Eurasian Peoples' Assembly entered a New Stage of Development
The General Eurasian Peoples' Assembly — a general meeting of all members of the International Union of Non-Governmental Organizations "Eurasian Peoples' Assembly" — was held in Moscow. The meeting was held mainly in an online format to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus infection. The live broadcast and a hybrid format of the meeting allowed members from 45 countries to participate in the event. The broadcast of the event was watched by more than 12,000 viewers on the sites of TASS, the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly and the TV Company "Mir".

The General Assembly received greetings from President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, Speaker of the Federation Council of the federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergei Lavrov, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, and other officials.

The General Assembly was attended by Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Konstantin Kosachev, Director of the UN Information Center in Moscow Vladimir Kuznetsov, Executive Secretary of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO Grigory Ordzhonikidze, Member of the Board — Minister for Integration and Macroeconomics of the EEC Sergey Glazyev, Director of the FAO Office for Liaison with the Russian Federation Oleg Kobyakov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the Russian Federation Professor Migahaland D. Lamawansa, Deputy Head of the diplomatic mission, Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the Russian Federation, Mr. Summar Javed.

The Assembly Secretary General Andrei Belyaninov summed up the four-year activity of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly. He noted the outstanding events: the megaproject "VICTORIOUS TOGETHER — for Peace and Creation", the International Public Forum "Preserving the memory of the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War", International perpetual Action "Garden of Peace", the establishment of the Department of Happiness, the implementation of the "EURASIA KIDS" project, the "Days of the Assembly" project held in different countries, the establishment of the International Committee "Greater Eurasia — Africa" and active work with partners from Africa, the Independent Dialogue "Different Routs — Similar Goals" in support of the 2021 Food Systems Summit, as well as international actions dedicated to the International Mother Language Day, International Day of Happiness, World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, International Day of Peace, etc.

The UN Information Center in Moscow and UNESCO supported a number of events organized by the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly. In March 2021, the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly was nominated for the Félix Houphouët-Boigny UNESCO Peace Prize that means that the Assembly meets all the criteria for such a high-level prize.

The following speakers addressed the General Assembly: Dalbir Singh, Co-Chair of the General Council of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, President of the Foundation for Politics and Governance (India), Bernard Loze, Co-Chair of the General Council of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, Vice-President of the Franco-Russian Dialogue Association (France), Alexandra Ochirova, Deputy Secretary General of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, Member of the State Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador (Russia), Olzhas Suleimenov, Co-Chair of the Council of Elders of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, Director of the International Center for the Rapprochement of Cultures under the auspices of UNESCO in Almaty, People's Writer of Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan), Igor Khalevinsky, Co-Chairman of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, Chairman of the Council of the Russian Diplomats' Association, Valery Ruzin, Deputy Secretary General of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, President of the Eurasian Academy of Television and Radio (Russia), Sergey Kandybovich, Chairman of the Federal National-Cultural Autonomy of Belarusians of Russia, Andres Santana Arribas, Director of the International University Center for East Europe and Central Asia and the Pushkin Institute at the University of Cadiz (Spain), Didier Chaudesaygues, President of the Russian-French Economic Chamber (France), Svetozar Darnev, Chairman of the Audit Commission.

The General Assembly approved a long-term activity plan and elected governing bodies for the next four years. Andrey Belyaninov was unanimously elected Secretary General of the Assembly for the next 4 years, Svetlana Smirnova as Head of the General Secretariat of the Assembly.

The meeting approved the Regulations on the new structures of the organization — the Supreme Advisory Council and the Media Council. They include reputable international public, political and state leaders, representatives of business, industrial and financial circles, and the media. The Media Council is chaired by Sergei Mikhailov, General Director of the Russian Information Agency TASS.

The Secretary-General of the Assembly Andrei Belyaninov gave the Eurasian Public Recognition Award "ENVOY OF AMITY" established for a significant contribution to strengthening friendship and peace between peoples to: Alexandra Ochirova, Deputy Secretary General of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador (Russia).

In 2021, the ENVOY OF AMITY award was also awarded to Anatoly Karpov, multiple World Chess Champion, President of the International Association of Peace Foundations (Russia); Olzhas Suleimenov, Co-Chairman of the Council of Elders of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, Director of the International Center for the Rapprochement of Cultures under the auspices of UNESCO in Almaty, People's Writer of Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan); Andres Santana Arribas, Head of the International University Center for East Europe and Central Asia and the Pushkin Institute at the University of Cadiz (Spain), Didier Chaudesaygues, President of the Russian-French Economic Chamber (France) and François Ndengwe, Deputy Secretary General of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly, Chairman of the African Advisory Board (AAB) (Cameroon).

The Medal of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly "For Commitment to Promoting Peace" was given to the three Co-Chairmen of the Assembly General Council: Chairman of the Council of the Russian Diplomats' Association Igor Khalevinsky (Russia), Vice-President of the Franco-Russian Dialogue Association Bernard Loze (France) and President of the Foundation for Policy and Governance Dalbir Singh (India).

"When we say that we have a Department of Happiness, everyone smiles. The employees of the department smile the most. When you think well of people and wish them happiness, you become happier and kinder," — Andrei Belyaninov noted at the end of the event. — The Assembly faces an important task of further developing the organization itself, expanding and strengthening multilateral international cooperation, and imparting a systemic character to this work. We are all ready for this interesting job."

In 2021, the General Eurasian Peoples' Assembly was supported by the UN Information Center.