The second Youth International Economic Forum (YIEF) was held On 21 May 2013, in Astana, within the framework of the 6th Astana Economic Forum at Eurasian National University named after L.N. Gumilyov.

The youth forum was organised by Astana EXPO-2017 NC JSC, the independent non-profit Yekaterinburg EXPO-2020 Application Committee, the Department for Youth Policy at Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Education, Eurasian National University named after L. N. Gumilyov, and Oral State Economic University.
The topic for this forum was ‘Global Generation: Youth Initiatives for Sustainable Economic Development.’

One the of the subtopics at ‘Astana EXPO-2017 - Yekaterinburg EXPO-2020’ session was dedicated to the value of hosting EXPO for Kazakhstan and Russia’s regional and national economies. Other areas covered included the practices followed in Astana’s successful bid campaign, the role of youth in preparations for and the conducting of exhibitions, as well as Yekaterinburg’s prospects as a candidate host city for EXPO 2020. The session ended with a lecture on history and culture titled “Eurasianity: The Relevance of Awareness to Effective Integration.”

Participants at the Youth Forum included Yerlan Sydykov, the Rector of ENU named after L. N. Gumilyov; Mikhail Fyodorov, Vice President of the EECSA, Rector of Oral State Economic University; Nurlan Uteshev, Chairman of the Committee for Youth Affairs at Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Education and Science; Asel Kozhakova, Director of the Communications and Marketing Department at Astana EXPO-2017 NC JSC; Ivan Ulanov, ambassador for Yekaterinburg’s EXPO-2020 bid.

In his speech, Yerlan Sydykov, Rector of ENU L. N. Gumilyov said, “This isn’t the first year the youth forum has been held under the umbrella of the aegis of the AEF in the halls of the Eurasian University. It’s gratifying that this year we are holding discussions on EXPO not as a candidate country but as the winning country. ENU students actively supported Astana during the bidding process with promotions, flash mobs, participation and contests and project presentations and debates. We are determined to continue to provide support during the preparation and realisation of this event, which is important not only for Kazakhstan but for the global community as a whole.”

The International Youth Movement “Youth International Economic Forum” is an initiative of intellectual youth from various countries that is Eurasian in spirit, but global in geography. It was created by a number of Russian and Kazakhstani University (OrSEU, MSUFA, PFUR, L. N. Gumilyov ENU, KazUEFIT and others).
In the words of OrSEU Rector Mikhail Fyodorov, the role of youth in the promotion of the bid for hosting EXPO-2020 in Yekaterinburg, Russia, was simply colossal and was critically vital: “In my view, by 2020, all the youth that are now involved in promoting the bid will take active positions in development of our country. That is why is it extremely important to hear their opinions now and involve them in the global cooperation process. My job as the ambassador for EXPO-2020 Yekaterinburg, to involve as many participants as possible, and the site of the Youth Eurasian Economic Forum, in which roughly 60 countries are involved, is especially important. We need the intellectual potential of modern youth and their ideas, because it is they who will carry the future of the whole global community,” he emphasised.