5 December State Hermitage celebrates International Volunteer Day

On the 5th of December 2016, the volunteers of the State Hermitage gathered at the Restoration and Storage centre «Staraya Derevnya» for a ceremonial event in honour of International Volunteer Day.

The tradition of celebrating this holiday at the Hermitage began in 2003, when the Museum Volunteer Service was created.

Mikhail Kozhukhovsky, Director of the Volunteer Service, addressed the audience with salutatory words and congratulations. He thanked participants for their help with the realisation of projects such as «Palmyra: Breathing Life», the festival «Discover your Europe at the Hermitage», and «Intermuseum – 2016», and talked about plans for the coming year.

Short films made by the volunteers showing the results of this year’s work were presented at the celebration, as well as video messages sent in by volunteers from various different countries.

The culmination of the ceremonial event was the awarding of certificates of appreciation and gifts.