As it was me in my capacity as a Duma deputy who suggested the idea of holding a Youth Year in Russia, I’m now getting masses of questions about Youth Year projects and events, about where you can find information on the Youth Year programme, and lots of other subjects. So I’ve decided to describe in more detail how these Youth Year projects are going and who’s responsible for them.
The Youth Year programme has already been finalized. It consists of about 60 events that will be funded from the federal budget. These include projects and events to support young talent, students, young researchers, journalists, entrepreneurs and invalids, as well as projects focusing on art, education, sport, tourism, rehabilitation, careers advice and many other areas.
The Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy of the Russian Federation is responsible for all Youth Year activities. So you can get information on the programme as well as news and other Youth Year events on the website of the Ministry’s Youth Policy and Public Relations Department at www.depmolpol.ru. Another source of information is the dedicated Youth Year website www.godmol.ru. Various Russian regions also have plans for their own local Youth Year events.
The Youth Year programme was drawn up in late 2008 - early 2009 and was finally approved at the first meeting of the steering committee on 19 February 2009. Incidentally, at the steering committee meeting I also proposed two of my own projects. The first is aimed at giving young invalids better opportunities for communication and education by setting up Internet rooms in care homes for young people with physical disabilities. It will also involve teaching them to use computers, to communicate and work via the Internet. The second project is a series of public-education seminars for young journalists, at which the kids can meet well-known people from the local media and discuss journalistic culture and values, as well as visiting the editorial offices of national newspapers and TV stations.

So I am responsible for two Youth Year projects and I will definitely report back on their results at the end of the year.