its intercultural environment and high international status.