Kazan is the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan which is one of the most dynamically developing regions of Russia.

The history of Kazan began more than 1000 years ago, when fortress of great strength was built on a high hill near the Kazanka River. Today, this fortress - the Kremlin - is the main attraction of the city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Despite the thousand-year history, today Kazan is a modern metropolis, where every fourth inhabitant is young. Therefore, in addition to historical sights, there are many locations in Kazan that are attractive to young people - the “URAM” Extreme Park, the National Library of the Republic of Tatarstan, the “Shtab” Creative Industries Residence, the “Sozvezdie-Yoldyzlyk” Art Residence, the IT Park, the Contemporary Culture Center “Smena”, Art space “Werk” and others.

Kazan is one of the brightest examples of how representatives of 115 nationalities and different world religions live in one city in peace and harmony.

There are 136 religious sites in the city, including mosques, Orthodox churches, a Catholic church, a Lutheran church, a synagogue and others.

The Republic of Tatarstan is the most northern Islamic region in the world, being often referred to as the place where "Islam is in the snow." Assigning Kazan the status of the Youth Capital of the OIC quite symbolically coincided with the year of celebration of the 1100th anniversary of the adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgaria - a medieval state, being the predecessor of modern Tatarstan.

For many centuries, the image and spirit of the city have been shaped by the traditions of two cultures - Tatar and Russian. In Kazan, you can hear how the two official languages ​​of the Republic of Tatarstan sound - Tatar and Russian, taste the traditional cuisines of the two nations, dress up in national costumes and arrange a photo shoot or find yourself in the center of folk holidays, where local residents will be happy to teach you how to dance Russian round dances or dance tirelessly to the sound of Tatar harmonica.

There are 30 universities and institutes in Kazan where both local and international students study. Kazan Federal University founded in 1804 is one of the oldest universities in Russia.

Kazan is recognized as one of the best cities in Russia for young professionals, having all conditions for successful career and professional development.
Youth initiatives receive active support. The Ministry of Youth Affairs of the Republic of Tatarstan has been created.

Special attention is paid to multilateral youth cooperation with the Islamic world. Since 2007, there has been active cooperation between the OIC Youth Forum and the youth of Tatarstan represented by the Selet movement. In 2012, Selet became a member organization of the OIC Youth Forum. In 2018, Selet joined the board of the Eurasian Office of the OIC Youth Forum. In 2020, the Federal Project Office for International Youth Cooperation was opened in the Republic of Tatarstan in the direction "Russia - the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. The main purpose of the project is to support the systemic interaction of youth and youth organizations of the Russian Federation with youth and youth organizations of the OIC countries. The major projects executed to date include: the Forum of Young Diplomats of the OIC countries, the Forum of Young Entrepreneurs of the OIC countries, the International Youth Model of the OIC, the International Youth Camp "Russia-OIC", educational lectures and schools with the participation of young people from the regions of Russia and countries of near and far abroad. An active role in the implementation of events belongs to the Academy of Youth Diplomacy and the Selet movement.