St. Petersburg, Russia - UPF representatives reported on UPF's Baltic Dialogue Project at the third theoretical and practical conference on the theme of “The Baltic Region Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” in St. Petersburg March 23–24.
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One of the main goals of this ongoing educational program is to involve youth in addressing the challenges of the history and development of the Baltic region. Representatives of the North-West chapter of UPF-Russia expressed interest in this topic since one of its principal activities is the Baltic Dialogue Project. The Biotop ecological and biological center invited UPF representatives to serve as members of the jury for one of the 12 sections of the conference, on the topic “From the past into the future.”
Among the members of the jury were Alexandr Bianki, editor of Anichkovski Vestnik Magazine (Science in High School); Tatyana Krasnosumova, Secretary General of UPF-Northwest Russia; and Lyudmila Cherepanova, head of the section.
Ten students from different St. Petersburg schools presented their projects during this section. Presentations included topics such as “Living memories of the siege among us: Boris Perov,” “Trends in improving the labor market from 1945 to 2012,” “To the glory of the Russian Fleet,” and “The history of the family of the archpriest Filisof Ornadsky.” The first place was granted to a student of boarding school #2, Darya Smirnova. Her research work, “The history of Petersburg as told in one diary book,” was deep, sincere, and interesting; her work exhibited excellent logic and competent form. The jury expressed its sincere congratulations.
The program of the conference included an “open microphone” part in which the participants could express their remarks, propositions, and observations. Tatyana Krasnosumova commented that that the ecology of the mind should be considered among among other ecological issues and called attention to the importance of giving children a moral filter to use in everyday life for protection against the negative surroundings.
Finally, the participants received UPF booklets about the Lodestar Youth Ambassadors for Peace training camp and the summer sports program “Play Football Make Peace.”
For more information about UPF-Eurasia's Baltic Dialogue Initiative, click here.