"#WEARETOGETHER is a family": the best regions and partners of the year awarded at the National Centre RUSSIA
The official award ceremony of the International Prize
#WEARETOGETHER was held on 3 December at the National Centre RUSSIA. The First
Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of Russia and
Co-Chair of the Organising Committee of the International Prize #WEARETOGETHER,
Sergei Kiriyenko, presented awards to the laureates in the categories
"Constituent Entities of the Russian Federation" and the special
category "Partnership of the Year".
Sergei
Kiriyenko said that today, meeting with young volunteers, he noticed that the
words "we are together" are becoming synonymous with the word
"family" — a family of people united by compassionate hearts, those
who not only want to help but strive to be where the country and its people
need them most. He added that these people spread the warmth of their
hearts to everyone around them.
"Volunteering
in Russia today is major, structured teamwork. It is no longer the work
only of individual volunteers or volunteer associations, commercial
organisations. It is coordinated work with local authorities, regional
governors, regional teams and teams of federal ministries and agencies. And I
know that in many projects these teams work not because they are ordered to,
nor because it is written in their job descriptions or official duties, but
because they are brought together by an inner calling and a response of the
heart. Thank you all very much for this," said the First Deputy Chief of
Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of Russia and Co-Chair of the
Organising Committee of the International Prize #WEARETOGETHER, Sergei
Kiriyenko, addressing the volunteers.
The
first-degree laureate in the category "Constituent Entities of the Russian
Federation" was the Ulyanovsk region, which demonstrated strong results in
developing volunteering and supporting socially significant initiatives.
"I
thank everyone for recognising the work of the more than 90,000-strong army of
volunteers in the Ulyanovsk region. We are all doing one very important
thing together. We are preserving our country, we are helping all those who
need help, and together we are bringing our future victory closer," said
the Governor of the Ulyanovsk Region, Alexei Russkikh.
The region
has built an effective volunteering system bringing together more than 90,000
volunteers. The network includes 13 specialised Dobro.Centres and 100
volunteer organisations. The key achievements include: the restoration of a
historical park by 280 volunteers; an annual campaign presenting 10,000 tulips
to women veterans; and ongoing support for animals. The region provides comprehensive assistance to
NGOs and initiative groups — offering grants, premises, organisational and
medical support — thus forming a stable regional ecosystem of volunteering and
social projects.
The
second-degree laureate was the Krasnoyarsk region, where a broad system for
supporting civic initiatives has also been established: it brings together
3,600 NGOs and 80,000 registered volunteers, and includes a network of Dobro.Centres,
resource centres and a #WEARETOGETHER headquarters. Financial support
covers grants, subsidies, property assistance and unique preferential
microloans. The region implements projects for older people, for families of
participants in the special military operation, as well as environmental
initiatives. Seventeen per cent of the population is engaged in volunteer and
civic activities.
The Chelyabinsk region received third place. The region has
built a comprehensive infrastructure to support social initiatives, bringing
together 8,300 NGOs and 233,000 volunteers. Thirty-three Dobro.Centres and 43
municipal #WEARETOGETHER headquarters operate across the region. In 2025,
funding for programmes will exceed 1 billion rubles thanks to grants and tax incentives.
Implemented initiatives have helped reduce the number of emergencies, involve
more than 1,500 people in sports activities and expand opportunities for young
people to develop their potential.
The special
category "Partnership of the Year" is awarded for achieving mutually
beneficial results with partners in implementing socially significant projects
based on the principles of cross-sector cooperation. This year, the
laureate was the All-Russian Association for the Development of Local
Self-Government (VARMSU), a strategic partner of the #WEARETOGETHER Prize in
the "Territory" category.
Together
with the Dobro.rf Association, VARMSU launched the project "Territory of
Trust" to foster cooperation between municipalities, NGOs and businesses,
as well as to support leaders of the volunteer movement. As a result of
this partnership, the number of applications from municipalities increased by
40 per cent in the fifth season of the Prize.
The founder
of the #WEARETOGETHER Prize is Rosmolodezh. The organiser is Dobro.rf.
The general partner of the Prize is Alfa-Bank, and the strategic partner is
Rosatom State Corporation.
Participants of the first intake of this new educational project, who successfully passed the competitive selection process, shared their stories of discovering the School and their fresh impressions from the classes.
The date was chosen for a reason: it was on 2 March 2018 that the decree establishing the "For Mentorship" award was signed.
