Seminar 'Youth leadership and citizenship in rural Russia', 15-17 December 2006, Republic of Adygeya

Another demand-driven initiative for rural youth organized within the project was a seminar to explore the key roles young people play as agents of social change and as actors in governing and improving the quality of village life in the context of an ageing population and recent decentralization laws.

It brought together 45 rural young people from across Russia, youth workers in local administrations, representatives of local community foundations and the Russian Association of rural settlements, plus experts from the Institute for Urban Economics (Moscow, Russia) and the World Bank.

It took place in a village arts center in Maykop district, Republic of Adygeya and was organized by the World Bank and the district youth committee.

There were sessions by experts from Institute of Urban Economics discussing the legal, fiscal and financial aspects of local governance and youth policy and by experts from the All-Russian NGO DIMSI (Children's and Youth Social Initiatives) on how youth leadership and participation can help to solve local problems and improve the quality of life. Finally, there was a session about youth leadership and community development grants under the youth program LINX.  Supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), LINX stands for Youth Learning, Involvement, Networking and eXchange of ideas. For more information about LINX in Russia click here.

Russia Youth Flags workshops, June 2006 

In response to local interest and demand, the project helped to organize a workshop for rural youth ‘Russia Youth Flags workshops’.

About 50 young people aged between 8 and 18 from villages in Okhansk district, Perm region designed flags or coat of arms for their village, local area, or family. Through this the young people expressed their strong feelings of local identity and pride: a first step in getting engaged in local affairs and helping solve local problems. The master-classes were designed and run by Moscow-based artist, Anton Olshvang, and were facilitated by the Perm-based Foundation for the Support of Social Initiatives,  Sodeistvie. 

  Watch the video [Russian with English subtitles]

The best flags and coats of arms created were exhibited in the youth media club of the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and all the young artists were presented with certificates signed by the World Bank’s country director for Russia.