Kazan Universiade presented at Council of Europe Headquarters in Strasbourg

A presentation of the exhibition dedicated to the 27th World University Games was held on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the Days of Tatarstan at the Palace of Europe in Strasbourg on Tuesday, March 19.

The 24th plenary session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe is currently underway in Strasbourg, Tatarstan's State Council 's Public Relations and Media Department reports. The opening ceremony was attended by Farid Mukhametshin, Chairman of the Committee on current affairs of the Congress of local and regional authorities of the Council of Europe and Speaker of the Tatarstan Parliament.

The attention of member of national delegates was drawn from early on in the morning at the Palace of Europe by multimedia displays, colorful promotional videos and presentations of information. The Congress delegates admitted that they had never before seen such a vivid presentation in the Council of Europe headquarters.

“The Universiade is the second largest multi-sports event after the Olympics, reaffirming the major diplomatic role of sports and youth in promoting international humanitarian cooperation”, said the Chairman of the RT Parliament. He said that considerable contributions are being made to the games in the guise of volunteers. Farid Mukhametshin is convinced that the University games gives student volunteers, future experts of foreign relations, tourism and service, the opportunity to learn and that it creates a platform for self-fulfillment and making good solid career decisions. He added that the 20 000 volunteers that will be involved in the Games are representatives of 53 universities from 30 regions in Russia.  “It gives me great pleasure the see the presentation of the Universiade in the Palace of Europe. We have a unique opportunity to imagine what will happen in Kazan this summer, the host of the 2013 World University Summer Games”, said Herwig van Staa, the President of the Congress of local and regional authorities of the Council of Europe.

The head of the Russian delegation to the CLRACE, deputy speaker of the Federation Council, Svetlana Orlova said in her welcoming speech that Kazan is almost a 100 percent ready for the Universiade. She emphasized that Russian president Vladimir Putin visited the Tatarstan capital and he familiarized himself with the preparation of the World Student Games.  She thanked the leaders of the Congress for the opportunity to highlight the successes and achievements of the Russian Federation through the example of the Republic of Tatarstan.

Farid Mukhametshin, Speaker of the Tatarstan Parliament, was honoured to present the Universiade on the Council of Europe platform.  “The last time the World Student Games were hosted in Russia was 40 years ago in Moscow. Today, we are ready to host the Universiade again. Kazan awaits you for two weeks this summer!”, said Farid Mukhametshin.  He expressed his deep gratitude to the Congress and to the Council of Europe as a whole for supporting the initiatives of the Russian delegation to develop inter-regional cooperation with European partners.  To the applause of colleagues, Farid Mukhametshin invited everyone to take a look around at the exhibition.

The musical programme of the evening was highlighted by special appearances of performers from Kazan, People’s Artist of the RT, Reseda Galimov, Honored Artist of the RT, Vladimir Vasilliev, and laureate of international competitions, the pianist Leah Nigmati. Guests were delighted by the skills of these artists and their repertoires.  Inside the Palace of Europe one could hear classical work but also Russian and Tatar folk songs.

Representatives of 47 European countries could experience Kazan hospitality not only by watching the presentation displays but also by enjoying traditional Tatar dishes such as: chak-chak (sweets), ochpochmak (meat filled pastry) and talkysh kaleve (dessert made with honey).

The exhibition in Strasbourg provides an overview of the socio-economic status of Tatarstan, shows the innovative development of the region and its investment appeal. The purpose of the event is to showcase Kazan as the largest sporting capital of the Russian Federation and countries from the European community, one of the leading scientific and education centres with strong infrastructure potential.  The exhibition presents programs and projects for the development of popular sports and high achievement sports, and the creation of large sports clusters in the Volga region. The event was dedicated to the presentation of the World Summer Student Games in Kazan, organised under the auspice of the CLRACE project “Promoting active civic consciousness and participation of youth in political life at local and regional levels”.