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Togliatti and Wolfsburg were represented at the Young Urban Diplomacy Forum

10 November 2020

On November 5, the online Forum of young representatives of local governments of partner cities of Russia and Germany was finished. Young managers and social activists have developed new concepts for solving the problems of the urban environment and implemented them in the project of the city of the future.

The forum was attended by representatives of city administrations and public organizations of Belgorod, Arkhangelsk, Krasnodar, Moscow, Tver, Togliaatti, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Mytishchi, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, St. Petersburg, Krasnogorsk, Ufa, Ryazan, Stuttgart, Kil , Karlsruhe, Wolfsburg, Duisburg, Dresden, Essen, Erlangen, Hamburg and Osnabrck.

As the main problems of modern cities, the Forum participants highlighted insufficient care for the environment, traffic congestion, an uncomfortable environment for pedestrians and cyclists, the presence of abandoned factory and industrial zones, the lack of a developed system of recycling and separate collection of waste. Among the main trends are the strengthening of twinning relations between the cities of Russia and Germany in order to carry out joint projects, the digitalization of urban spaces, an increase in environmental culture, the creation and development of public spaces in cities, an increase in the availability of services for residents of all ages, and ensuring their dialogue with city authorities. In addition, the need to create favorable conditions for youth, incl. creation and development of youth centers.

At the end of the foresight session, participants from Russia and Germany created an image of the city of the future. Young managers and social activists see it as environmentally friendly, using a smart energy distribution and waste sorting system, free of gasoline and gas vehicles, harmoniously combining social development and green spaces.

The Forum of Young Representatives of the Partner Cities of Russia and Germany started on November 3. The opening ceremony was attended by Elena Druzhinina, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, and Wilfried Bergmann, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the German-Russian Forum .

The event was organized by MIREA - the Russian Technological University, which acts as the Russian coordination bureau in the field of youth cooperation with Germany, with the support of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science from the Russian side and the German-Russian Forum with the support of the German-Russian Youth Exchange Foundation from the German side.