Volunteers from Moscow and the Voronezh region exchanged good practices at the National Centre RUSSIA

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On 11 September, within the thematic week of the Voronezh region, the National Centre RUSSIA hosted a meeting between representatives of the region’s volunteer movement and the resource centre for the development and support of the volunteer movement "Mosvolonter". Activists from the Voronezh region got acquainted with the best practices of Moscow volunteers, exchanged experience in implementing volunteer programmes and useful services, and discussed the prospects for the movement.

The meeting participants were welcomed by Grigory Gurov, Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, and Artur Orlov, Chairman of the Board of the Movement of the First.

"Of course, it is difficult to compete with Moscow’s opportunities, but our region also runs many volunteer projects. For next year we have received a subsidy for the implementation of volunteer initiatives and will continue to create new projects. But there is one more important point I would like to convey to everyone: a volunteer is not free labour, but a person who is genuinely interested in doing good for others. And when everyone understands this, things will go very well for us," said Sergei Afanasyev, Head of the Youth Policy Department of the Voronezh region.

The organisation of work at the State Budgetary Institution "Resource Centre for the Development and Support of the Volunteer Movement 'Mosvolonter'" was presented by its Director, Alexander Levit. According to him, participants in the movement have been fostering a conscious attitude to volunteering and making the world kinder for more than 11 years.

"We strive to ensure that our work is not only systematic but, most importantly, meaningful and needed. Today we support those who are ready to support others. We have accumulated a huge educational potential of in-person and distance programmes, online courses, games and other developments, which we are now actively sharing not only within Moscow but also with Russia’s regions and sometimes even with colleagues abroad. Today we are developing 12 areas of volunteer activity and several flagship programmes and projects implemented in the capital," said Alexander Levit. 

The participants of the meeting learned about the organisation’s ecosystem, events designed to engage new Muscovites in the volunteer movement, factors and opportunities that motivate people to take part in volunteer programmes, as well as flagship projects of "Mosvolonter" such as the volunteer initiative complex "Time of Good", the humanitarian aid collection points "Moscow Helps", interactive quest spaces for children "Kind Place" and KidZania.

Kristina Zimina, Head of the Conceptual Design Department of the Project Management Directorate of the Movement of the First, presented the flagship volunteering project of the Movement of the First, "Do Good". She paid special attention to the educational programme "Learning by Serving. The First" and other initiatives that promote the development of volunteer practices and the formation among children and young people of a culture of volunteering as a norm of social interaction and personal development.

"It is clear that your eyes are really shining, you are passionate about this and you live by it. Thank you for your work! For us, the most important thing is that all our ideas are implemented together," Kristina Zimina told the volunteers of the Voronezh region.

The Days of Regions are held at the exposition "Region-2030. Platform of the Future" at the National Centre RUSSIA over the course of two months. From 9 to 14 September, visitors are introduced to the Voronezh region. The large-scale programme of the region’s thematic week includes lectures and workshops, presentations, performances by artists and ensembles, distribution of souvenirs and much more.