FOLLOW US
A Focus on Family Values in Russia
Written by Dr. Vladimir Petrovsky,UPF-Russia
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Russian Ambassadors for Peace decided to conduct in Moscow and other cities and regions of Russia a series of public events during 2008 under the motto “Peace in Heart - Love in the Family – Peace on Earth.” Our overall goal is to build a sustainable civil coalition that is able to provide national leadership to promote patriotic and family values, living for the sake of others, civic accord, peace and reconciliation, interethnic and interreligious cooperation, and dialogue among cultures and civilizations, through arts and culture, sports, service, and education.
Symbolically, the Russian government proclaimed 2008 as the Year of Family. So our goals and objectives were to concentrate public attention on the ideals of living for the sake of others, true family, peace and reconciliation in society, with a final goal to set up sustainable and effective civil coalition. We need this in order to facilitate dialogue between civil society and the state bodies within the framework of the Millennium Development Goals and to involve state bodies in public peace efforts, resulting in efficient mechanisms of social partnership.
To consolidate public effort in support of the Year of Family in Russia, we are facilitating a public discussion on important human development issues. These activities were linked to the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, in order to highlight the Constitutional rights of women, children, and family. We also advocate humanitarian and service activities to benefit families with several children, orphans, poor people, and senior citizens.
Our academic and educational activities include conferences, symposiums, and round-table discussions on public diplomacy, human development, peace and human security. We held lively debates on issues of religious education in the Russian schools, actions in support of the Russian language and Russian culture, promotion of independent publishers of educational literature, and other timely issues of interest to Russian citizens.
Our international activities aim at sustaining interethnic, intercultural and interreligious dialogue in order to promote tolerance and transparency. To celebrate the 60th jubilee of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we will present the draft UNESCO Convention on Peace Education and offer activities to highlight the UN International Decade of Culture of Peace for Children of the Planet.
But people are generally more attracted by culture programs, arts, and entertainment than by abstract debates. So we are also planning folklore exhibitions, competitions, and shows in support of Russia’s indigenous people and traditional culture, and also youth activities, such as get-togethers and rock concerts to support patriotic education and volunteer service. Our sports cluster includes marathons, martial arts, and football activities.
We launched on March 1 the International “Moscow Super Family” competition. Participants and stakeholders include government and nongovernmental organizations, public commercial and noncommercial organizations, institutions, movements, and individuals representing various strata of civil society, academia, culture and arts, media, and sports, as well as different religions and denominations.
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