International Forum of People's Diplomacy "Dialogue on the Volga: Peace and Mutual Understanding in the XXI Century"

Traditionally, on October 31, World Cities Day, Volgograd hosts the International Forum of People’s Diplomacy "Dialogue on the Volga: Peace and Mutual Understanding in the XXI Century". In 2020, this Forum has been held for the seventh time and dedicated to the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 and the 75th anniversary of the United Nations.

It is no accident that the hero city of Volgograd has been chosen as the host city: in 1944, Volgograd, along with British Coventry, became the founder of the international movement of twin cities.

The Forum is a platform for collaboration between representatives of the government, academia, business community and the public of the Russian Federation, its international partners for the purpose of strengthening cooperation, expanding international public relations and external openness in order to find the most effective solutions to contemporary global and regional issues, and ensure peaceful and safe development of peoples and states.

Due to the measures aimed at combating the spread of coronavirus infection, in 2020, the event has been organized virtually and taken place via online platforms.

The participants of the Forum events that represented 25 countries included staffers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and Rossotrudnichestvo, heads of Russian local governments and foreign states, heads of Russian and international organizations of municipal cooperation, representatives of leading research and analytical centers, institutions of higher educat and public organizations.

On October 31, an opening ceremony of the Forum took place. The head of Rossotrudnichestvo Evgeny Primakov, Governor of the Volgograd Region Andrey Bocharov and Mayor of Volgograd Vitaly Likhachev welcomed the participants.

Rasikh Sagitov, Secretary General of UCLG-Eurasia, attended the Forum and took the floor at the round table "City diplomacy for peace and sustainable development: modern trends in international cooperation", which was held on November 1, 2020, and brought together representatives of various international organizations and local governments of Russia, Turkey, China, USA, Belarus, and Great Britain. The participants discussed instances of successful practices of inter-municipal interaction between cities and organizations to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals for the period of 2015-2020. Rasikh Sagitov presented successful projects of UCLG and Eurasian cities in the implementation of the SDGs, and noted: “We are trying to convey that the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals is our daily life. Every day, local governments contribute to the SDGs. Road construction, provision of education for children and young people, assistance to the poor and much more - all this works to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.”

In the final resolution, the participants of the Forum called on international organizations, representatives of the government, expert community and other participants in public diplomacy to assist in the process of strengthening peace in international relations in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to intensify international cooperation and strengthen global partnerships in various fields to overcome modern challenges and problems, to preserve an objective historical memory of the Second World War and its legacy.

Source: www.welcomevolgogradcity.com

02.11.2020

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