On May 13, HSE University in Moscow hosted a coordinating meeting of the co-chairs of working groups under the BRICS Civil Forum.

During the meeting, the participants discussed issues concerning preparations for the BRICS Civil Forum, which is scheduled to take place in Moscow on July 3–4. The event was moderated by HSE University Vice Rector Victoria Panova, who also serves as the Head of the BRICS Expert Council–Russia and Co-Chair of the BRICS Civil Forum. She emphasized in her opening remarks how crucial it is to gradually incorporate the new BRICS members into the group's working agenda.

Working group representatives presented the preliminary findings of their ongoing work on stance papers concerning key areas of international cooperation within the BRICS framework. These position papers will underpin the recommendations developed for the BRICS leaders.

Sergey Rybakov, Co-Chair of the Working group "Equitable Development Goals" under the BRICS Civil Forum and General Director of Russian Nature Conservation Foundation "Nature and People", noted that intense, in-depth work is continuing in conjunction with colleagues from China, India, and Ethiopia toward drafting the group's joint provisions. He also underscored that South Africa, in particular, has a strong interest and commitment to this topic.

Evgeny Terentev, Director of HSE University’s Institute of Education and Co-Chair of the Education and Human Development Working group, shared some key aspects of the ongoing work for drafting the group's stance paper.

He said that a thorough discussion of the pertinent issues is still being actively pursued by the Russian delegates and their foreign counterparts. Furthermore, useful input has been provided by colleagues in South Africa, Brazil, and India.

Preparations for the BRICS Civil Forum, including discussions of the programme, are now ongoing at the national level in both face-to-face and online formats for subsequent discussion with representatives of the individual BRICS nations.