Tatarstan’s Kazan in Russia, which will end its tenure as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Youth Capital this month, will see off the year with OIC Youth Leaders Awarding Ceremony. An awards ceremony will be held on Dec. 15.

Kazan hosted a string of events attended by thousands throughout the year as the Youth Capital, which brought together ministers, lawmakers, representatives of youth organizations, young entrepreneurs, opinion leaders and academics from more than 40 countries. The Islamic Cooperation Youth Forum (ICYF) tackled several topics, from equal opportunities for youth to intercultural dialogue and youth migration in the events.

ICYF, in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth Affairs of the Republic of Tatarstan (Russian Federation), will organize the closing ceremony and awards ceremony in cooperation with the Academy of Youth Diplomacy and Tatarstan Republican Youth Public Foundation SELET. The event will bring together ministers of youth and education from OIC member countries as well as representatives of international organizations and youth leaders for a roundtable meeting that will take stock of the year and plan the future of cooperation between the Russian Federation and OIC for international youth cooperation.

Organizers say the Youth Leaders awards aim at recognizing achievements of young people from OIC countries and Muslim minorities in seven nominations: Photography of the Year, Young Researcher of the Year, Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Young Media Influencer of the Year, Young Islamic Culture and Art Ambassador of the Year, Public Diplomacy related project, and Young Ethnosportsman/Woman of the Year. The awards are courtesy of the World Ethnosport Confederation (headed by Türkiye’s Bilal Erdoğan), Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation (COMSTECH) of the OIC.