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Roscongress Foundation's Social Platform Organized a Social Communications Discussion Platform in Civic Chamber

On 18 December 2018, the Social Platform of the Roscongress Foundation and the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation organized a discussion platform ‘Innosocium: From Idea to Implementation’ as part of the Innosocium Nationwide Social Project Competition. The Competition aims to draw students’ attention to public issues and ways to solve them.

Alexander Stuglev, CEO of the Roscongress Foundation, and Elena Marinina, Deputy CEO of the Roscongress Foundation and Head of Social Programmes, opened the event.

“The Roscongress Foundation today is not just an operator of forum events; we challenge ourselves to foster the development of business and society through studying trends and topical issues of the social and economic agenda in Russia and the world, promoting significant projects and organizing a dialogue with the participation of world business leaders, government officials, experts and media. In today’s world, any successful business should be not only profitable, but also make a social contribution, be socially conscious. We see that effective social communications determine the well-being and sustainable development of countries, and as Russia’s largest development institution, we must focus on unlocking its potential. That is why the Centre for the Development of Social Communications, a project of the Roscongress Foundation’s Social Platform, launched the Innosocium Nationwide Social Project Competition,” said Alexander Stuglev, CEO of the Roscongress Foundation.

Over three hundred students from leading Russian universities: RANEPA, MGIMO, RGSU, HSE, MGPPU, attended the event. The students asked questions, shared their ideas and participated in discussions.

“We were delighted to see so many young people at our event who are ready to change the world, charge others with their ideas and actively participate in social life. Student social projects evaluated by an expert jury of the Competition, also confirm this. Today, all innovations are born in the public realm, and our Competition is a great way to demonstrate creative potential and personal involvement in social issues. I hold that the future is what we do today, and it is of great importance that the next generation is also involved in building better future,” said Elena Marinina, Deputy CEO and Head of Social Programmes at the Roscongress Foundation.

Two panel discussions ‘Social Communication: Current Development Trajectory’ and ‘Project Design as a Social Responsibility Development Driver’ were held at the event.

The discussion was attended by Gor Nahapetyan, Co-founder of the Friends Foundation, honorary professor of business practice at the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo; Tina Kandelaki, General Producer of Match TV channel; Vladimir Vainer, Director of the Gladway Foundation for Media and Social Project Development, Creative Director of Advertising Research Centre Grand Prix; Ekaterina Son, General Director of Effie Awards Russia; Alexey Goryachev, Senior Partner at RB Partners, Head of YPO Moscow, Ambassador B Corp in Russia; Natalya Pochinok, Rector of Russian State Social University; Elena Kryuchkova, Chief Manager of the Norilsk Nickel Charitable Programs; Yelena Topoleva-Soldunova, Commission Chair on the Development of Non-profit Sector and Support of socially Oriented NPOs, Director of the autonomous non-profit organization ‘Agency of Social Information’; Anna Shabarova, RCC Vice-President for HR Policy and Social Responsibility; Ksenia Dmitrieva, Head of the Osobiy Vzglyad (Special View) Programme, Art, Science, and Sport Charitable Foundation and Natalia Golub, Marketing Director of the ‘Memory of Generations’ Charity Foundation.

Social communications have become an integral part of modern society, so is it imperative to use the right tools for their development.

“The Internet is full of glaring meaningful and meaningless content. It is critical to teach young people to utilise the main advantage of the network: instant access to all the knowledge accumulated by humanity. Moreover, we must offer a ‘live’ alternative. The one who unlocks the power of electronic communications and is free from a virtual shell owns the game, the one who uses electronic communication as a useful tool, the one who is ready to step out of the comfort zone into the reality of today,” said Tina Kandelaki, General Producer of Match TV.

The panel discussion speakers also discussed communication from the professional standpoint, the development of modern marketing and how a social agenda can work for the good of a brand to pave the way to its business success.

“Social matters, social agendas today make brands stand out. Thirty-eight per cent of people pay attention and ‘vote with a rouble’ for those brands that resonate with their inner meanings. In today’s world, people perceive brands as agents of influence, as something that is truly capable of changing the world for the better. Therefore, when we dive into the world of social advertising, we, among other things, think about social communication, about what drives modern business, the brand and enables us to gain more,” said Ekaterina Son, General Director of Effie Awards Russia.

“Social communications, social projects and social entrepreneurship, the changes that students generate with their projects are already in great demand. I hold that the Innosocium Competition will flourish, open up new platforms and will soon become an international project,” said Natalya Pochinok, Rector of Russian State Social University.

Social communications open doors for the most exciting projects that attract not only young people but also experienced professionals from various fields.

“First of all, it is the meaning, and it is an opportunity to try oneself in different roles and the opportunity to show one’s initiative and interest, the opportunity to grow, change and learn continuously. I believe that social projects and social communications are the most interesting in communications today,” Yelena Topoleva-Soldunova, Commission Chair on the Development of Non-profit Sector and Support of socially Oriented NPOs, Director of the autonomous non-profit organization “Agency of Social Information”.

Artem Shilin, Assistant Professor of the Department of Social Communication and Organization of Work with Youth at MGPPU and Anna Kudrya, Assistant Chairman of the Commission of the Civil Chamber of the Russian Federation on Charity, Civic Education and Social Responsibility, moderated the sessions.

“One of the priorities in recent years is the development of citizenship in young people, which allows them to affirm the sense of nationhood and contributes to their self-fulfilment. The Innosocium Nationwide Social Project Competition aims to draw the attention of students to public issues and ways to solve them. Taking part in it, working on socially significant projects, a student gets the opportunity to introduce new initiatives and determine the trajectory of the future development of modern society,” said Artem Shilin.

Nikita Kukushkin, Gogol Centre actor, founder of the Dobro Box (Good Box) project, Golden Mask Award nominee for the best male role and an award winner for the play ‘Otmorozki’ (Thugs) was a guest at the event.

In February 2019, the Russian Investment Forum will announce the finalists of the Innosocium Competition. The winners will receive funding for the project and will present their ideas at SPEIF 2019 in St. Petersburg.

19.12.2018


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