Moscow, Russia—UPF-Moscow held an online competition in honor of the first International Day of Human Fraternity.
In early February, UPF announced the competition on the main Russian social media networks, inviting people of all ages and from all Russian-speaking nations to enter.
Those who entered the competition were asked to upload essays or pictures connected to the theme of human fraternity, adding the hashtags #HumanFraternity and #Universal Peace Federation (of course, in Russian). The winners would be the ones who received the most “likes.”
The competition was part of the celebration of the International Day of Human Fraternity, the new UN observance which will be celebrated every year on February 4.
Many people responded to the UPF initiative, including entire classes and organizations. They posted photos and writings on social networks dedicated to the theme of human fraternity.
The first-place winners were the pupils of class 10A from secondary school No. 3 in the town of Petrovsk in the Saratov region of southwestern Russia. They won with their online posting about a flash mob with the theme of human fraternity.
Thanking the winning students for their cooperation, UPF-Moscow Chairman Dmitry Samko awarded a certificate to each child and a valuable prize that will be used to equip the classroom.
The pupils and their teacher, Natalia Kashcheeva, expressed their deep gratitude to the organizers of this event and called on society to pursue human brotherhood for the benefit of peace and cooperation.
The second place was taken by Yulia Vlasova from Moscow. Her publication about a volunteer project in Nepal also attracted great interest on the social network Vkontakte.
It is worth noting that, thanks to this UPF competition and the use of the hashtag #Human Fraternity, this new observance received much attention on social networks and approximately 10,000 people learned about the International Day of Human Fraternity.
The UPF stands in solidarity with the UN resolution, expressing deep concern over acts of religious intolerance, especially as the world is facing an unprecedented crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
