Moscow, Russia - At the Moscow Academy of Economics and Law, UPF organized a round-table discussion on the “Causes and Ways of Solving International Conflicts in the Youth Milieu” on March 11. The event was attended by students, UPF representatives, and experts in international relations. The Secretary General of the Model UN at the Humanities State Institute of Russia, Elena Kolesnichenko, was the MC.
It was not by chance that the Moscow Academy of Economics and Law was chosen as the venue for this discussion of such an urgent theme. Within the walls of the Academy, students of different national, religious, and cultural backgrounds are united not only by their professional training course but also as members of one International Club.
The event was opened by a student of the Academy who participated in the Mister and Miss University Pageant-2010, Nargiz Ismailova. She enumerated causes of conflicts, evaluated them from a historical point of view, and cited possible ways of solving them in modern Russia, supporting her statements with theoretical arguments.
Afterwards, Khalidov Dengu Shakhrutdinovich took the floor. Among other causes of international conflicts, he emphasized ignorance, incompetence, a low level of culture, and anomalous social behavior. Khalidov drew positive examples from the social equality that existed during the Soviet era, when the idea of internationalism was promoted far and wide on the state level, and as a consequence there were no causes for such conflicts.
The leader of the Academy's patriotic club “Motherland” offered the following questions for discussion: “What is the meaning of religion? What is the meaning of faith? What is the role of religion in international conflicts?” He pointed out the importance of patriotic education as the integrating factor in the struggle against the primal causes of international conflicts, because in the Russian Federation patriots of any nationality and any religious background always remain patriots of their nation.
In the course of the discussion, the deputy director for education at the Law Institute of the Academy, S.N. Ravenskaya, stressed the need to define the political goals of that state as an institution that should unite society without creating disagreements among the peoples.
The participants in the round-table discussion came to the conclusion that it’s the young generation who play the crucial role in improving international relations. Youth is the leverage for two kinds of influences the global community, by either arousing aggression or becoming positive catalysts of international dialogue. It will depend on how they are educated.
Thus, as the result of the round table discussion, the participants unanimously decided to embark on a long-term cooperation among the Academy staff and students, the Universal Peace Federation, and the Model UN at the Humanities State Institute of Russia. The Academy is planning to hold more events of this kind.