The forum caused a wide public response, and more than 400 representatives of civil society from the BRICS countries took part in it. The Forum participants touched upon a variety of areas – security, energy, economy and trade, healthcare, education and science, and social issues.
The participants and guests of the Forum received greetings from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
Since 2015, the BRICS Civil Society Forum has been included in the official calendar of the presidency.

The BRICS Civil Society Forum began to be held annually on the principle of rotation in the country hosting the BRICS presidency. The theme of the Forum in the year of India's BRICS presidency was "Towards exploring inclusive partnerships and collective solutions". The Forum participants discussed issues of ensuring the quality of economic growth in the BRICS countries, inclusive multilateralism, health, food security, sustainable urbanization, and quality education.

In the year of the Chinese presidency, the BRICS Civil Society Forum was held within the framework of the Beijing-initiated Forum of Political Parties, Think Tanks and Civil Society Organizations of the BRICS countries on the theme "Combining wisdom and efforts for common Development and a bright future", attended by 400 representatives of the BRICS countries. The Forum participants also discussed new ideas for improving coordination between civil society organizations in the BRICS countries.

The forum brought together more than 100 representatives of the BRICS countries, including 9 provinces of South Africa, as well as other countries of the African continent. The Forum participants discussed the prospects for the development of BRICS and the agenda until 2063, traditionally including issues such as gender equality, tolerance, energy efficiency, climate change, and inclusive development.  The Forum participants paid special attention to discussing the development prospects and future investment projects of the New BRICS Development Bank, as well as issues of economic development of the BRICS countries in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

The leitmotif of the Forum was the issues of public institutions' response to the negative consequences of the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection. For the first time, the Forum was held in a hybrid format, attended by more than 450 representatives of the civil society of the BRICS countries. The theme of the Forum in the year of Russia's BRICS presidency was chosen as "Development of humanitarian cooperation within the framework of BRICS for the sake of a sustainable future." The topic of combating the pandemic was reflected on the agenda of the Forum from different angles, and civil society made every effort to help States overcome the crisis as soon as possible.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Forum was held within the framework of the Indian presidency in an online format. The Forum participants discussed the role of civil society in the fight against the pandemic, healthcare and traditional medicine, and women's participation in the BRICS economies. 

Once again, in the year of the Chinese presidency, the BRICS Civil Society Forum was held within the framework of the Beijing-initiated Forum of Political Parties, Think Tanks and Civil Society Organizations of the BRICS countries. This time, the Forum was held in a hybrid format on the theme "Solidarity and cooperation in the interests of common development and a bright future", 130 representatives of the BRICS countries took part in it. The Forum participants discussed issues of global governance and the promotion of sustainable development while expanding BRICS cooperation.

In the year of South Africa's presidency, the BRICS Civil Society Forum was once again held in a face-to-face format. The Forum participants discussed a just transition, strengthening multilateralism, women's participation in peace processes, post-pandemic socio-economic recovery and the transformation of education systems.

In the year of the Russian presidency, delegates from Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Ethiopia took part in the BRICS Civil Society Forum, in total 650 representatives from more than 20 countries took part in the Forum. The theme of the Forum in the year of Russia's BRICS presidency was "The right to development: Equality, Equity, Justice". The Forum was a continuation of a long-standing tradition launched in 2015, and allowed us to take an important step towards unification, ensuring the institutionalization of the civil society process, as well as the active involvement of participating countries in the development of a consolidated position on ensuring equitable, sustainable and equitable development.