2013 SU Update: Volunteers of Russia gather in Sochi

SOCHI – Representatives of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate travelled toSochi to attend the first All-Russian Olympic Volunteer Movement Rally.

The rally that kicked off inSochithe day earlier, assembled nearly 250 volunteers from 14 regions of Russia and 25 Sochi 2014 volunteer centers. Tatarstan’s representatives at the rally were Liliya Barieva, Dirctor of the Volunteer Department of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate, and other experts of the Volunteer Department Tatyana Nikulina, Albina Khusainova, Rezeda Valiullina, as well as 6 leaders of the Sochi 2014 volunteer recruiting and training centre, headquartered in theTupolev Kazan StateTechnical University.

Within four days, participants of the rally will attend a series of workshops and training courses. The rally will see the attendance of representatives of the London 2012 Organizing Committee that will select the best Russian volunteers to be part of the London 2012 Games. In total 104 people will form the Russian Volunteer Team for London 2012:80 of them will work at the Olympic Games, and 24 will be engaged in volunteer activity at the Paralympic Games. The interviews with potential London 2012 volunteers started on October 6 and will run till October 8. The results of the selection will be announced in November 2011, in the meantime young volunteers are to return to their regions where they can share valuable experience and knowledge with their peers.

The main goal of the rally is to invoke the feeling of involvement in the Olympic movement and develop leadership skills among volunteer movement participants. A program packed with training sessions, contests and workshops is arranged for the rally’s participants by a professional team of coaches. During the interactive program, participants will get familiarized with the history, modern times and values of the Olympic movement. Another block, Perfect Leader, includes various leadership and personal effectiveness training sessions that teach volunteers good communication skills and the art of persuasion. In addition, the volunteers will have a tour around the Olympic venues.

Liliya Barieva, Director of the Volunteer Department of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate, emphasized the importance of the Sochi 2014-Kazan 2013 cooperation: «The organizing committees of Sochi 2014 and Kazan 2013 established a close cooperation in implementing the volunteer recruiting, selection and training program. Here, at the first All-Russian Olympic Volunteer Movement Rally, we see boys and girls that at the end of September came to the Volunteers’ Academy in Kazan, boys and girls that will be cooperating with us during the preparations for the 2013 Summer Universiade in Kazan.»

It’s worth mentioning, that leaders of Russia more than once noted that the Universiade inKazanwas to become a testing ground for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games. One of the key areas of teamwork between the organizing committees of the two largest sporting events in the history of modern Russia is the implementation of the volunteer program, the purpose of which is to create a positive image of volunteers in the society and provide human resources for the Games.

(Source: Media Department of Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate – Images: sochi2014.com)