Moscow hosted the II National Forum of the Russian Red Cross (the RRC), which is the oldest humanitarian agency in Russia. The Forum brought together more than 250 people to make publicly available 2028 RRC Strategy. The Strategy is focused to provide comprehensive assistance and develop initiatives that contribute to the general well-being.
The II National Forum of the Russian Red Cross was held from 27 to 30 November, 2023 at the World Trade Center in Moscow. The Forum brought together regional, local branches and the RRC Headquarters to develop and improve humanitarian activities in line with the current demands of the Russian society and governmental authorities.
The Forum’s guests of honor included Tatyana GOLIKOVA, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Mikhail MURASHKO, Minister of Health of the Russian Federation, Artem METELEV, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy, Olga BATALINA, First Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation, John ENTWISTLE, Head of Delegation, Country Cluster Delegation for the Russian Federation and Belarus at International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Boris MICHEL, Head of Regional Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, Leonid ROSHAL, President of the Research Institute of Emergency Children’s Surgery and Traumatology, President of the National Medical Chamber and others.
At the National Forum, the participants exchanged expertise and experience in the financial sustainability and commercial activities of the Russian Red Cross, as well as improving procedures to work with beneficiaries and partners. Beyond that, there was held a number of workshops on presentation and self-presentation, as well as HR and RRC members policy.
The second day of the Forum was devoted to financial sustainability, including a workshop on financial management, a discussion on financial stability, workshops on developing income-generating activities and group work on cascading the strategy to the regions throughout the country. In particular, Pavel Savchuk, the President of the Russian Red Cross, accentuated the need for self-development. The Khakass regional branch of the RCC was named as a positive example of a regional branch with successful development under limited resources.
Alongside this, in the margins of the Forum, there was signed an agreement with the All Russian Public Organization “Business Russia”. The signed agreement stipulates the cooperation with Russian Red Cross regional branches.
During the panel discussion “The role of the Russian Red Cross in helping people”, Olga ROZANOVA, Deputy Head of the Department of Medical Support of Extreme Work and Blood Service of FMBA of Russia, commented that due to the cooperation of the Russian Red Cross with the Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA) of Russia, the total number of blood donors and blood components in the country in 10 months of 2023 has already reached 1.4 million people. This is comparable to the figures for the entire 2022.
“The development of the Blood Service is hardly possible without the development of intersectoral cooperation between the governmental authorities, Blood Service agencies, donors and, of course, non-profit organizations. Historically, one of the priority areas of the Russian Red Cross was and remains blood donation. It was the RRC merit that the blood donation became a mass phenomenon during the Great Patriotic War. As of today, the Russian Red Cross and all regional branches actively cooperate with the Blood Service agencies, holding mass events and activities to raise public awareness of blood and bone marrow donation”, said Olga ROZANOVA.
Artem METELEV, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Youth Policy of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, shared his opinion about the mentoring program “NPOs help other NPOs” for municipal and regional non-profit organizations. The RRC was invited to act as a mentor for other NPOs and share its long experience.
“The Russian Red Cross is 156 years old. You have vast experience and great expertise in various issues of targeted assistance. With this in mind, we have launched a mentoring program to provide an opportunity for nationwide large organizations to share their expertise with regional municipal NPOs. A large number of non-profit organizations need expertise, and the Russian Red Cross and its regional branches can become mentors for other NPOs”, indicated Artem METELEV.
Vladimir ABRAMOV, Deputy Head of office of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, emphasized that they actively cooperate with local authorities, volunteers, public foundations and the Russian Red Cross. He also highlighted that in 2022 an agreement on cooperation with the RRC was signed aimed at solving specific issues. Grigory GUTOV, Chairman of the Governing Board of the Russian Movement of Children and Youth “Movement of the Firsts”, spoke about the joint plans of the organization and the Russian Red Cross on first aid training for the next year.
The Forum’s final day was dedicated to the role of the Russian Red Cross in assistance to general public. The discussions were held on a panel discussion, a project session on improving procedures for working with general public, and a workshop on emergency response.
“We have signed more than 40 agreements on cooperation with territorial bodies of the Russian Ministry of Emergencies and Disaster Relief (EMERCOM). The keynotes include mutual expert and methodological support between EMERCOM of Russia and the Russian Red Cross, exchange of information on training of volunteers, as well as coordination of bilateral or nationwide projects of the program to establish humanitarian stocks and stocks of essential goods in case of emergency. We are working to centralize these activities, striving to sign a unified nationwide agreement and extend it to all regions to ensure uniformity. The tasks are elaborated with details and uniformly for all to ensure clarity and coordination in the response to emergencies”, said Alexey PIKUL, Head of the Emergency Response Department of the Russian Red Cross.
Major General Alexander MOLCHANOV, Deputy Director of the Department of Civil Defense and Population Protection of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, singled out that he himself witnessed the work of the Russian Red Cross during his business trip to the Sverdlovsk region, which was affected by the fires. He also added that during emergencies, government agencies and public organizations mobilize and work collectively to provide assistance to the affected groups of population.
Lidia TIMOFEEVA, Deputy Director of the Federal State Budgetary Institution “Center for Emergency Psychological Assistance of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia” commented: “At the nationwide level there is a signed agreement between our agency and the Russian Red Cross. In general, our interaction is held in several areas, including psychological education and outreach. Moreover, the RRC has been entitled to lead and guide psychological volunteering in the country. Another area of activity that looks promising is the involvement of specialists in the provision of prolonged assistance to victims of emergencies”.
The II National Forum has created prolific climate for sharing experience and developing a strategy for further development of the Russian Red Cross. The main outcome of the Forum became the manifestation of the key areas of the RRC development until 2028. Thus, the priorities and goals for the next 4 years include support for humanitarian initiatives, access to psychological assistance by wider groups of population, emergency preparedness and response, scaling up of medical and social services, as well as donor community expansion.
