Upbringing as the foundation of Russia’s youth policy

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More than 600 vice-rectors and university leaders responsible for the implementation of youth policy and upbringing activities across the country gathered at the National Centre RUSSIA. On 18 December, the All-Russian Congress on Youth Policy and Upbringing Activities opened at the venue. The focus of the participants was on the upbringing of young people based on traditional spiritual and moral values, the demographic and patriotic agenda, as well as best university practices in shaping an environment for students’ development and self-realisation.

"Upbringing is the most important strategic task for the well-being and future of our country. If a person is brought up on the basis of traditional spiritual and moral values but lacks certain functional knowledge, that is not a problem — those skills can be acquired later. But if a person is educated and sophisticated yet brought up incorrectly, such a person may pose a danger to society and become involved in sophisticated criminal schemes. That is why the word "upbringing" comes first," said the Chief of the Presidential Directorate for Social Projects, Sergei Novikov.

According to him, it is important not only to instil traditional values in young people, but also to ensure that educators and mentors share the same position.

The Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Olga Petrova, spoke about the initiatives implemented as part of youth policy and upbringing activities.

"In the past year and the year before it, we recalibrated our plans for upbringing activities and events precisely on the basis of Decree No. 809, in order to clearly define what matters, where, and which values are our priorities. When Decree No. 809 was introduced, having seen the indicators set by the President in terms of achieving goals up to 2030, we also adjusted our direction slightly. This is our starting point and how we continue to move forward: all the programmes we implement are based on these key documents, and from there we act by addressing specific tasks," she said.

She noted that in matters of youth policy and upbringing activities, the demographic agenda is a key theme. Olga Petrova stressed that "a large country must have a large population".

"Our achievement in this area has been extensive joint work with deputies, as a result of which the concept of a "student family" was enshrined in legislation. Why is this important? It makes it possible to systematise support measures and better understand how we are moving forward and how we will continue to work. As soon as we formally defined the student family, the work became faster and more effective," said the Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education.

According to her, Russia’s regions have actively joined this work. "Student families" have begun to be included in the "demographic menu". In this context, she thanked the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Russian Federation for close interagency cooperation. As a result, today the regional "demographic menu" consists of ten items, with an eleventh currently being added, specifically addressing student families, she added.

"The patriotic agenda is another very important topic. The "I Am Proud" Association of Student Patriotic Clubs has been carrying out extensive work since 2021. Special thanks go to Don State Technical University, which established this association. The current operator is Moscow State University of Civil Engineering. Next year, we plan to work more directly within universities. This is an area we will continue to actively develop," she noted.

The Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education also spoke about the development of the programme of patriotic tourist trips, the launch of a new project involving student trips to New Chersonese, the high level of implementation of events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory and the Year of the Defender of the Fatherland, the engagement of international students, and the development of student self-governance. She also addressed a range of areas, including KVN as a career guidance mechanism, as well as the expansion of youth tourism programmes, popular science routes, and interregional cooperation between universities.

In addition, a formal awards ceremony for the winners of the All-Russian contest of university teams on youth policy and upbringing activities was held on the same day. Awards were presented to 29 teams across eight categories.

The contest received 866 applications from university teams working in youth policy from 82 regions of Russia. Following expert evaluation, 143 finalists were shortlisted — representing 136 universities and branches from 58 regions of Russia. At the final stage of the contest, participants delivered in-person presentations at their universities and defended their implemented practices before an honorary jury.

"I would like to extend my sincere thanks to our colleagues from the Russian society Znanie for proposing the idea of the contest of university teams on youth policy, and to our colleagues from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education for deciding to bring it to life. A total of 866 teams took part in the contest — this is a tremendous force and energy. The genuine emotions of the participants show that we have chosen the right direction. Thanks to the contest, the All-Russian Congress on Youth Policy and Upbringing Activities has reached a new level: we have become more united, stronger, and more ambitious. By launching the contest, we set ourselves a truly high benchmark, but this is not the limit — we will certainly continue moving forward," Olga Petrova added.

