Vladimir Putin acknowledged the contribution of the Movement of the First to the development of Russia
On February 1, the closing ceremony of the Movement of the First Congress took place in Pavilion No. 75 at the International RUSSIA EXPO. More than a thousand children, parents and mentors from all over the country attended the event, and more than 1.5 million people watched the online broadcast. The significant contribution of the Movement of the First participants was acknowledged by the special guest of the Congress - Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"I am convinced that if you feel the same confidence, go purposefully to your goal, fulfill your dreams - we will succeed even more. You have done a lot over the past year: you planted 2 million trees for the National Unity Day, sent 3 million letters to our soldiers on the front line, collected and handed over about 400 thousand books to Donbass and Novorossiya. These are all tangible things. You will do much, much more in the future. Your mentors and your parents have always been and will always be with you, I would like to thank them, but it will be better if we do it right here, right now and together," Vladimir Putin said.
The head of state, together with the First, thanked parents and mentors for their support and assistance in the fulfillment of children's initiatives. At the end of his speech Vladimir Putin sang the anthem of the Russian Federation together with the participants of the Congress.
The closing ceremony was a bright and emotional finale of the Congress of the Movement of the First. The guests of honor were First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Sergei Kiriyenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Tatiana Golikova, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation Maxim Oreshkin, and Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh) Ksenia Razuvaeva.
"The Congress of the First became a platform for important decisions that will significantly strengthen the role of educational activities among children and youth in the coming year. We have increased the age of participants-students to 25 years old, this will ensure systemic interaction between schools, colleges and universities in the field of education and career guidance. The role of children's self-governance in the Movement will grow significantly, the Councils of the First will become the basis for regular activities of our primary and local branches. We are expanding our interaction with cultural, sports, youth policy institutions and enterprises - creation of primary branches and organization of regular activities in them is one of the priorities of our work this year," emphasized Grigory Gurov, Chairman of the Board of the Movement of the First.
The closing ceremony was held by singer Stas More and activists of the Movement of the First Egor Knyazev and Ksenia Prokopchuk. Together with the participants of the Congress, they told about the flagship projects of the Movement: the contest "Big Change", the military-patriotic game "Zarnitsa 2.0", the All-Russian Drone Piloting Championship "Pilots of the Future", the Project School and Accelerator "Height", the program for the development of hiking tourism, the projects "School Classics", "Sound", "Media Attraction", "First Aid", "Do Good", "Young Naturalists of the First", "Keepers of History" and "Challenge of the First".
During the ceremony, the First ones spoke about their path in the Movement and the values they uphold: "The First love Russia", "The First help to preserve history", "The First protect nature", "The First do good", "The First love their family", "The First know how to be friends", "The First thank teachers and mentors", "The First create the future".
Also, singer Rodion Gazmanov, actor Anatoly Zhuravlev, musical theater "Domisolka", "Choir of the First", soloists of the platform "Sound" Sofia Medvedeva, Artem and Anastasia Busigin, as well as Amina Khafizova performed with bright musical numbers before the participants and delegates of the Congress.
At the finale of the ceremony, the participants of the Congress launched a new season of activities and projects of the Movement of the First.
The Congress of the Movement of Firsts took place from January 30 to February 1. Strategic sessions, masterclasses, panel discussions, motivational meetings, and tours of the pavilions of the RUSSIA EXPO were available daily for participants and guests. Together with adults, the First ones solved pressing issues of the organization and determined the future directions of the Movement's work.
The events of the Congress clearly demonstrated the ideas of the Movement of the First, in which schoolchildren and vocational students are the initiators of projects (the principle "we do together, not instead of"), teachers and mentors take part in the activities of the Movement, educating the younger generation by their own example (the principle "a mentor is the one who is near, but a little ahead"), and parents are involved in the activities of the Movement together with their children (the principle "parents are the basis of all values, the family is the basis of the Movement of the First").
The Movement of the First is the largest community of children, adolescents and adults in the Russian Federation, uniting state and public institutions to form a unified educational environment for schoolchildren and students of professional educational organizations.
More than 4.7 million people are members of the Movement of the First. More than 40,000 primary branches operate on a regular basis in 89 regions of Russia. In 2023, the Movement's activities covered more than 7 million people.
