The Mobile Academy of the Arts is one of the projects developed by the Socio-Cultural Initiatives Foundation, of which Ms Medvedeva is president. The Foundation was set up in December 2008 to support young people’s creative talents.
“The academy’s teachers include professors from the country’s top schools and prominent figures in the arts community,” the First Lady noted at the event’s opening. “Personally communicating with well known artists and attending their master classes helps these kids to develop their potential more fully and take their talents to new levels. Most important of all, it cements the spiritual links between the generations, allowing to continue and pass on our country’s finest cultural traditions”, Ms Medvedeva said.
The event was held at the Frunze Sanatorium, leading the First Lady to outline that during the 1941–1945 Great Patriotic War Sochi’s sanatoriums were used as military hospitals, where more than 300,000 soldiers and officers wounded in battle received treatment and rest.
Ms Medvedeva expressed her sincere gratitude to the Great Patriotic War veterans. “You saved our country and the entire world from Nazism. You vanquished a ruthless enemy and protected us. Thank you for your courage, endurance, endless love for our homeland, and this great deed that was yours,” the First Lady said.
Cash certificates from the Socio-Cultural Initiatives Foundation were presented as part of the charity event for the Sochi Veterans’ Council to buy a television, computer, and air conditioner, and for the Sochi Victoria Children’s and Teenagers’ Rehabilitation Centre.
The Mobile Academy of the Arts is a large-scale and long-term project drawn up by the Socio-Cultural Initiatives Foundation that includes innovative educational programmes designed to promote all-round personal development and unlock creative potential.
The First Lady spent time talking with the young artists and the Great Patriotic War veterans. Everyone taking part in the event received DVDs with classic films about the Great Patriotic War produced by the Mosfilm studios, souvenir gifts, and flowers.