"Women's mentoring" was discussed at the RUSSIA EXPO

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The strategic session "Women for Preserving Traditions. Mentoring in the Family and at Work" was held at the RUSSIA EXPO as part of the Russian Women's Forum "Women: Preserving Traditions - Developing Russia". The participants discussed the importance of mentoring throughout a person's life and the special role of women in preserving traditions.

The session was attended by women with many years of experience of mentoring in various areas of activity - Natalia Gonchar, Head of Corporate Relations at Sakhalin Energy LLC; Maria Vasilkova, State Duma Deputy and Member of the State Duma Committee on Industry and Trade; Natalia Agre, Director of the Institute for the Study of Childhood, Family and Upbringing; Natalia Borovikova, Director of Sustainable Development at Bitubi Group of Companies; Karine Khabirova, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Territory of Happiness Charitable Foundation; and Elena August, Project Manager of the NRE HSE, Head of ZIS LLC, curator and ideologist of the projects of the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation "Children of the Kremlin New Year Tree" and "Divide and Multiply".

The meeting was moderated by Maria Afonina, Vice-Rector of the "Senezh Management Workshop" of the ANO "Russia - Land of Opportunity" and coordinator of the "Female Leader" project.

"Mentoring always goes from heart to heart, because it is impossible to pass on things you do not possess. You can only do it if you are filled with something yourself. And our wonderful panel of speakers is just about what you have inside, and we will share it today," Maria Afonina addressed the guests and participants of the session.

She also spoke about the interim results of the "Senezh Management Workshop" of the ANO "Russia - Land of Opportunity": "This is a serious ambitious work that has been carried out in the workshop since 2018. As of today, we have 1,400 graduates of the program, and we have set a Russian record: in 2022, we have 338 mentoring couples graduating at the same time, and we are officially listed in the Book of Records of Russia."

The experts discussed the topic of mentoring from different angles - in family, parenting, friendship, education, and business. Natalia Gonchar, drawing on the unique experience of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area and the traditions of Far Eastern women, spoke about the role of women in preserving traditions and cultural heritage and emphasized the importance of intergenerational ties and careful attitude to family values and culture in terms of countering globalization and other challenges that our country has faced in recent years.

"The small indigenous peoples of the Far East have a unique culture, knowledge and traditions, and we are now studying their experience so carefully because our country is now facing the challenges that the indigenous populations of the North, Siberia and the Far East have been successfully coping with for almost two hundred years. In this sense, the Russian Empire has a unique practice, because the laws that the government adopts, including in the regions, are really aimed at preserving the traditions of languages and cultures. And, among other things, small-numbered peoples have historically developed a great respect for women," said Natalia Gonchar.

Natalia Borovikova, who, by the way, is a mother of seven children, spoke about effective approaches and traditions in mentoring, which are used both in the family and at work.

"I believe that if you have learned one of the greatest arts of building a family, you can definitely build a business, and vice versa. And I always say to my girls who work for me: "Girls, you are great managers - so go and manage your life," said Natalia Borovikova.

She also shared her personal recipe for maintaining a healthy balance between business activity and competent recovery: "It seems to me that one of the elements of a mentoring culture that we should teach our children is to take care of ourselves enough to engage in creative labor. After all, happiness is not about not overworking yourself. It's in activity. But another issue is to be able to recover from that activity. For example, I have days when I don't work at all, no matter what happens, and just create, get to know myself, meet with friends, and so on". 

The main subject of Natalia Agre's speech was the role of traditions on the road from child to adult, as well as the importance of mentoring in the family. In turn, Maria Vasilkova spoke about the impact of mentoring on the development of the state and its economic potential, as well as the special role of women in "non-feminine" professions. Karine Khabirova shared with the participants of the meeting the achievements of the project "Territory of Happiness" in the context of the importance of relying on traditions, family values and mentoring culture, and emphasized the special role of women in the development of the project. And at the end of the session, Elena August spoke about the experience and results of participation of female graduates of the "Female Leader" program as mentors in the "Mentoring" program.