Experts and Participants Discuss the Future of the Multipolar world at the World Youth Festival

The workshop "The Future of the Multipolar World: What Will the World Look Like in 2040?" was held on March 3 as part of the WYF. According to one of the participants of the meeting, Program Director of the Valdai International Discussion Club, Dean of the Faculty of International Relations at MGIMO of the Russian Foreign Ministry Andrey Sushentsov, the intention of this format is to establish communication between experts of the older generation and young people, to "synchronize perceptions."

"One of the unexpected conclusions of this discussion was that, in general, these assessments are not very different, even without any additional work. We had the opportunity to hear them in the mode of discussion, commentary from the field, and in the mode of collective questioning about the main challenges to the international order to 2040. And that is encouraging. There is continuity in understanding, consensus on the key subjects", - noted Andrey Sushentsov.

The meeting took place on the day of "Multinational Unity". Program Director of the Valdai International Discussion Club and Scientific Director of the Central Committee of the National Research University Higher School of Economics Timofei Bordachev believes that it is diversity that will be the basis of stability in the near future. 

"Diversity, mutual recognition of cultures, interests, values - in principle the most important thing that can be the basis of some kind of stability. The world is changing, those who want to keep power in their hands, they are objectively becoming weaker. They resist, but they become weaker. And everyone else becomes free, more independent. Sometimes this does not please America, even Russia, but on the whole it is a positive process", said Timofei Bordachev.

The year 2040 did not appear in the theme of the meeting by chance. According to Andrey Sushentsov this is the point at which young experts will enter their adulthood and will be able to already take part in decision-making and become actors in political processes. 

"Everyone agrees that unipolarity is going away and a polycentric order is gradually being formed with reliance on different centers of power, on a diversified package of currencies, on a decentralized financial system, on several centers of economic gravity in different parts of the world, and on the fact that in the course of interaction between states, both cooperation and conflicts and contradictions are possible. And this is generally normal. But the fact that countries are no longer delegating the formulation of their interests to someone else, to the West or Russia or anyone else, but are proceeding from their own interests, their own understanding of their needs and tasks, is a very useful thing. It allows you to check the correctness of your assessments and strategic course, and finally make informed decisions", - said Andrey Sushentsov.

For example, Egypt, which joined BRICS in 2023, is optimistic about the country's participation in the association, as one of the meeting participants, Professor of Political Science at Cairo University Nourhan El-Sheikh, said. 

"It will allow the development of many sectors of the country's economy, such as investment, trade or tourism. But we, on our part, can also contribute a lot to BRICS. And together we can move towards a new world order that is fair and just," emphasized Nourhan El-Sheikh.

The World Youth Festival is taking place at the Sirius Federal Territory from March 1 to 7, 2024, as per the decree issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed at fostering international youth cooperation.

The Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh) is the organizer of the World Youth Festival, with the Directorate of the World Youth Festival serving as the operator for WYF-2024.