On March 28, 2024, the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly co-organized the International Scientific and Practical Conference “Value Foundations of Integration Processes in Eurasia.” The headquarters of the Assembly in Moscow hosted a round table on the topic “Family values as the basis for the socio-cultural integration of the peoples of Eurasia”. The event was held in offline and online format.
The Institute for Demographic Research of the Federal Research Sociological Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences was also a co-organizer. The event was supported by the Scientific Council “Socio-political and demographic problems of the formation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)” at the Department of Social Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The moderators of the round table were: Head of the Department of Happiness of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly, Director of the ANO “Eurasian Center for Family Values” Marina Volkova and Chief Researcher of the Institute of Demographic Research of the Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Sociological Sciences, Professor Victoria Ledeneva.
The meeting brought together the efforts of researchers, analysts and practitioners whose activities are related to the topic of values as the basis for the socio-cultural integration of the peoples of Eurasia.
The issues that the experts discussed were very diverse and relevant: from the influence of the host country on the values of migrants from Eurasia Minor to the value foundations and potential of public organizations to solve demographic and migration problems in Eurasian countries. It was also about values as a resource for the socio-cultural integration of the peoples of Eurasia; families, children and elderly people in the changing value system of modern Eurasian youth; about promising trajectories of cross-border and interregional interaction based on Eurasian and national values.
Speakers from India, Kazakhstan, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, and constituent entities of the Russian Federation shared their experience in preserving, maintaining and developing values, their formation in the countries of Eurasia, including indigenous populations and migrants. Each speaker represented his own area of development - management, sociology, psychology, jurisprudence, genus, international relations. Participants shared research on factors influencing migration processes.
The round table conversation turned out to be difficult, some questions caused controversy, but, as the moderator, head of the Department of Happiness of the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly Marina Volkova, noted, “it is important that we all speak the same language.” Both figuratively and literally – the speakers representing different countries spoke Russian.
One of the key themes that the International Union of Non-Governmental Organizations “Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly” broadcasts in its activities was voiced by speaker from India Muhammad Ali, an employee of the Interreligious Community “Gobind Sadan” (New Delhi, India): “If you want to love your nearest and dearest, change yourself, and then others will love you. If you want to love others, you will have to change yourself. If you change, there will be people with you who will love you. Just like in our family. We all live together because we treat each other well, with love. We ourselves show love, and then they love us. We live ourselves and wish everyone to live as one family.”