I.Metshin: “I am proud that Kazan was awarded with the status of the Youth Capital of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation”

The closing ceremony of the international program of the Year “Kazan- OIC 2022 Youth Capital” was held at the B.Rameyev IT Park. The ceremony was attended by the Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin.

The festive event started with a round table that brought together representatives of more than 30 countries. At the meeting, the participants summed up the results of the most important events held in Kazan.

The Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin addressed a welcoming speech. The head of the capital of the republic of Tatarstan noted that the city was awarded the status of the OIC 2022 Youth Capital for the first time among the observer countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. “Kazan is called the northern capital of Islam not by chance – it is an important part of the DNA of the city, history and culture. The status of the youth capital of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has obtained special significance in connection with the celebration of the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by Volga Bulgaria and the 500th anniversary of the publication in Kazan of the world's first printed Koran, issued according to historical traditions,”- he stressed.

Leyla Fazleyeva, Tatarstan Deputy Prime Minister, also addressed the participants of the round table. “Today we are summing up the results, but at the same time, we are confident that we will continue working in this direction next year. Kazan will always be the youth capital,”- she said.

President of the Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum Taha Ayhan noted that the experience of Kazan will serve as an example for the next youth capitals. “Now the African continent is taking the baton. Residents will decide where exactly the OIC Youth Capital will be next year. I am sure that the projects that we have launched in Tatarstan will be of great importance for the development of society and will be replicated in other countries,”- he said.

After the round table, the OIC Youth Leaders awarding ceremony took place in the conference hall of the IT Park. The young researchers of the year were Muntari Sulley Kallo from Niger and Erkoch Baydar Tuba from Turkey. Md Nazmul Hassan Khan from Bangladesh won in the nomination “Photo of the Year”, and Hubaib Kouas from Algeria won in the nomination “Young Media Influencer of the Year”. The award in the nomination “Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year” was received by Sara Rajabli from Azerbaijan and Global Youth Ambassador Abdul-Fatau Maiga from Burkina Faso. The organizers also chose the best author of the public diplomacy project, Rama Assaf from Jordan. In the nomination “Young Ethnosportsman of the Year”, the representative of Tatarstan, two-time world champion in belt wrestling Azat Nurmukhametov won. The best young ambassador of Islamic culture and art of the year was the singer from Indonesia Ihtiyar Rin Rin Therapy.

“I am proud that Kazan was awarded the status of the Youth Capital of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The year was very eventful. The events brought together representatives of 70 countries, they came to Kazan to exchange best practices, - Ilsur Metshin said. - We are making new friends after all events. It's great that in such a difficult time we have a relationship that will change our lives for the better. The status of the Youth Capital will remain with us forever. We will do everything so that young people have the opportunity to change their lives for the better.”