Social Impact Lounge Programme

February 14
08:30–09:30
Growing old meaningfully: the development of active ageing in the regions Demographic trends and social policy priorities in the Russian Federation are making the implementation of active ageing concepts an increasingly urgent priority. By introducing the older generation of today to healthy and active lifestyles, to cr...
Demographic trends and social policy priorities in the Russian Federation are making the implementation of active ageing concepts an increasingly urgent priority. By introducing the older generation of today to healthy and active lifestyles, to creative and social self-fulfilment, and to financial and legal literacy, we will not only address the needs of modern society, but also lay the foundations for future harmonious development and for safeguarding economic and social engagement among the public. Within this context, it is essential to identify the most effective ways to facilitate the development of an active lifestyle among the older generation, including those already tried and tested through pilot projects, and to put in place the conditions for these to be rolled out throughout Russia.
• Initial results of pilot active ageing projects
• What plans are being made regionally to support the Older Generation programme, and what are the opinions of government bodies, non-profits, and experts?
• How can we ensure that effective active ageing practices are shared between the regions?












09:45–10:45
The generation of the future: how the WorldSkills movement makes skilled trades fashionable again Competitions held by the international WorldSkills movement, which today brings together 80 countries, have become an effective tool for promoting professionalism, work skills and personnel training in accordance with global standards. In the six ...
Competitions held by the international WorldSkills movement, which today brings together 80 countries, have become an effective tool for promoting professionalism, work skills and personnel training in accordance with global standards. In the six years of operation in Russia, the Young Professionals (WorldSkills Russia) movement has become truly successful and popular, with around 500 competitions at different levels, more than 100,000 participants, and over 100 project partners and sponsors out of the leading manufacturers and businesses. In 2019, Russia will be hosting the next global competition in professional excellence WorldSkills Kazan 2019, where the Future Skills zone will be presented for the first time. The project not only contributes to restoring the prestige of vocational training and skilled trades, training workers in accordance with the actual demands of the present-day economy and businesses, and promoting competitiveness of Russia’s young professionals, but also lays the foundation for transforming secondary vocational training in Russia.
∙ What is the secret behind the success of the WorldSkills movement in Russia and worldwide?
∙ What initiatives to develop secondary vocational training have already been implemented on the basis of the project? What significance does this hold for improving the system of education and vocational training in Russia?
∙ What are the plans and challenges associated with WorldSkills Kazan 2019?
∙ What skills associated with the WorldSkills project are of most interest to businesses today and for the economy’s digital transformation in the future?









10:50–12:00
Getting into the hundred best: how Russian universities are boosting their competitiveness on the world stage In 2013, Project 5-100 was launched in accordance with the President of the Russian Federation’s Executive Order ‘On Implementing State Policy in Science and Education’. The project’s objective is to modernize higher education in Russia and integr...
In 2013, Project 5-100 was launched in accordance with the President of the Russian Federation’s Executive Order ‘On Implementing State Policy in Science and Education’. The project’s objective is to modernize higher education in Russia and integrate leading Russian universities into the international high-quality educational services market. Participating universities face a series of ambitious goals: to modernize their educational programmes in line with international standards, to attract and develop the right staff, to put in place conditions that will enable them to engage in groundbreaking research, to establish collaborative relationships with international educational organizations, and to improve the attractiveness of education to Russian and foreign students. How can universities implement such significant changes in a way that harmoniously combines their accumulated academic heritage with best international practices?
• What results is Project 5-100 expected to have achieved by 2020?
• What initiatives/transformations have already been implemented in Project 5-100 participating universities to improve the quality of Russian education? What difficulties are educational institutions encountering in relation to the project?
• What plans have been put in place to support and scale-up successful results achieved by the project?
• What role in improving the competitiveness of Russian education might be played by major manufacturers and businesses?









14:20–14:50
Opening of The Inalienable: an exhibition of art by people with learning disabilities A unique art project will be presented at the Social Investment Laboratory: an exhibition of paintings called ‘The Inalienable,’ by artists with special needs. The exhibition will be opened by Tatyana Golikova, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian...
A unique art project will be presented at the Social Investment Laboratory: an exhibition of paintings called ‘The Inalienable,’ by artists with special needs. The exhibition will be opened by Tatyana Golikova, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. 'The Inalienable' is a project which has the primary objective of sparking interest in art by artists with learning disabilities as a cultural phenomenon, and of making the names of the most talented creators known to a wide audience.
15:30–16:30
Not just a business: the experience of social entrepreneurship in Russia The last two decades have seen social enterprise succeed in blurring the boundaries between the concepts of business and charity, and in creating an entirely new culture of enterprise, which enables profits to be made alongside the far more signif...
The last two decades have seen social enterprise succeed in blurring the boundaries between the concepts of business and charity, and in creating an entirely new culture of enterprise, which enables profits to be made alongside the far more significant objective of addressing socially important issues. Social businesses can be small, local enterprises or major companies, like the world’s best known social organization, the Aravind Eye Care System in India, but all of these businesses combine a commitment to innovation, constant organizational development to support the achievement of great results, a readiness to learn new things, and adherence to social values. As is the case throughout the world, social entrepreneurs in Russia could partner with the government, business, and the third sector to address issues in healthcare, education, social welfare, culture, and the environment as conduits for innovative technologies and effective socially-oriented business models. What needs to be done in order to make this possible?
• In what areas of social development is social enterprise developing the most rapidly?
• Successful projects by social entrepreneurs: what is their secret? How can their experience benefit the third sector, big business, and state social organizations?
• What regional support measures can government bodies, big business, and development institutions offer social entrepreneurs? Which of these measures does the experience of entrepreneurs themselves indicate to be the most effective?
• How can a mechanism be built to replicate social enterprise initiatives? What are the prospects for creating a community of social entrepreneurs to exchange of experience and business case studies?









