Ilsur Metshin gives a lecture to MGIMO students

The Mayor of Kazan shared his experience of holding international events in the capital of Tatarstan and cooperation with cities around the world.

The Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin met with students of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. He shared the experience of the capital of Tatarstan in major international events, cooperation with cities around the world under different partnership and twinning agreements and invited to take an internship at the Kazan Mayor’s Office. The lecture was attended by more than 80 second-year students of state municipal administration program.

Opening the meeting, Ilsur Metshin noted that the capital of Tatarstan is called a city of students – there are 32 universities and 16 thousand students, while 44% of the city's residents are under 35 years old.

Over the past 10 years, many major international events were held in Kazan, which have become a real driver for the development of the city, I. Metshin noted. Summer Universiade 2013 kicked off the transformations. The Mayor of Kazan shared the experience of the capital of Tatarstan in bidding campaigns to the implementation of the project. The head of the capital of the republic of Tatarstan said that thanks to this event, the city infrastructure was developed, in particular, 64 sports venues were built and reconstructed. In addition, 62 km of new roads and 11 transport interchanges were built, as well as Ak Bars Arena stadium for 45,000 spectators.

On the morrow of the Universiade, the capital of Tatarstan hosted 2015 FINA World Championships, 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup matches and 2018 FIFA World Cup. In 2019, Kazan hosted the 45th WorldSkills Championships.

Rodion Maksimovich, a student, interested about use of venues built for these events. Ilsur Metshin stressed that the entire legacy of the Universiade and following events is actively used by citizens. Moreover, over the years, the number of residents of different ages engaged in sports has increased – they have become more than 50%.

Now the city is preparing to host Games of Future international tournament in 2024. Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Kaluga and the federal territory Sirius took part in bid campaign to host large-scale competitions in 16 disciplines. The prize fund will be 25 million dollars. It is expected that up to 150 million people worldwide watch the Games online. Before it, Phygital Games are held in esports disciplines at Kazan venues.

Ilsur Metshin paid special attention to the activities of the United Cities and Local Governments world organization, which includes more than 300 thousand municipalities, regions and cities from 140 UN countries. Since 2006, the Mayor of Kazan has headed the Eurasia section of the world organization, whose office is located in Kazan. In 2019, I. Metshin was elected President of the UN Advisory Committee of Local Authorities (UNACLA), in 2022 he was re-elected for a second term. The Mayor of the capital of Tatarstan spoke about the bid campaigns, the exchange of experience between the municipalities and major events of the UCLG.

One of the major annual events is the Kazan Digital Week Forum. Last year, it brought together more than 18 thousand people from 65 countries. The Kazan Summit International Economic Forum will take place in May with the participation of more than 6 thousand people from 64 countries.

Student Ivan Fesyuk asked the head of the city about forming a team on these projects. “During the events, an experience was formed that allowed to set new goals and reach new heights. And any failure or unsuccessful bid can also become an incentive for this,”- the Mayor of Kazan replied.

Photo report

Ilsur Metshin meets with MGIMO students