The Director General of the Russian society Znanie, Maxim Dreval, congratulated the contest winners on its successful completion and highlighted the significance of the results achieved.

"First of all, I would like to share the joy that together we have managed to create, organise, and hold such a contest. It is a way to demonstrate how important your work is — the enormous contribution you make to ensuring that a young person at university not only receives an education and masters a profession, but also finds their path in life, strengthens their values, moral guidelines, and self-belief. By reviewing the contest materials, we realised how strong university teams in Russia truly are. And there is much that even we — the staff and lecturers of the Russian society Znanie — would like to learn from you. This is another outcome of the contest. Perhaps we will create a repository of the most successful practices, which will serve as a valuable resource for us, for educators, and for your colleagues at universities across the country. I want you to know that the Russian society Znanie has always been, is, and will continue to be your reliable partner in this work," Maxim Dreval said.

In the category "Patriotic Upbringing and Unity of the Peoples of Russia", the winners were: Far Eastern Federal University; Volgograd State Agrarian University; Lipetsk State Pedagogical University named after P.P. Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky; Ishim Pedagogical Institute named after P.P. Yershov — a branch of Tyumen State University; and the Lomonosov Institute — a branch of Leningrad State University named after A.S. Pushkin. The awards were presented by Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Alexei Shevtsov.

In the category "Volunteering and Ecology", the winners included: Belgorod State National Research University; Yaroslavl State University named after P.G. Demidov; Vyatka State Agrotechnological University; Donbass National Academy of Civil Engineering and Architecture — a branch of the National Research Moscow State University of Civil Engineering; and the Gubkin branch of Belgorod State Technological University named after V.G. Shukhov. The awards were presented by Chairman of the Board of the Movement of the First and Hero of the Russian Federation Artur Orlov.

In the category "Sport and Tourism", the following were recognised: Saint Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design; Baltic State Technical University "VOENMEH" named after D.F. Ustinov; Volga Region State University of Service; Volzhsky Polytechnic Institute — a branch of Volgograd State Technical University; and Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University. Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Olga Petrova and Olympic champion in artistic gymnastics and Honoured Master of Sports of the Russian Federation Artur Dalaloyan came on stage to present the awards to the winners.

The jury named Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University; Surgut State University; and Penza State University of Architecture and Construction as the best in the category "Young Families and the Social Sphere". The awards were presented by State Secretary — Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh) Denis Ashirov.

Awards in the category "Media and Creativity" were presented by Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Sergei Pershin and television presenter and People’s Front ambassador Yekaterina Shugayeva. The recipients were: Yuri Gagarin Saratov State Technical University; Siberian Transport University; State Academic University for the Humanities; the Syzran branch of Samara State Technical University; and the Yaroslavl branch of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.

The winners in the category "Career Guidance and Work with Graduates" were: the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration; Volga Region State Transport University; Moscow City University of Management of the Moscow Government named after Y.M. Luzhkov; Novomoskovsk Institute — a branch of D.I. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia; and the Belebey branch of Samara State Technical University in the Republic of Bashkortostan. The awards were presented by Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Alexander Demin.

The winners of the special categories received special awards. In the category "Educational Activities", the team of Don State Technical University was recognised as the best among applications with the highest score under the corresponding criterion. The award was presented to the university representatives by Director General of the Russian society Znanie Maxim Dreval. In the category "The Most Youthful Dream Team", recognising teams with the strongest corporate culture, the winner was Ufa State Petroleum Technological University. The award was presented by the Chief of the Presidential Directorate for Social Projects, Sergei Novikov.

The contest of university teams contributes to the development of the key areas of youth policy in Russia. It is aimed at creating conditions for organising and delivering educational activities based on traditional spiritual and moral values, as well as improving the quality of educational activities at higher education institutions across Russia. The contest is implemented as part of the national project "Youth and Children".

The All-Russian contest of university teams on youth policy and upbringing activities is organised by the Russian society Znanie and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, with the support of Rosmolodezh.