On 1 November, an Interregional Forum on Migration and Interethnic Relations was held in the conference hall of Voronezh State University. The event was organised by the Centre of Social and Legal Support for Displaced Persons “Art of Life” with the support of the Government of the Voronezh Region, the National Chamber under the aegis of the Governor of the Voronezh Region, Voronezh State University, the Department of Sociology and Politology at VSU, and the NGO Resource Centre.
The purpose of the forum is to analyse the situation in the region, summarise the gained experience, strengthen cooperation between the authorities and the civil society, identify trends and further development priorities, and unite efforts to implement common goals, ideas, and new joint projects for the development and prosperity of the region. The forum was moderated by Sergei Safonov, head of ANO Centre for the Preparation and Implementation of Social Programmes in the Field of Culture, Education, and Sports “SIGMA”.
Representatives of the executive authorities, the Department of Social Protection, Voronezh Government, experts from the National Chamber under the aegis of the governor of the Voronezh Region, the Resource Centre for National Relations, representatives of socially oriented non-profit organisations, and representatives of the research community working in the field of migration and interethnic relations took part in the event.
The forum participants were welcomed by Oleg Grishaev, Vice-Rector for Student Affairs, Aleksandr Timashov, personal assistant of the governor of the Voronezh Region, secretary of the National Chamber under the aegis of the governor of the Voronezh Region, Vadim Kozhenov, Head of the all-Russian non-governmental foundation Federation of Migrants of Russia, Galina Salikova, specialist of the Department for Communication with Administrative Bodies and Civil Society Institutions, Yulia Nikiforova, regional representative of the Federation of Migrants of Russia, expert of the National Chamber under the aegis of the governor of the Voronezh Region, head of the Centre of Social and Legal Support for Displaced Persons “Art of Life”, and Evgenia Mikhaleva, head of the Resource Centre for National Relations, member of the board of the Assembly of the Peoples of Russia.
The speakers were: Aleksandr Filatov, Deputy Minister of National Policy of the Udmurt Republic, Boris Panich, Director of the Charitable Foundation for Support and Development of Educational and Social Projects “PSP-Fund” – Interregional Resource Centre for Adaptation of Migrants and Harmonisation of Interethnic Relations of St. Petersburg, Viktoria Vorontsova, Deputy Head of the Department of Social Protection of the Voronezh Region, Viktoria Chernikova, PhD in Political Sciences, Associate Professor at the Department of Sociology and Politology of the Faculty of History, VSU, member of the Public Chamber of Voronezh Region, expert of the EA WARN Network at the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and member of Russian Political Science Association, Vera Turishcheva, coordinator of cultural projects of the Centre of Social and Legal Support for Displaced Persons “Art of Life”, Vladimir Ivanov, head of the Voronezh House of Friendship, member of the National Chamber under the aegis of the governor of the Voronezh Region, and member of the board of the Assembly of the Peoples of Russia, and Maskat Rejepov, Chair of the Assembly of the Peoples of the Voronezh Region, member of the board of the Assembly of the Peoples of Russia, and expert of the National Chamber under the aegis of the governor of the Voronezh Region.
The forum discussed issues of legal, social, and cultural adaptation of migrants, international relations of Voronezh universities as a tool of social and cultural adaptation and integration of international students, interethnic relations in the Voronezh Region under new challenges, as well as social support measures for residents of the recently integrated territories and Ukraine, practical experience in social and cultural adaptation and integration of people who relocated to the Voronezh Region.
A number of proposals for enhancing interaction with public authorities and improving the situation of migrants and displaced persons were discussed at the forum. The list of suggestions will be forwarded to the public authorities. The forum was the final event within the framework of the project “I Know Everything” supported by the Department of Social Protection of the Voronezh Region.
