The Opening Ceremony of the 5th Smolensk International Volunteer Camp "Hope"

Governor Alexey Ostrovskiy took part in the opening ceremony of the 5th International volunteer camp "Hope", which was held in the main square of the regional center.

The volunteer camp "Hope" will work in the Smolensk region under the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and the Administration of the Smolensk region.

For two weeks children from the rehabilitation center for disabled children and young people with disabilities "Vishenki" and the children's sanatorium "Prilesie" together with the volunteers from the camp will learn about the culture of different countries, will participate in the tourist gatherings, children's playgrounds, educational and recreational activities.

The camp has been held since 2009 in the Smolensk region. During this time volunteers from England, Canada, Germany, Poland, Turkey, France, Portugal, Norway, Spain, Italy, South Korea, USA, Slovakia, Belarus and various regions of Russia (it is more than 60 volunteers) attended the camp. This year among the participants there were volunteers from the Kirov, Sakhalin, Moscow, Smolensk regions of the Russian Federation, as well as representatives of foreign delegations from Turkey, South Korea, Slovakia, Italy, Spain, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

The main aim of the international volunteer camp is the social activity of foreign and Russian volunteers, contributing to more successful socialization of children with disabilities and children in difficult life situations in today's world through education and collaboration.

Second Secretary of the Representation office of the Russian Federation Foreign Affairs Ministry in Smolensk Oleg Fedorov read the greeting address from Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Gennady Gatilov to the participants of the international volunteer camp.

The greeting address to the organizers and guests of the camp "Hope" was sent by the president of the Nation's Health League, Chairman of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation on the health of the nation, development of sport and tourism, Academician Leo Bokeria. In his address he stressed the importance of the fact that today the youth policy has rightfully become one of the priorities of the national strategy, and that the issue of healthy lifestyle among the young people is one of the pillars of this policy.

The children from the rehabilitation center "Vishenki" who are the winners of the international, national and inter-regional festivals, sang the song "Red Sun". It is noteworthy that all the costumes the children made with their own hands. The participants of the volunteer camp and the guests enjoyed the performances of the artistic teams of Smolensk - choreographic group «Smile» and the group "Consonance of Alaton".