BRICS should in fact, be driven by 'People to People' contact. Our Youth in particular must take a lead in this. BRICS should explore developing innovative mechanisms of Youth engagement.

-Shri Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India

Role of youth in fostering intra-BRICS bonds has been recognized by BRICS Leaders during the past BRICS Summits. Youthful demographic profile of most BRICS countries combined with their economic-vibrancy has been an asset in consolidating exchanges between BRICS countries.

BRICS Youth Summit is a youth-led event bringing young leaders from the five BRICS countries to discuss and promote cultural and educational cooperation amongst BRICS youth. So far, six Youth Summits have been held.

The 1^st BRICS Youth Summit was organised by Russia in 2015, wherein the youth participants from BRICS countries had a discussion on issues of common interest.

The 2^nd BRICS Youth Summit was organised at Guwahati (India) from 1st to 3rd July, 2016 under the theme “Youth as bridge for Intra-BRICS Exchanges”, which covered thematic areas like Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Social Inclusion, Youth Volunteerism and Youth Participation in Governance.

The 6^th BRICS Youth Summit under the theme “BRICS: Challenges of the Time for young people” was held in hybrid (both online and offline) format in 2020. Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports attended the 6th BRICS Youth Summit (virtually) wherein he stressed on the importance of the contribution of youth across the globe in fighting the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.