Adaptive crossfit athlete Natalia Ryzhova to speak at a motivational gathering in Kazan

20 march 2023

On April 15, Kazan will be hosting a special event for inclusive communities as part of the interregional You Can Do Anything! project implemented within the Formula for Good Deeds, SIBUR's social investment program. The purpose of the event is to show its participants, most of whom are people with disabilities, that willpower, a character of steel, and a more assertive presence on social media can help anyone be successful. The event will be held jointly with Tatarstan’s Republican Chapter of the All-Russian Society of the Disabled.

SIBUR continues endorsing practices that support diversity and inclusion. It has adopted a dedicated policy to that effect that amalgamates all our key principles and approaches in this area. In 2022, we embarked on our new interregional project, You Can Do Anything!, that had grown out of a series of motivational gatherings with famous people with disabilities in those regions where SIBUR conducts its operations. Late last year, we conducted a survey of participants of these gatherings that showed there is strong demand for events such as these. I am sure that the event in Kazan will help representatives of the city's inclusive communities recharge their stores of energy and motivate them to get more active, Elena Snezhko, head of the Formula for Good Deeds social investment program, noted.

The first part of the meeting will feature Natalia Ryzhova, an adaptive crossfit athlete, a Master of Sports in track and field and in archery, who is well-known not only as an adaptive athlete and coach, but also as a public figure and a creative performer. This part of the event’s program will be moderated by Mikhail Chetvertakov, a partner of the project and the head of ParaPlan (Dzerzhinsk, Nizhegorodskaya Oblast), a non-profit organization that unites people confined to a wheelchair.

Speaking at an event like that is both a real pleasure and a great responsibility. I hope that my example will serve as motivation for many residents of the city of Kazan. My personal story is yet another proof that one can make progress in any chosen field if they have the urge and the will, if they are ready to train regularly and to get out of their comfort zone. That's the reason why I gladly accepted the invitation to speak at the motivational gathering in Kazan on April 15, Natalia Ryzhova said in advance of her speaking engagement at the event.

During the second part of the event, Aleksey Trantsev, Olga Lifanova, and Darya Suloyeva, moderators of the City of Opportunities, a blog dedicated to inclusion, will talk about what it takes to be successful on social media. Their blog was launched as part of the You Can Do Anything! project

If handled properly, one’s presence on social media can help transform an individual’s disability from something that is widely perceived as a disadvantage into an asset by advancing one’s personal brand, creativity, a social project, or a business. On our blog, City of Opportunities, we go over cases like that. Being successful on social media ultimately gets translated to a person's elevated self-esteem and greater interest in living! I would like to invite everyone to attend our motivational meet in Kazan and, of course, to subscribe to our blog! Alexey Trantsev commented.

The event is open to all willing participants. It has been made fully accessible to people with limited mobility.

The meeting will be taking place at the Moskovsky Cultural Center (at 47 Akademika Koroleva St., Kazan). The event kicks off at 12:00, and registration for the event opens at 11:30.

Pre-registration for the event at this link is required as available seating is limited!

For further inquiries about this event, please send your email to inclusion@formula-hd.ru.

We look forward to seeing you at our motivational meeting that will split your life into the time "before" and the time "after"!