Between 13 and 17 June, a Strategic Session of the heads of regional branches of the Russian Geographical Society was held in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. It took place at the Ermak base expedition camp of the Russian Geographical Society in the southern taiga. Among the representatives of 27 regions who gathered in an intermountain valley in the Western Sayan were representatives of the newly elected chairs of the branches from the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic, as well as employees of the Executive Directorate of the society. Voronezh Branch of the Russian Geographical Society was represented by Vadim Sviridov, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Geography, Geoecology, and Tourism of VSU.
The three-day session was dedicated to the issues of regional development and coordination of the activities of regional and local branches of the Russian Geographical Society. The participants discussed key areas of work, joint projects, and grant programmes and held training seminars. The guests paid special attention to improving the efficiency of the branches, strategic planning, and interregional cooperation.
During the second day of the session, representatives of the regions talked about their experiences of participating in federal projects of the Russian Geographical Society: the photo contest “The Most Beautiful Country”, the events “Geography for Children”, “Geographical Dictation”, “Night of Geography”, and “NONLesson in Geography”. Members of the regional offices told their colleagues about the celebration of the Geographer’s Day and the installation of memorial tablets to outstanding representatives of geographical science. The focus of the session was on the structure of regional branches, grant competitions of the Russian Geographical Society and its partners, and issues regarding establishing and functioning of regional boards of trustees of the Russian Geographical Society.
According to Vadim Sviridov, representatives of the Russian Geographical Society try to continue the traditions established by famous travellers. Today, the Russian Geographical Society has to solve large-scale tasks in the field of research, environmental protection, educational activities, and the development of scientific creativity and education, and local history tourism. One of the most important missions of the Russian Geographical Society is to unite people who have interest in nature and the great past and present of their homeland.
“This is not the first time I have participated in such events. They have always been a good opportunity to communicate and to share experiences and interesting ideas. For the first time, this meeting in the Krasnoyarsk Territory has been of informal nature and it has allowed the participants to learn more about this location. For the geographical community, this has always been important and relevant. The Krasnoyarsk Territory is a unique region: it combines the nature of taiga and mountains, vast lands, and hospitable people. It was also interesting to learn about the experience of the regional branch in interacting with the authorities and business. There was something to learn from the Krasnoyarsk branch for all the participants: this is a team of like-minded people of a “Siberian” school. I mean they know how to deal with hardships. The scale of their activities and plans is really impressive! Everybody could learn a lot from them... Special thanks to the representatives of the Executive Directorate, they have always been inspiring and energising!” said Vadim Sviridov.
The strategic session ended with a visit to the Ergaki Nature Park. The key task of the exciting hiking trip was to get acquainted with the peculiarities of expedition and tourist activities. The participants enjoyed the beauty of the Siberian nature in the Western Sayan and took home unforgettable impressions.
