The Youth Forum opening ceremony was held at Kuban State Technological University. Vice-Governor of Krasnodar Region Sergey Altukhov welcomed the forum participants.
"The Youth Forum which precedes the Conference of partner cities of Russia and Germany is a significant event for our region. I'm pleased to see the active youth that have come to develop youth cooperation. We hope that in the course of several days of the Forum, young people from Germany and Russia will gain valuable experience in various fields and spheres. It is symbolic that the Forum opens on the Day of Russian Youth," said Sergey Altukhov.
The Youth Forum opening ceremony was attended by the rector of Kuban State Technological University Tatiana Barkhatova, Vice-Mayor of Krasnodar Sergey Luzinov, Chief of Youth Department of Krasnodar administration Georgy Pronkin, Executive Director of the German-Russian Forum Thomas Hoffman, Head of the Russian National Coordinating Bureau for youth exchanges with Germany Dina Sokolova, representatives of the Department of investments and development of small and medium businesses of Krasnodar Region.
According to Tatiana Barkhatova, more than 15 000 young people are currently studying at the university. They mostly are active youth who participate in significant regional and urban projects, sporting events, environmental actions and creative competitions. She assured the Forum participants that during two days of work at the university, there would be a maximum number of opportunities and information for the young people of both countries to get maximum opportunity to implement mutual projects and ideas.
Deputy Executive Director of the German-Russian Forum Sebastian Nietzsche wished all the Youth Forum participants new impressions and congratulated on the Youth Day. He positioned the work of the Forum as a serious effort to unite the two countries and expand international contacts.
Participants of the Forum, about 120 people from Russia and Germany watched a documentary video piece on the history of youth exchanges between the two countries, which started in 2004 with the signing of the agreement between Germany and Russia on youth cooperation.
The Youth Forum program includes business meetings, section work, thematic round tables, quests, dancing flash mobs, sporting events and sightseeing of Krasnodar.
The Conference of partner cities of Russia and Germany is an event of international level aimed at strengthening of cooperation between the two countries. It is carried out once every two years. These conferences are participated by prominent Russian and German statesmen, politicians, representatives of the business community and nongovernmental organizations. The first conference of partner cities was held in 1987 in the city of Saarbrücken, the administrative center of Saarland.
The previous 13th Conference was held in the summer 2015 in Karlsruhe — a sister city of Krasnodar. The Conference was attended by some 400 people representing 30 German and 50 Russian cities, including Krasnodar. It was then officially announced that the capital of Kuban had been chosen to be the venue of the next conference.
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