The 4th Annual Volunteer Forum “Dobroforum 2015” was held on 20 and 21 November 2015. Per tradition, the State Hermitage sent a team of international volunteers as a delegation to the forum. The 24 Hermitage volunteers representing 15 countries not only colorfully described their work at the Hermitage, but also shared about their experiences in the volunteer sector in their own countries, participating in workshops and in lively discussions about different ways of running volunteer work. The Head of the Volunteer Service, Mikhail Kozhukhovsky, gave a presentation about the increase in the qualifications of volunteers and about his methods of training them, based on his many years of experience working at the State Hermitage.
The Volunteer Service, created at the Hermitage in 2003 in honor of the 300-year anniversary of St. Petersburg, today constitutes one of the oldest volunteer organizations in Russia.
The projects of 2015 have been bright highlights in the cultural fabric of life in St. Petersburg, and the Volunteer Sector at the State Hermitage was once again nominated for the most “Effective Volunteerism,” a designation which it has received each year consecutively since 2013.
Governor of St. Petersburg Georgii Sergeevich Poltavchenko opened the forum with words of support for the participants. The Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Engagement, S.V. Pospelov, and the Chairman of the Committee for Youth Politics in Saint Petersburg, R.Iu. Abdulina spoke about the important role of volunteerism, and together with delegations from volunteer unions and chairpersons of city and federal regions participated in various sectors of the forum.
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“Dobroforum” 20-21 November 2015