II All-Russian Congress of Parent Committees concludes at the National Centre RUSSIA
How to make parents active participants in school life and build closer cooperation between families, schools and the state were among the issues discussed on the second day of the II All-Russian Congress of Parent Committees. On 8 September, participants continued to share regional practices and discuss education, safety and family values at the National Centre RUSSIA.
One of the key topics on the second day was caring for schoolchildren's health, emotional wellbeing and safety. According to Sergei Kravtsov, Minister of Education of the Russian Federation, this can only be achieved through joint efforts.
"This year has been declared the Year of Preschool Education in the education system. It has focused on an important period in the development of a child's personality. Going forward, we will address issues that enable us to foster a culture of health among children. We are declaring 2027 the Year of Schoolchildren's Health and hope that you will also become as actively involved as possible in implementing its programme," said the head of the Russian Ministry of Education, addressing the congress participants.
The minister also announced the launch of a helpline for schoolchildren, where they can ask any question or report a conflict or difficult situation at school. Maria Lvova-Belova, Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights and Chair of the All-Russian public-state organisation "Children's Rights Protection Fund", also joined the discussion on preventing bullying and crisis situations involving children. She stressed that action must be taken proactively and through joint efforts involving the state, schools, families and specialists.
"Parent committees can help create projects that bring pupils together in their classes, support mediation services and involve specialists in a timely manner. At home, it is important for a child to know that they will be listened to and helped to find a way out," said Maria Lvova-Belova.
Another important issue addressed at the event was family upbringing and the role of parents as personal examples. During the themed session "Happy Together: Family as the Main Value", participants shared their experience of strengthening family values. This part of the programme concluded with a meeting with Olympic champions Roman Kostomarov and Oksana Domnina, dedicated to family support, traditions, sport and overcoming life's challenges together.
A separate part of the programme focused on the digital environment. During the open dialogue "How to Talk to Children about Cyberculture? Advice We Write Ourselves", participants discussed the threats children may encounter online. Another session focused on a systematic approach to upbringing and trust between families and schools in the digital age.
The second day's programme also featured an awards ceremony for representatives of the parent community, workshops on best practices and themed sessions.
"We have taken a major step forward in developing cooperation with the parent community: we established the All-Russian Parent Committee, strengthened regional teams, and built a system of training and support. Today, family representatives are becoming not simply participants in school life, but genuine partners of teachers when it comes to children's upbringing. A striking example is the competition for initiatives by parent communities, through which more than 2,000 projects have received support. Many of them are being implemented in small towns, settlements and villages, demonstrating that families across the country are taking an active role and are eager to participate in raising children," stressed Maxim Dreval.
The congress was held on 7–8 September at the National Centre RUSSIA and brought together 600 representatives of parent communities from all 89 regions of Russia, as well as Abkhazia and South Ossetia. It was organised by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation in cooperation with the Russian society Znanie and the Russian Centre for Children and Youth.
Event photobank
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