Now in its tenth year, the iVolga Forum, which was designed to encourage youth innovation, is dedicated to the ethnic diversity and unity of the peoples of Russia.
As part of the forum programme, Maria Lvova-Belova visited an inclusive campus and met with its participants, including residents of the Louis Quarter, her Penza-based project. She talked about the Life-Long Support strategic programme designed to create a system of seamless social support for people with disabilities from the time of their birth and asked the young people to express their concerns over inconveniences and barriers they encounter in their daily life.
Speaking at the forum, the Children’s Commissioner touched on the issue of employing people with disabilities, saying that colleges needed to gear professional education to future jobs.
In addition, Ms Lvova-Belova met with the participants of the Children’s iVolga shift, which brought together young people from the Russian Schoolchildren Movement and other civic organisations. The Commissioner and the young people discussed ways of promoting children’s tourism and videography, making urban spaces and the internet safer, and reaching understanding between parents and their children.