Nizhnevartovsk hosted a motivational event of SIBUR's inclusive project You can do anything!

20 june 2022

On June 18, Nizhnevartovsk hosted a meeting for inclusive communities as part of You Can Do Anything!, an interregional project implemented within the framework of SIBUR’s Formula for Good Deeds social investment program. The meeting was organized with the support of Nizhnevartovsk’s City Administration, the Nizhnevartovsk Young Spectators’ Theater, and SAMiT, the inclusive social and creative center. A total of 130 participants took part in the event.

In keeping with SIBUR's Sustainable Development Strategy, starting this year, the Formula for Good Deeds social investment program will be including a new focus area called "Inclusivity". The meeting in Nizhnevartovsk proved that we have chosen the right trajectory for the program's development considering that events such as these are very important and useful for inclusive communities. I am delighted that the meeting brought together so many young people showing keen interest in making sure that disabled individuals are appropriately represented on social media. I am confident that, following this meeting, the residents of Nizhnevartovsk will get more actively involved in the activities of the City of Opportunities community that was created under the auspices the You can do anything! project, Elena Snezhko, Chief Expert, Head of the Formula for Good Deeds Social Investment Program, noted.

The event opened with an inclusive theatrical performance, put on stage by Renaissance, Nizhnevartovsk Theatre of Young Spectators’ creative laboratory.

During the first part of the meeting, Viktor Schastlivy, a public relations expert with I Love Life charity and a famous motivational speaker, discussed how individuals with disabilities could coexist happily with non-disabled people. This session was moderated by Mikhail Chetvertakov, the leader of ParaPlan, an NGO of wheelchair users (Dzerzhinsk, Nizhegorodskaya Oblast).

We are happy that yet another motivational meeting held as part of the You can do anything! project was hosted by Nizhnevartovsk. Today we had a very open and sincere discussion focusing on how people with disabilities can live a fulfilling life. I hope that the emotions experienced by the meeting’s attendees will serve as a foothold to paving the way to new victories and summits, Tatiana Voronova, Head of the Social Policy Department of Nizhnevartovsk’s City Administration, commented.

The second part of the event focused on how people with disabilities are represented on social media. Aleksey Trantsev and Darya Suloyeva, moderators of the City of Opportunities blog, discussed the basic rules of successful social media engagements using specific examples, and presented their newly created blog on inclusivity.

Motivational meetings such as this are very much needed because lives of people with disabilities go beyond just taking meals and going through rehabilitation. The event in Nizhnevartovsk once again demonstrated that a barrier-free environment is not just about installing more of wheelchair access ramps. It is a way of life where there is no place for dividing people into those with and without disabilities. That is why our family had no problem traveling 160 kilometers to get to Nizhnevartovsk, Galina Stavtseva, a resident of Raduzhny, noted.

It was extremely useful to talk to interesting people with unique life stories who shared their stories with us exactly as they happened. These were good examples of how you can cope with just about any situation, to be used by anyone who has faced any hardships in their lives. Everyone has a take-off point on their development paths. Such motivational meetings help move this point of development forward, raising the bar and helping set new benchmarks and goals, Svetlana Kondratieva, Project Manager at SAMiT, the Inclusive Social and Creative Center, commented.

Our facility is a custodial type of an institution, and as a result, people with disabilities living in our boarding facility had not been able to take part in such meetings until yesterday. We really liked the high level of professionalism shown by the speakers and the down-to-earth nature of the stories about the participants’ own experiences. Our wards were really impressed. The event had this truly inclusive atmosphere where everyone felt on an equal footing with the others. We also learned a lot about organizing events such as this one, Margarita Fisyuk, an expert in comprehensive rehabilitation and habilitation at the Izluchinskiy Residential Care Home, shared her impressions.

A similar motivational meeting for inclusive communities as part of the You can do anything! project had previously been held in Voronezh. The next series of events under the project will be held later this year in Tobolsk and Dzerzhinsk.