16:45–17:45
The potential of volunteering: how can it be harnessed to promote regional development? The topic of volunteering in Russia is receiving increasing amounts of attention and its development is gathering pace. In 2018, volunteering reached a new level: the Year of the Volunteer was declared, a programme was created to accelerate traini...
The topic of volunteering in Russia is receiving increasing amounts of attention and its development is gathering pace. In 2018, volunteering reached a new level: the Year of the Volunteer was declared, a programme was created to accelerate training and development for those behind the most successful projects in the Volunteer of Russia competition, the Russian Volunteers’ Forum, which is held in Russia every year, received international status, a federal Social Activism project was drawn up, aiming to support volunteering with RUB 7.4 billion of funding over six years, and a unified standard for corporate volunteering is now being devised by the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation. The increasing involvement of the population in volunteering initiatives offers significant potential for the development of Russia’s social economy. By bringing together active and engaged citizens, local volunteers’ associations can become a source of creative and socially important initiatives aimed primarily at developing their own regions. What needs to be done to create a fully-fledged ecosystem for the volunteer movement?
• How do discussion participants assess the outcomes of Russia’s Year of the Volunteer?
• What conditions have already been put in place to promote the institution of volunteering and create the required infrastructure, and which need further work?
• What are the current trends in corporate volunteering?
• In what areas could international cooperation be organized?










February 15
10:00–11:30
Social inclusion of people with learning disabilities: ‘people as people’ Upon ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Russia committed itself to ensuring that people with disabilities are able to participate fully in the civic, political, economic, social, and cultural life of society. O...
Upon ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Russia committed itself to ensuring that people with disabilities are able to participate fully in the civic, political, economic, social, and cultural life of society. One of the Convention’s most important provisions stipulates the right of all people with disabilities to live in ordinary housing with the same range of options that are available to other people, whereby participating states must “take effective and appropriate measures to facilitate full enjoyment by persons with disabilities of this right and their full inclusion and participation in the community”.
At the same time it is the case that, in Russia, as in all countries, care homes and secure facilities for people with learning disabilities and psychophysical impairments have for many decades been the only places able to accommodate people with these issues. Currently, virtually all developed countries, including the countries of the CIS and the former Soviet bloc, are in the process of closing care homes or have already closed them. Deinstitutionalization of the care home system is based on the principles of normalization and social support, and the development of technology to replace inpatient treatment: assisted living and daily activities or work.

What is being done and what needs to be done in order to implement these changes in Russia?





11:30–13:00
Same as everyone else. Why is the professional inclusion of persons with disabilities important and how can it be done? Creating an inclusive environment is increasingly becoming a topic of discussion on the state social policy agenda. Priority challenges include developing infrastructure that is adapted to the needs of people with disabilities, creating an effecti...
Creating an inclusive environment is increasingly becoming a topic of discussion on the state social policy agenda. Priority challenges include developing infrastructure that is adapted to the needs of people with disabilities, creating an effective, integrated rehabilitation and adaptation system, and putting in place conditions to help people with disabilities to live full lives, including with respect to education, employment, and participation in cultural, sporting, and civic life. Introducing mechanisms to help people with disabilities access vocational training and employment could make a significant contribution to their economic and social integration: mastering a vocation, taking their place within the workforce, and earning a wage can help people with disabilities to overcome psychological barriers and feel valued as fully-fledged citizens. According to the Federal State Statistics Service, no more than 15% of disabled people over the age of 18 are presently in employment. Against this background, initiatives aimed at developing vocational skills and creating jobs for people with disabilities, such as the Abilympics, are becoming particularly important.
• What is being done today, in Russia and globally, to improve access to employment for people with disabilities?
• How can effective partnerships be established between the government, business, and specialized non-profits to address issues in this area?
• How are Abilympics competitions – especially in the regions – helping to tackle the challenges involved in socializing people with disabilities encouraging them to adopt an active lifestyle?
• What possible directions for the future development of the Abilympics would make it possible to ensure the larger-scale involvement of people with disabilities in the economy?