The meeting was held at the National Centre “Russia.” The President toured the display before the meeting.
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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Friends, colleagues, I am very glad to see you, good afternoon. I am pleased to welcome the participants in our meeting today, members of the supervisory board of the Movement of the First.
Just like the Movement’s annual congress, our meeting is taking place at the National Centre “Russia.” I toured the place with my colleagues, and I hope that everyone present here and congress participants had a chance to familiarise themselves with the items displayed at the exhibition. It is very pleasant and useful to see an inspiring example of our people’s accomplishments over the past decades and, in general, over the course of our thousand-year-long history.
We really have something to be proud of in various spheres and in all regions of our country without exception. These achievements reflect uniqueness of our multiethnic nation and its millennial history, and today’s schoolchildren, young people, I am sure, also dream of achieving a result that is meaningful and necessary for each of them and each of you (I am addressing these words to the young participants of our meeting today) and, eventually, for our Motherland.
The movement is growing and expanding with 11 million people in its ranks, even over 11 million. This is already a sizable “army.” Importantly, this movement is actively working in large cities and small towns. It should provide equal opportunities for children everywhere throughout our country.
In this regard, it is necessary to further build up and improve the infrastructure of the movement. I emphasise that it should be everywhere where there are children and teenagers. Thankfully, we have them everywhere, so the movement should work everywhere and create a unified, holistic, and interconnected system for children at their place of residence, at schools, colleges, and universities, as well as in organisations of supplementary education and in children’s recreational camps.
The education councils have a special role to play. In recent years, this area of focus has expanded notably, and we keep paying increasing attention to it. For this purpose, I believe it is possible and expedient for the Presidential Executive Office to create a working group on educational system, which will unite and coordinate the efforts of representatives of the education, culture, and sports system, as well as parent communities and civil society organisations, and government bodies, in short, all those that are one way of another involved in the process of educating children and teenagers.
Next. Not only children and adolescents but also their parents actively participate in various projects of the Movement, often forming entire family teams.
I consider this highly important and appropriate, as parents naturally – it goes without saying – hold a pivotal role in all matters concerning the upbringing and formation of young people’s personality, making them indispensable partners of the Movement. The formats of such partnerships are also expanding, and they should be made as appealing and engaging as possible for both children and adults.
In this context, I extend sincere gratitude to all who have joined the Movement’s work. I particularly note that an increasing number of participants in the special military operation are becoming mentors. It is very important that veterans of combat operations – people of different nationalities, ages, and professions, who stood together in defence of the Motherland – now stand side by side in the most vital and fundamental endeavour for Russia’s future: the upbringing of children and adolescents.
It is essential for young people to see that true heroes – true in every sense of the word – are present among them. To grow and mature by the examples of genuine valour and love for the Motherland is of utmost significance.
Servicemen awarded the title of Hero of Russia contribute to the Movement’s governing bodies and today’s supervisory board deliberations. I specifically commend you and your comrades-in-arms for the courage demonstrated in service and for your current role in shaping the younger generation.
This year — as everyone is well aware — we mark the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War. I know that participants in the Movement tend to military memorials and burial sites, stand honour guards on commemorative dates, and, together with their parents, study the history of their ancestors – great-grandmothers, grandmothers, grandfathers – those who fought and those who selflessly worked on the home front.
Such personal involvement and immersion in the events of the wartime years help preserve the living fabric of historical memory of our people’s feat, providing crucial moral guidance that, I am sure, young people will carry throughout their lives and pass on to future generations of Russians. And of course, I hope that in this anniversary year of Victory, such projects will grow even larger in scale, reach wider audiences, and attract more young people, children, and teenagers.
Today, we will discuss the prospects for the Movement’s development. I note that, in keeping with a good tradition, the supervisory board includes – as I observed upon entering this hall – our young colleagues. I wish to emphasise and reiterate, , this has been a cornerstone principle of the Movement from the outset: schoolchildren and adolescents are co-authors of all decisions. I anticipate that the young participants will share their assessments of what has already been accomplished, their ideas and proposals, and their evaluations of the Movement’s endeavours.
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