News
The Youth Day of the 10th Nevsky International Ecological Congress in St. Petersburg concluded today and attracted more than 2,000 representatives of various environmental and youth communities. The main theme of the event this year was ‘Ecology – My Ideology’. The event was organized by the Russian Federal Agency for Youth Affairs and Rosatom State Corporation.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko delivered a video greeting in which she emphasized that environmental volunteers are working in all regions of Russia: “The fact that there are 13,000 volunteer organizations registered on the DOBRO.RF website who have indicated that ecology is their priority confirms the public’s interest in the environmental agenda. Today, the ecological congress brought together more than 2,000 people from all regions of our country. Such activism confirms that environmental protection is important for young people.”
The business programme included 15 events. The plenary session ‘Eco-Professions: The Present and the Future’ was the central event of Youth Day. More than 100 industry experts spoke as part of the business programme, including members of the Ecosystem National Ecological Public Movement, environmental volunteers from the Ecosophy, Forest Volunteers, Do It!, and Water of Russia youth environmental organizations, finalists from the Ecogeneration project, as well as delegations of corporate volunteers from organizations that are leaders on the environmental agenda.
One of the key events of Youth Day was the first conference of the Ecosystem National Ecological Public Movement with representatives from 52 regions of Russia, at which the co-chairs and the coordinating council of the movement were selected.
The final round of the Ecogeneration competition was held as part of the national Ecotrend project. The twenty best projects will be included in the children’s environmental projects accelerator, and the winners will receive mentoring support and the opportunity to scale up their work. The winners of the competition will receive awards on 26 May as part of the main programme of the 10th Nevsky International Ecological Congress at the booth of the Russian Federal Agency for Youth Affairs at Tavrichesky Palace.
Deputy Speaker of the Russian Federation Council Galina Karelova sent a video greeting to the participants in the session of the Council of the Eurasian Women’s Forum ‘Open Dialogue of Women Leaders in Environmental Initiatives’, which was held as part of Youth Day at the 10th Nevsky International Ecological Congress.
“Our dialogue brings together women who are true leaders in the environmental agenda. The proposals that will be made at the Nevsky International Ecological Congress will be taken into account when preparing for the fourth Eurasian Women’s Forum (EWF) in 2024,” Karelova said. In addition, she noted that expanding women’s involvement in environmental projects and ensuring the public’s commitment to an environmental culture are important areas of focus for the EWF Council.
Federal Agency for Youth Affairs Director Ksenia Razuvayeva made special mention of the younger generation’s leading role in Russia’s environmental policy. In particular, she noted that young people are the engine and driver of the environmental agenda with their proactive position. Moreover, Razuvayeva noted that a key event for young people will be the ‘Ecosystem. Preserved Land’ Russian Youth Ecological Forum, which will take place on 1–7 August in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
During the panel discussions, the speakers expressed confidence that the younger generation’s growing interest in ecology may determine the trajectory of the professional development of individual activists in the future:
“The Youth Day of the Nevsky International Ecological Congress is the start of a long journey and an opportunity for everyone to decide their role in the environmental agenda: whether that solely consists of using environmental technologies, the professional path of an ecologist, or social service and the implementation of socially important initiatives,” Rosatom State Corporation Deputy General Director Tatyana Terentyeva said.
The first day of the Congress culminated in the preparation of a resolution of the Youth Day of the 10th Nevsky International Ecological Congress. The document features fix key proposals prepared by the platform’s participants for the development of ecological issues. The proposals include: the integration of the environmental agenda into the system of preschool education, the introduction of a system to support public environmental events and projects that are being implemented with the involvement of schoolchildren, students, and residents of the regions where it functions, and measures to support SMEs and scientific institutions that are implementing projects and coming up with solutions that aim to reduce the manmade impact on the environment. Globally, the resolution calls for setting up a working group to develop international cooperation and joint initiatives on the environmental agenda.
The 10th Nevsky International Ecological Congress (25–26 May at Tavrichesky Palace) is being organized by the Russian government, the Russian Federation Council, the Interparliamentary Assembly of CIS Member Nations, and the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The Roscongress Foundation is in charge of preparing for and managing the event
The business programme events will be broadcast on the official websites of the Nevsky International Ecological Congress, the Russian Federation Council, the Interparliamentary Assembly of CIS Member Nations, the Roscongress Foundation, the Vmeste-RF TV channel, as well as the social media accounts of the Congress’s organizers.
Up-to-date information for the media is available at: t.me/niec2023