The Roscongress Foundation’s Social Platform is expanding its range of work and will become the central venue for discussions of the social agenda at the Russian Investment Forum, which will be held in the Main Media Centre in Sochi on 14–15 February 2019.
 
The Social Platform is a strategic initiative by the Roscongress Foundation aimed at promoting socially significant projects and the creation of a dialogue between participants in the social environment: government, business, society, representatives of the non-profit sector and the media.
 
“Non-profit organizations in Russia are playing an increasingly important role. At present, it is they who understand people’s real needs best, and raise issues which the authorities are not always aware of. Today, with the help of non-profit organizations, solutions that are often innovative and effective are being put forward in order to solve problems. The ‘Social Investment Laboratory’ helps non-profit organizations to work more easily with each other and find new common ground, and is becoming an excellent platform for public organizations to interact with government authorities and business,” commented Olga Golodets, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
 
Four panel sessions of the Social Platform will be held within one of the modules of the Forum’s business programme, called ‘The New Social Agenda.’ Traditionally the sessions will bring together representatives of government, big business, the non-profit sector, and subject-matter experts to discuss current issues of social development. One of the key panel discussions will be on the implementation of the national ‘Culture’ project and attracting investment to federal and regional cultural projects. Olga Golodets, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Medinsky, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, Olga Vasilyeva, Minister of Education of the Russian Federation, Zelfira Tregulova, Director of the Tretyakov Gallery, Eduard Boyakov, Director of the Gorky Moscow Art Academic Theatre, and other cultural figures are expected to attend the session, while the journalist and television presenter, Leonid Parfyonov, will act as moderator.
 
In another Social Platform session, representatives of Russia’s largest universities, the New Economic School, the National Research University Higher School of Economics, the Russian State Social University, the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, and leading experts will discuss the problems of boosting socially oriented education and nurturing social values among the younger generation. In the discussion on investment in social communications, representatives of business, the non-profit sector, and the creative industry will discuss how communication with audiences should be set up in order to achieve positive changes in society. Finally, while continuing to integrate the women’s agenda into major business forums, the Social Platform will also hold a discussion about the problems and outlook for women’s participation in STEM professions, related to the hard sciences and cutting-edge technologies.
 
One of the key events on the social agenda of the Russian Investment Forum in Sochi will be a meeting of the Council of the Government of the Russian Federation on Social Welfare. On 14 February at 3:30 pm, Tatyana Golikova, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, will hold a meeting of the Council on Social Welfare at the Forum. The meeting’s theme is ‘Medical support for and social adaptation of children with diabetes mellitus and creating public awareness of the symptoms of diabetes.’ It will focus on improving the mechanism by which diabetes in children can be speedily diagnosed, on providing those in need with medicine, diagnostic tools and consumables to control the disease, and on protecting the rights of children with diabetes in educational organizations and organizations that provide summer recreation and treatment in health resorts. Council members will present the results of a nationwide study among families with children with diabetes. The study sheds light on the medical, financial and domestic issues faced by these families.
 
As part of the Social Platform’s stand – the Social Investment Laboratory – panel discussions, a series of interviews with Russian business leaders, community and government leaders, and other events designed to promote the modern social agenda will take place.
A unique art project will be presented at the Social Investment Laboratory: an exhibition of paintings called ‘The Inalienable,’ by artists with special needs. The exhibition will be opened by Tatyana Golikova, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
“The work of the Roscongress Social Platform, as a platform for discussing socially significant issues, has long been an integral part of the biggest Roscongress forums in Russia and of leading international platforms. The main theme of the Russian Investment Forum 2019, ‘National Projects: From Strategy to Action,’ fully corresponds to our mission. Increasing social entrepreneurship and social communications, women’s leadership, support for charitable projects, educational and environmental programmes, corporate social responsibility, education and healthcare: for the second year, these topics are not only successfully integrated into the business programme and are being discussed at the Social Investment Laboratory, but are also implemented in real projects and areas that contribute to addressing urgent issues in modern society,” said Elena Marinina, Deputy CEO of the Roscongress Foundation and Director for the Socio-Economic Agenda.
 
An important event in the programme will be the awards ceremony for the winners of the Russia-wide social projects competition, ‘Innosocium,’ aimed at attracting a student audience to the social agenda, which the Roscongress Foundation and the Art, Science and Sport Charity Foundation launched in September 2018. The authors of bids selected by an expert jury will be awarded grants from the competition’s partners for implementing their projects.
 
Following the results of the charity event, Roscongress Foundation will allocate 2.5 million roubles to support Russian social projects. The official signing ceremony will take place at the Social Investment Laboratory.
In addition, the Laboratory will organize an interview zone with leaders of Russian business, relevant government and public figures, an informal networking zone, and a library of literature on social themes, where readers may both learn about current publications on broad social themes, and take part in a special book raffle.
The discussion section of the programme will be about issues in Russian education, including boosting its competitiveness on the international market and promoting skilled trade jobs based on the Worldskills ‘Young Professionals’ training project; active ageing and the development of regional programmes; creating an inclusive environment, and employment issues for people with disabilities; the theme of volunteering and citizens’ social participation; social entrepreneurship; and the development and preservation of culture in the regions.
 
The Social Platform is a strategic initiative of the Roscongress Foundation that aims to establish and maintain a stable dialogue between the business, government and civil society structures. We create feedback tools within the framework of existing forums, continuously promote the social agenda, and facilitate the development of a healthy social environment and philanthropy in Russia.
The platform’s mission is to facilitate the consolidation, establishment of a dialogue, and cooperation between the entities involved in the social ecosystem and also promote socially significant projects and the development of a culture of social inclusion in Russia.
Contacts:
Tel: +7 (495) 640 4440, ext. 148
Email: social.platform@roscongress.org