Students took part in ECO Generation, an intensive educational workshop

9 november 2022

On October 21, Amur State University, with the support from SIBUR's Formula for Good Deeds social investment program, hosted ECO Generation, Amur Oblast’s very first intensive educational eco-course for younger people. Students of Blagoveshchensk’s higher and secondary education institutions including Amur State University, Blagoveshchensk State Pedagogical University, Far Eastern State Agriculture University, and Amur State Medical Academy attended the intensive course.

Andrey Plutenko, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Rector of Amur State University, declared the workshop open. Welcoming remarks were also given by Yuliya Khanzhina, Deputy Director of the Young Professionals section of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives for Promoting New Projects, and by Marina Buchman, Amur GPP’s manager for government relations and socio-economic projects.

The course featured a talk by Evgenia Kuzilyak, Deputy Director of Ecology, a State Budgetary Institution, who presented a report on conservation and the environmental situation in Amur Oblast as of 2021. Natalia Fedorova, Deputy Head of the Department of Environmental Protection and Ecological Review at Amur Oblast’s Ministry of Natural Resources, spoke about the national Ecology project and its implementation in Amur Oblast. Igor Chernomortsev and Konstantin Dzyga, representatives of the national Medical Volunteers Movement, delivered a talk that discussed the value and importance of sticking to a healthy lifestyle and shared tips on staying in good health.

The participants of the course could also attend a separate session with Karina Ivchenko, president of a St. Petersburg-based No.More.Litter non-profit, where they learned about the latest ecological trends of 2022 and nationwide projects that were open to participation by volunteers.

Marina Zhilkova, head of RazDelnyi Sbor, a regional branch of the Ecology and Conservation Association in Amur Oblast, introduced the students to advanced methods of separate waste collection and recycling.

Tamara Zabolotskaya, Head of the Youth Policy Department at the Ministry of Education and Science of Amur Oblast, spoke about the opportunities and measures of support for young people that are available in the country and in the region.

The intensive course ended with the participants taking part in the Factory business game designed to help enhance their managerial decision-making skills. The attendees who were asked to assume the roles of managers of large-scale manufacturing facilities were presented with a choice: make a lot of money at the expense of causing a great deal of harm to the planet or maintain proper ecological balance but have lower earnings. To succeed, a winning team would have to make the most money while causing minimal harm to the environment. For two hours the players engaged each other in heated discussions, joined forces, and formed alliances. When all the moves were exhausted, the planet’s balance was still at 70%, which is quite a lot.

I love all sorts of activities, especially if they are related to conservation. Prior to this workshop, I had taken part in cleanups and Caring for my City campaigns, and even participated in eco-debates. I learned about ECO Generation through our curator Daria Yenina, and rushed to sign up. It seems to me that nowadays taking care of the environment is important to everyone because people want to live in a pristine environment, be healthy and happy! This intensive eco-workshop made me even more convinced in this, infused me with a lot of positive energy and helped make new friends! Anastasia Artashkina, a student at Amur State University, commented.

I had heard a lot about separate waste collection, but I never did it not knowing where to begin. I’m thankful to the course for the knowledge that I got. Not only have I decided to try separate waste collection at home, but I also signed up to be a volunteer at a separate collection campaign that will be held in Blagoveshchensk in November, Sophia Grekova, a student of Far Eastern State Agriculture University, noted.

Throughout the workshop, its participants were encouraged to take part in collecting plastic bottles. Right after the event, all collected plastic waste was sent for recycling.