The Innosocium Foundation, the social platform of the Roscongress Foundation, held an online conference titled ‘Coronavirus Charity in Russia: How the Crisis Has Brought Everyone Together’ on 15 May. The event was attended by representatives of Russian charitable foundations, associations, and companies who discussed the social problems that have arisen in connection with the spread of COVID-19 as well as the role of charity in solving these problems.
One of the most important conclusions reached during the discussion is that overcoming the current difficulties not only depends on the actions of the authorities, business, and non-profit organizations, but also on each individual person. The work performed by tens of thousands of volunteers throughout Russia is a vivid example of this.
Dmitry Polikanov, Deputy Head of All-Russia Popular Front Executive Committee, spoke about the progress made by the ‘We’re Together’ campaign, which aims to support senior citizens, people with limited mobility, and medical workers during the coronavirus pandemic. «We see how this difficult time has brought the country together. Thousands of partners have joined the ‘We’re Together’ campaign — both flagships of business and ordinary people. The level of mutual assistance is estimated in the billions of roubles. This is a powerful indicator of our society’s charitable potential and an excellent chance to eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles that impede the development of philanthropy using best practices,» Dmitry Polikanov said.
This opinion was supported by Elena Ivanitskaya, the Deputy Director of the Department of Strategic Development and Innovation of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development: «The need to support non-profit organizations has been announced at the highest level over the past months, including in the lists of instructions given by the president of the Russian Federation. In the very near future, regulations will emerge that govern the conditions for providing support measures to NPOs and, just as importantly, providing tax benefits for philanthropists.»
Representatives of companies and charitable foundations noted that the current situation has forced them to drastically alter their work in order to ease the process of beneficiaries receiving assistance. «Right now is a difficult time, a time of limited mobility and limited resources, and there are more and more people who need our help. So we are currently in a new reality of restructuring all processes and priorities,» said Irina Arkhipova, Public Affairs and Communications Director of Coca-Cola HBC Russia.
Maria Morozova, the CEO of the Timchenko Foundation, also announced there has been a revision of «peacetime» priorities. This has enabled the Foundation «to help solve the most critical problems without changing its mission, do it quickly and, where possible, effectively». She also urged the government and society to show greater information transparency, which would make it possible to respond to potential difficulties in a timely manner. As an example, Morozova cited the situation with the provision of personal protective equipment for the public and, in particular, for employees of medical organizations that are battling COVID-19.
«The coronavirus crisis, of course, has had an impact on the work of organizations that help people», said Pavel Tkachenko, Executive Director of the Children’s Hospice Charitable Foundation. «But the Children’s Hospice Foundation’s more than 17 years of experience suggests that a crisis is always followed by the strongest development of both individual non-profit organizations and the entire sector as a whole. After all, hard times give a very powerful boost to the development of the entire social sphere.»
In her speech, Anush Ovsepyan, the Development Director of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Russia organization, which helps with the social adaptation of children from orphanages, spoke about how modern technologies help maintain communication between mentors and their wards despite being in self-isolation. At the same time, Ovsepyan stressed: «The future is not technology, but, rather, people. The development of humankind is the most important component in changing the world, where mentoring plays a key role!»
Yulia Peresild, an actress and a founder of the GALCHONOK Charitable Foundation for children and young people, also touched upon the theme of technology. She said her foundation has quickly reformatted its programmes and put them online. This has made it possible to provide assistance even in these current difficult conditions. «Come together, help others, and stay close. Regular support is needed now more than ever,» she said.
The full version of the online conference is available on the Roscongress-TV YouTube channel.
