On May 15th, 2013, three members of the URI Cooperation Circle Euro-Asia travelled to Novosibirsk, Russia, to participate in a regional conference to honor the UN’s International Family Day and to make advancements in social integration and intergenerational solidarity.
The UN’s International Family Day was proclaimed by the General Assembly in April 15, 1993, and is observed on the 15th of May every year, reflecting on the importance the international community attaches to families. The International Family Day provides an opportunity to raise awareness on issues pertaining to families and to increase knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families.
This year, the International Family Day’s theme focuses on advancing social integration and intergenerational solidarity. The regional conference Euro-Asia CC attended used the theme as occasion to engage the Siberian youth community, in hopes of inspiring interaction between members of different generations.
One-third of the participants were students and volunteers, filling the conference with youthful optimism and hope. The conference provided the young participants with a platform to make valuable suggestions for future efforts and cooperation. One young lady, an aspiring teacher, shared ideas of how to strengthen the connections of generations, drawing examples from her own family and their values. Rimma Zvereva, from Euro-Asia CC, also stressed the importance of preserving Old Russian traditions, especially Siberian traditions. Galina Ermolina, coordinator of Euro-Asia CC, added her knowledge and experience in preserving indigenous people’s traditions on a global level, with a particular emphasis on one profound story:
“An anthropologist from Europe, while visiting an African tribe, encouraged a group of local children to participate in a competitive game: they all would run to a distant tree and back. The one who wins will be rewarded with a basket full of sweet fruit. After the start signal went off all the children joined hands and ran to the tree together, allowing all the children to win and enjoy the the basket full of fruits together. The anthropologist was dumbfounded by their behavior and asked them why they did that? Each one had a chance to win and enjoy the reward alone. The answer was “UBUNTU - how could one be happy, if the rest are not? The word “Ubuntu” in the local African language means “I am because we are.”
The story captures the African children’s humanity as well as their sense of solidarity, qualities Galina valued, and recognized in the young Siberian participants, and hoped to further inspire in the younger generation to advance social integration and intergenerational solidarity in Siberia.
The conference concluded with a majority consensus on a resolution to advance social integration and intergenerational solidarity that will be passed by the local administration. Galina held the ceremony flag while all the participants, old and young, sang a traditional Siberian song.
