Why Yugra?
“For those who have been actively working in the volunteer sphere for a long time, there is, of course, no need to explain why Yugra became the venue for a large-scale training for representatives of international organizations. The region is one of the recognized leaders in Russia in volunteering. And some organizations that first began their work in Yugra, such as, for example, the Yugra Volunteer Corps, already have international status. Today, the Yugra Corps includes representatives of foreign countries, and the activities of this organization have long been spreading not only to the district, but also to other territories of the country, mainly to the wounded border regions of Russia. Volunteers help the wounded, deliver humanitarian aid,” says sociologist Dmitry Votorobin.
Note: the special international internship is organized within the framework of the “Volunteerism” block of the presidential program “New Generation”. This program is the flagship international project of Rossotrudnichestvo.
“In Yugra, we have a unique opportunity to find partners, exchange opinions and experience. It is significant that the internship is organized within the framework of the Year of the Volunteer Movement in the CIS. Our main goal is to make society better, develop initiatives, help people,” noted Alena Serebryakova, manager for work with CIS countries at the Dobro.rf Association. “And together we will definitely achieve high results.”
They will pass on the most valuable things
For foreign representatives, the residents of Ugra have prepared a rich program designed for six days. During these days, the participants will be presented with the experience and social technologies of eighteen of the best NGOs in Ugra. They will tell how support for civil initiatives and targeted humanitarian aid are organized in the district. They will demonstrate how adaptive sports and inclusive education work in Ugra, reveal the technologies of NPO work in emergency situations and what results can be achieved by volunteer organizations operating in the field of ecology and culture. It should be noted that in many areas of volunteering, the district itself once became a pioneer.
Photo: Department of Internal Policy of the Government of Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug-Yugra
“A lot has been done for the first time in Yugra. For the first time, regional financial support for NGOs has been completely digitized. A regional network of resource centers operating according to a single standard has been created,” said Yakov Samokhvalov, director of the Department of Youth Policy, Civil Initiatives and External Relations of Yugra. “All support measures have been collected into a single logical system. It is these technologies, this approach that we share with the participants of the New Generation program.”
Good Internships
It is in many ways significant that at a recent meeting between the acting governor of Yugra, Ruslan Kuharuk, and residents of the Nefteyugansk district, one of the activists spoke about the development of family volunteering in the district and suggested conducting “good internships” in Yugra.
“Perhaps, within the framework of the work of the Dobrino competence center, there is an opportunity to organize educational “good internships” where public figures could share their experience. This would be useful not only for non-profit organizations, but for the entire region,” the public figure concluded.
Ruslan Kukharuk supported the idea.
“Doing good deeds that are not prescribed in any job description is a life position,” the head of Yugra emphasized.
“This example from life once again proves that the need to help people, to be a volunteer comes from the heart, from the people themselves, there is not and cannot be any order from above,” says Dmitry Votorobin. “It is also indicative that internships for representatives of the CIS countries in Yugra were organized specifically at the Dobrino base, which the activist mentioned. This center was conceived as a platform for sharing the most valuable practices of volunteers from all over the country. And now we see that Dobrino is becoming an international platform for exchanging experience. And this is really great.”
If someone is having a hard time…
Delegates from the Commonwealth countries in Yugra were introduced to the work of the Favor aid center and the Orthodox humanitarian center Tvori Dobro. Both organizations help those who have problems in life. And this can be associated with disabilities, difficult financial situations, and addictions. Anyone can find themselves in a difficult situation, no one is immune from this. And it is very important that a person receives help in a timely manner.
Olga Lazhintseva, head of the Favor assistance center, believes that Favor’s experience can be used not only in Russia. After all, people experience similar social problems regardless of the country they live in.
“I think we inspired colleagues from friendly countries to adopt our experience, try to implement projects to work with children from difficult families and the “School of Sobriety”. We talked about the difficulties and pitfalls that we ourselves encountered, how to strengthen the work of the centers and help people in situations that sometimes seem insoluble,” said Olga Lazhintseva.
According to Tigran Vardanyan, an NGO leader from Armenia, local charity projects are similar to those his country is implementing for internally displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh.
“I liked that there is a connection between volunteers from different countries. We visited the “Favor” aid center. You are filled with special feelings when you see how volunteers have been helping people in difficult life situations, children from disadvantaged families for several years. This is worthy of respect,” Tigran Vardanyan emphasized.
At the local Orthodox humanitarian center “Tvori Dobro” the NGO leaders were told about how they help people in need with food and things. After all, life is very difficult, and no one is immune from troubles and misfortunes.
“It is important to share experiences with each other, to promote projects in our home territories. All participants have kindness in their eyes, everyone is interested in charity, in opening volunteer projects. We all need to cooperate. After all, only in this way, through mercy, can we preserve this world,” said the head of the center, Irina Kolycheva.
Elena Podnos, a representative of the NGO association “Graduates of Russian and Soviet Universities” from Uzbekistan, assessed the importance of the “Do Good” center’s projects.
“I was deeply touched by how much one can care about a person’s fate and how people, on a voluntary basis, seemingly out of nothing, created a center that provides real help to those who are currently in a bad way,” she sincerely noted.
Sergey Kravets from the Moldovan public organization “Common Cause”, telling about what he learned in Yugra, admitted that first of all in Moldova it is necessary to learn how to structure the work of NGOs. According to him, in Russia this process is well-established.
“All youth organizations, NGOs in Russian regions know each other and are closely connected. It turns out to be a very good and useful symbiosis, when everyone helps each other. This improves the work. I want to adopt this practice and apply it in Moldova in the future,” he concluded.
Let’s act together
The heads of NGOs who gathered in Yugra are unanimous in their opinion that by acting together and sharing experiences, it is much more effective and easier to implement important and much-needed projects for people.
“Ultimately, this will contribute to further strengthening of relations between our countries,” says Dmitry Votorobin. “This is also important in the context of sanctions against Russia and, to a large extent, against states friendly to our country. After all, volunteerism in its highest sense works regardless of the borders drawn between states. I am sure that the participants will take the most valuable experience from Yugra.”
Please note: upon completion of the internship, program participants will receive an invitation to join the International Club of Friends of Yugra, created following the World Youth Festival in 2024.
At the same time, two more internships in Russia are planned for volunteers and leaders of the volunteer movement of the CIS countries. They will take place in the Rostov Region and in Yamal. In addition, delegations from the Commonwealth countries will soon arrive for the Forum of Cultural Volunteers in Khanty-Mansiysk, which will be held on August 1-8, and the District Forum of Volunteers “We Are Together”, which will be held on August 28-30 in Vologda.
Source: rg.ru
