Sochi Is Where Our Volunteer Movement Began — Tatyana Golikova

Tatyana Golikova, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, met with the finalists and winners of the #MYVMESTE Award at the World Youth Festival on Wednesday, March 6. During the event, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation met with the most active participants of the #MYVMESTE project and talked about the development of the volunteer movement. This day of the Festival is held under the motto "We stand together with Russia".

"We are actually moving very fast. Sochi is where our volunteer movement began when the Olympic Games were held in Russia. This was the birth of the real volunteer movement, which was later institutionalized in the form of the Association of Volunteer Centers. There are certain milestones in its development that are important to celebrate because it is associated with significant events. The same Festival was held in 2017, but now it is completely different, with more countries, people, and topics being discussed, and the way we discuss them has moved to a new level of our development," Tatyana Golikova said.

She recalled that 2018 was declared the Year of Volunteers by the President of Russia, which led to some developments in this direction and the adoption of relevant legislation on youth.

"#MYVMESTE has its own history. It originated in 2020, a very difficult year for the whole world, to go to those homes, to those families, to those people who were trapped in their homes. Both young and not so young people just came to help them. This community has become consolidated and important, it has created a new movement, activities, and now that there is the Special Military Operation, the #MYVMESTE movement has become even stronger, involving more people, activities, and especially caring people," Tatyana Golikova clarified.

In turn, activists told Tatyana Golikova about their socially significant projects in social, cultural and other spheres.

Daria Deryuzhinskaya, Deputy Chair of the Medical Volunteers Movement and winner of the #MYVMESTE Award 2023, spoke about the partnership of medical volunteers in the implementation of the Reproductive Health pilot project. She also told the story of the project that won the award in 2023.

She noted that together with the medical community, a project has been launched aimed at early detection of chronic and infectious diseases and popularization of medical examinations and healthy lifestyle among the population. The project screened 7,000 people at 48 companies, of which 702 were referred to regional cancer centers for further diagnosis and treatment. This has saved more than 700 lives.

The meeting also included discussions with International Track Award finalists from other countries, including Mexico and Indonesia.

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The World Youth Festival is taking place in the Sirius Federal Territory on March 1-7, 2024, according to the Decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Development of International Youth Cooperation.

The World Youth Festival is organized by the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh) and operated by the World Youth Festival Directorate.