Youth Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member Nations

In this article we would like to share the history of the Youth Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (YIPA CIS).

Involvement of young parliamentarians in the development of cooperation among the CIS countries, promotion of dialogue and exchange of experience between young parliamentarians and representatives of youth organizations, inclusion of young people in parliamentary diplomacy, promoting legal culture, social and civic engagement of the CIS youth is the main goal of YIPA.

YIPA CIS held its first meeting on 29 March 2013 in the Tavricheskiy Palace (St. Petersburg).

The Statute of the YIPA CIS is the primary instrument, which enshrined the principle of its composition.

The total number of members of the IPA CIS youth parliamentary delegation does not exceed six people, with at least one MP. Bicameral parliaments of the member states of the IPA CIS formed a single youth parliamentary delegation.

YIPA CIS has its own symbol adopted following the results of an open international youth contest organized by the IPA CIS in 2014.

The activity of the Youth Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member Nations includes YIPA CIS Plenary Sessions, involvement of its representatives in the work of IPA CIS PCs and participation in IPA CIS Plenary Sessions, as well as the hosting of the CIS Youth Parliamentary Forum and other relevant events on international youth cooperation.

The priority the YIPA CIS is the facilitation of law-making efforts of the IPA CIS. The YIPA CIS contributes in the implementation of the 2020 CIS Strategy for International Youth Cooperation. The YIPA CIS promotes the development of integration processes and intercultural dialogue in the Commonwealth, strengthening of friendship, mutual understanding and cooperation of the CIS youth.

One of the most significant achievements of YIPA CIS was the CIS Youth Parliamentary Forum, organized on the YIPA CIS initiative and supported by the IPA CIS Council. The Forum is a unique platform of the Commonwealth that builds favorable conditions for a dialogue of young parliamentarians, representatives of executive authorities and youth movements in order to determine key directions of parliamentary activity in the field of youth policy and developing proposals and recommendations for addressing the problems of youth.