Meeting
Public Diplomacy Program for Young Leaders
Russia
About
Meeting Russia is the premier public diplomacy project for the Russian NGO, Creative Diplomacy. It is a unique public diplomacy program for aspiring leaders. It brings together bright individuals of diverse backgrounds: some are coming from academia, analytical centers, media, and the private sector, whereas others represent governmental institutions of their respective countries. Meeting Russia seeks to facilitate productive dialogue among the new generation of leaders and draw attention to the critical points in Russia's relations with the United States and the European Union. The program was launched five years ago in 2017 with 19 young leaders from 8 countries, and since then, over 80 experts are now members of the Meeting Russia Alumni Family. Traditionally our participants visit a number of government agencies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government of Moscow, the State Duma, the Eurasian Economic Commission, and some research organizations, such as the Valdai Club and the Russian International Affairs Council. In December 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Meeting Russia was held online for the first time. In May 2022, BRICS countries became a focus of the Meeting Russia program.
Reunion 2021
In 2021, the city of Ulyanovsk hosted the first Meeting Russia Reunion. Ulyanovsk is one of the largest and most picturesque towns on the Volga River, and the birthplace of Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin) now carrying his name. Why Ulyanovsk? We wanted to provide our guests with a provincial experience in contrast to previous programs in Moscow. We also show that even in the provinces, much takes place, from arts and culture to foreign direct investment into the Russian economy. Our guests met local leaders in the government and private sector, visited a regional tech hub, Ulnanotech, a nanotech startup lab, and acquainted themselves with the region's rich history and culture.
Voices of Meeting Russia
Voices of Meeting Russia - Reid Standish (USA)
Voices of Meeting Russia - Miriam Hinthorn (USA)
Voices of Meeting Russia - Lisa Gurth (Germany)
Voice of Meeting Russia - Lauren Rogers (USA)
History
Meeting Russia was first held in February 2017 with 19 participants from eight countries (Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Serbia, Spain, United States). In fall 2017, Creative Diplomacy promoted the program in New York, Washington, D.C., Brussels and Berlin.
In March 2018 the program was held for the second time and brought together 24 participants from 10 countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States).
In March 2019 Meeting Russia was held in Moscow for the third time. Twenty one participants from the United States, European countries, Canada and China visited Moscow to learn about the Russian perspective on international affairs.

The participants of the program visited a number of government agencies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government of Moscow, the State Duma, the Eurasian Economic Commission and some research organizations, such as the Valdai Club and the Russian International Affairs Council. Meeting Russia also arranged museum tours to the Jewish Museum, the Tolerance Center and the Tretyakov Gallery, allowing the participants to better familiarize themselves with the Russian culture.

On the last day of the program, the international participants were joined by their Russian peers for a heated debate over the Russia–U.S. relations, touching upon the crisis of political leadership, new generation of leaders and prospects for public diplomacy.
In December 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Meeting Russia was held online for the first time. A group of young foreign experts from the U.S., Germany, Canada, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Greece, and Spain were eager to learn more about Russia. The program participants met with prominent specialists in various fields: the Russian foreign policy orientation, international security, national economy, and challenges in cyberspace. The special invited speaker was Maria Zakharova, Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. The top official addressed the participants with some key current issues.
In 2021, the city of Ulyanovsk hosted the 1st Meeting Russia Reunion. It was attended by more than 40 young leaders: international experts from Europe, the USA and Canada. Young experts from India, China and South Africa also joined the program. Our alumni met local leaders in the government and private sector, visited a regional tech hub, Ulnanotech, a nanotech startup lab, and acquainted themselves with the region's rich history and culture. Among the Russian guests and speakers of the event were Konstantin Kosachev, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council, Andrey Kortunov, Director General of the Russian Council for International Affairs, and Ivan Timofeev, Program Director of the RIAC.
In May 2022, Meeting Russia, the Russian Public Diplomacy program for young leaders, started for the fifth time. This time diplomats, analysts, journalists, and social activists from the BRICS countries, the CIS member states, the EU, Latin America, and South-East Asia gathered online. The special invited speaker was Dmitry Polyansky, deputy head of Russia's mission to the UN.
In March 2023, Meeting Russia was held for the first time in Spanish ("Hablemos con Rusia"), for the third time in online format and for the sixth time in total. It united 27 participants from 9 Latin American states (Argentina, Peru, Chile, Brazil, Nicaragua, Mexico, Uruguay, Venezuela and Colombia). Among them were journalists, members of Chamber of Deputies and of Senators, geopolitical analysts, business representatives etc. Moreover, 8 young International Relations specialists represented the Russian Federation during the Meeting.

Leading experts in the field of international relations, economics, journalism, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation were invited as the speakers of the programme. During the Meeting were discussed topics concerning Russian foreign policy towards Latin America, cooperation between Russia and the region in different areas, the role of think tanks in their interaction etc.
Alumni
Participants' feedback
Gallery