The official opening of the International Summer School of the Russian Geographical Society “Geography for All” was officially held at the Moscow Headquarters of the Russian Geographical Society on August 19. Its participants were 30 young scientists and public figures from Russia and 15 countries of the world - Belgium, South Africa, Argentina, Serbia, Greece, Italy and other states.
The project "International Summer School of the Russian Geographical Society" was organized with the participation of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation.
The opening ceremony was attended by First Vice-President of the Russian Geographical Society Nikolay Kasimov, Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation Alexander Radkov, Advisor to the President of the Russian Geographical Society on International Activities Sergey Katikov, First Deputy Executive Director of the Russian Geographical Society Ilya Gurov, Head of the Department for the Implementation of Youth Programs and the Development of Public Diplomacy of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation Vitaly Solonetsky, First Secretary of the Secretariat of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO Zoya Kritskaya, Program Director of the Russian Council on International Affairs Ivan Timofeev and others.
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“We hope that the Summer School will become a communication platform for the exchange of experience and the transfer of knowledge about the current state of geographical science in the world, will help stimulate the creation of international youth scientific and public projects. There is a week with a rich program for participants - classes with professional lecturers, discussion platforms, the opportunity to communicate with each other in an informal setting. The most important thing is that proposals received from participants, their projects, based on the results of the school, will be taken into account ", - said Vitaliy Solonetsky.
During the opening, a discussion was also held on the topic “International Humanitarian Cooperation: Role Of The Youth”. Participants discussed the goals and objectives of the Summer School of the Russian Geographical Society, contemporary problems of humanitarian cooperation, noted Russian and foreign organizations that contribute to strengthening cooperation and youth involvement.
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“We organized a project not only to tell you something, to teach something, but we are also waiting for your opinion on how the Russian Geographical Society could develop in cooperation with your countries, geographers and other specialists. It is very important for us. Our main task is to understand each other and promote cooperation", Ilya Gurov emphasized.
For a week, from August 19 to 25, participants in the Summer School of the Russian Geographical Society will exchange experience, knowledge and ideas of public initiatives in the field of geography and related sciences, increase their competencies, develop universal leadership skills, learn effective methods of project management and work with human capital, gain skills public appearances and presentations.
Each educational unit includes creative meetings, as well as theoretical and practical workshops with invited specialists, including producer and director of RD Studio Kristina Kozlova, editor-in-chief of the popular science magazine "Kot Schryodingera" Grigory Tarasevich, individual travel expert at RussiaDiscovery Marianna Poymanova, “Chto? Gde? Kogda?” intellectual game winner, diplomat, intellectual diplomacy expert Igor Alekseev, TEDxMoscow organizer and TEDx ambassador to Russia, founder of the Skolkovo Open University, deputy chairman of the Coordinating Council on Youth in the scientific and educational spheres of the Presidential Council on Science and Education Andrei Yegorov and many others.
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“I love Russia, it’s a big country and one of the most beautiful one, I wanted to come here to get to know people and the country more closely. Perhaps in the future there will be a chance to exchange projects, experiences between the universities of Belgium and Russia, to influence cooperation somehow. I hope that within the framework of the Summer School I will also improve my level of knowledge of languages - English and Russian, I will learn to present my activities in these languages, and, of course, will gain new experience", said Kevin de Ridder (Belgium), a participant in the International Summer School of the Russian Geographical Society.
Based on the results of the Summer School of the Russian Geographical Society, an individual activity plan will be drawn up for each participant, the best participants will receive the title "Ambassador of the Russian Geographical Society", as well as the right to undergo an internship in the Executive Directorate of the Russian Geographical Society and the opportunity to participate in the preparation and implementation of projects of the Russian Geographical Society.
Participants who received the title of “Ambassador of the Russian Geographical Society” will be able to represent the activities of the Russian Geographical Society at events of various levels, and will also have the opportunity to implement their own projects that are consistent with the goals and objectives of the Russian Geographical Society, under the auspices of the Russian Geographical Society. Also, participants will be invited to open a representative office of the Russian Geographical Society (the Youth Club or the Center of the Russian Geographical Society abroad).
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"I would like the RGS Summer School to become an incentive for international cooperation. Guests could get to know Russia better and learn how beautiful and rich it is. Now there is a big misunderstanding how to perceive international relations. And I think that humanitarian cooperation is a key way to pass over political pitfalls and achieve results in the field of geography, economics and other scientific fields", said Akop Gabrielyan (Russia), a participant in the International Summer School of the Russian Geographical Society.