The fifth "Light of the Christmas Star" festival-сompetition was held from Dec. 5 to 9, 2013 in four nations bordering the Baltic Sea: Russia, Finland, Sweden and Estonia. The program was part of the Baltic Dialogue peace initiative organized by UPF-Eurasia.Creative teams came from the Russian cities of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Sergiev Posad and Yakutsk, and there were also singers and musicians from Finland, China and Brazil.
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The first evening of the festival after the opening ceremony was organized by UPF-Russia. Tatiana Krasnosumova, secretary general of the UPF chapter for Northwest Russia, spoke about the activities of the federation and Ambassadors for Peace.
The children then were divided into two age groups. Those younger than 10 years entered a drawing competition on the theme of "The Nation of the Future." Those older than 10 years took part in an exercise called "Five Principles of Peace." The participants, under the guidance of Mrs. Krasnosumova, were very serious about finding answers to important questions and formulating five principles for making peace.
Then the older schoolchildren made paper doves as symbols of peace and friendship, attached them to colorfully decorated sheets on which were written the five principles of peace, and put them in a package to pass on to their peers in Stockholm.
On the next day there was a talent contest with competitors ranging in age from 5 to 87 years. A choir of veterans from St. Petersburg, who were participating in this competition for the first time, proved the truth of the song lyric that states "veterans’ souls never age." For their performance the veterans were awarded first place.
On the third day the festival moved to Helsinki, Finland, attending a gala concert held in the city center. Participants received diplomas, certificates and gifts from the festival organizers. The jury included Tatyana Konstantinova, director of the Moscow Operetta Theater, who was the chair of the jury, and Irina Sharapova, a professor at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory named for N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov.
Winners of the drawing contest, which is held annually as part of the festival by the Shemyakin Foundation, were handed their awards by Marina Sherbakova, deputy general manager of the foundation.
Mrs. Krasnosumova of UPF-Russia invited the 10 winners of the drawing contest up on the stage. The children had tried their best to show the future of their country, in particular as an initiator of world peace. UPF awarded certificates and small gifts to the winners. The winning drawings were neatly folded and packed for transmission to peers in Stockholm.
The 20 students who had participated in the exercise "Five Principles of Peace" received “Young Peacemaker” certificates and small souvenirs, as well as invitations to spend their winter break at the Lodestar camp near St. Petersburg which is used by Young Ambassadors for Peace.
Festival participants were taken on sightseeing tours of Helsinki and Turku in Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; and Tallinn, Estonia. Many of them were riding for the first time the ferry that transported them from Finland to Sweden and then to Estonia. The festival days, filled with excitement, emotions, joy and new experiences, will long be remembered by both children and adult participants.