To date, more than 500 participants from 44 countries have already registered. Photo: Vladimir Neskoromny / Press-service of the RGS
The first BRICS+ Youth Geographical Forum will be held in Ulyanovsk. It’s a large-scale international event timed to the 20th anniversary of the association and to BRICS Geographer’s Day, established by Russian president Vladimir Putin. It will be held in two stages: an online conference is scheduled for August 18, and from September 21 to 26, there will be an in-person program in Ulyanovsk and Moscow. This was reported by the Ulyanovsk Regional Branch of the Russian Geographical Society (RGS).
The forum will lay the foundation for a permanent format of meetings between young geographers from the member countries and their partners.
The online conference on August 18 will serve as an open platform for discussions. To date, more than 500 participants from 44 countries have already registered, including all BRICS member states: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, as well as Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, the UAE, Indonesia, and other partner countries. Participants will meet key experts and discuss current challenges in the fields of geography, ecology, and climate change. Registration for the online conference is available via the link: https://clck.ru/3VAgzs
As the press-service of the regional branch of the RGS emphasized, the forum is one of the steps in developing the initiative to establish BRICS Geographer’s Day. The idea of a professional holiday was proposed by the Russian Geographical Society, supported by the president, and approved at the 16th BRICS summit in Kazan in October 2024.
«The Russian Geographical Society is carrying out systematic work to develop international cooperation within the framework of BRICS. Over the past two years, we have launched a number of significant initiatives: for the first time, we held BRICS Geographer’s Day, announced an international geography olympiad for schoolchildren from the group’s countries, and opened several foreign centers of the RGS. The Youth Geographical Forum in Ulyanovsk is part of this work. It gives young scientists from several dozen countries a unique opportunity — not just to exchange experience, but also to build long-term professional connections for many years to come. I am convinced that this forum will become a solid foundation for the implementation of future joint projects, » said Sergei Korlykhanov, First Deputy Executive Director of the Russian Geographical Society.
The in-person part, from September 21 to 26, will include plenary sessions and discussion platforms in Ulyanovsk, a scientific and educational expedition to the geopark «Undoria» (a unique natural site with paleontological finds of global significance), the recording of educational lectures, visits to specialized museums in Moscow, and a roundtable at the RGS Headquarters. The forum will culminate in the development of a roadmap for creating the BRICS+ Youth Geographical Association.
More than 20 leading scientists from BRICS+ countries will take part in the events: experts in the fields of climatology, hydrology, ecology, cartography, GIS, and heritage conservation. Among them are distinguished professor from the University of South Africa Kaitano Dube (South Africa), Dr. Nilanjan Bal (India), Professor Kareem Tonbol (Egypt), Dr. Tatenda Dalu (South Africa), speleologist and geoconservator Daniel Menin (Brazil), and others.
«The Ulyanovsk Region is consistently working to develop cooperation with the youth of the BRICS countries. The 'BRICS Melody’ project has been implemented, bringing together more than 50 musicians from nine countries to record the first international album. The region has repeatedly served as a venue for the BRICS Youth Summit and the BRICS Youth Camp. For example, as part of the Youth Summit, an international photo exhibition titled 'The BRICS Universe’ was held in Ulyanovsk. It brought together images of UNESCO creative cities taken from space by photographers from the BRICS countries. This year, we were the first to respond to the initiative of the president of our country and are holding the BRICS+ Youth Geographical Forum in Ulyanovsk. Young people from different countries will visit us, » said Aleksey Russkikh, Governor of the Ulyanovsk Region.
The Ulyanovsk Region has already established itself as a center for international youth cooperation: since 2020, the Project Office for International Youth Cooperation «Russia — BRICS» has been operating here. It has implemented more than 45 international projects, including the BRICS Youth Summit. Furthermore, the Ulyanovsk Regional Branch of the RGS is one of the most active in the country; young geographers work in the region, and local scientific facilities — the geopark «Undoria» and the Undory Paleontological Museum — are points of attraction for researchers from all over the world.
The forum is organized by the Ulyanovsk Regional Branch of the RGS and the Project Office for International Youth Cooperation «Russia — BRICS». The grant project is implemented with the financial support of the Russian Geographical Society.