Turinsk, Russia - On October 30, the authors of Value-oriented Volunteerism, E.F. Skvortsov and T.V. Kuskildina, held a workshop in Turinsk, Sverdlovsk region, that was attended by deputy-directors of schools, experts from the Department of Education and Youth Affairs, and teachers of supplementary education.
The creators of the workshop possess practical experience in creating and carrying out volunteer projects. The workshop program, created by experts in psychology and sociology, was based on their volunteer experience, theoretical analysis of documents, and information about volunteerism both international and national.
The workshop is a basic part of the annual educational program, the Baikal ecological and tourism volunteer project. Participants included young people who are already involved in volunteer activities. The workshop has been held several times for students. At their request, this time the participants consisted of both schoolchildren and their teachers in order to inform more people about this activity and promote volunteerism in the district. Therefore, the workshop was organized with both educational and methodological aspects, and each session was followed by discussion about a specific aspect of school volunteerism: background, definition and value of volunteerism, character development, and motivation of volunteers.
The teachers reported that the workshop helped them understand that volunteers can make the world, their nation, and their homeland a better place, and in the process they themselves become better people. The teachers desire to set a good example for their pupils and properly educate the younger generation.