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June 1 – 5, the International Educational Tour "Heritage of Eurasia: Cultural Practices of Rural Areas" was held in the village of Sharkan (Udmurtia, Russia) and brought together more than 30 participants from different parts of Russian Udmurtia and Mordovia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
During the week-long educational immersion, the delegations got acquainted with the experience of developing rural areas of Udmurtia, visited the revived village of Muvyr in the Igrinsky district, the first capital of the Finno-Ugric world - the village of Bygi in the Sharkansky district, as well as in Votkinsk and Izhevsk.
The educational program included lectures, workshops, seminars and meetings on the technology of socio-cultural design, as well as the study of modern forms and methods for the development of cultural practices in the countryside. Regional and federal experts in social design, formation of local communities, tourism development worked with activists, leaders and public figures of three countries (Russia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan): Irina Chernega, practical psychologist, project consultant, author and head of sociocultural projects (Moscow ); Evgenia Rudina-Ladyzhets, head of the Solidary Communities program of the Timchenko Foundation, an expert in social design (Moscow); Irina Shikhareva, trainer in social design, expert in rural development, member of the Public Chamber of the Udmurt Republic (Izhevsk); Yulia Zheleznyak, head of the project office for domestic tourism "Hospitality Workshop of the National Union of the Hospitality Industry, member of the Expert Council of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Tourism and Tourism Infrastructure Development. The main outcome of the program was the development of 10 project ideas for involving rural areas in socio-cultural changes in local communities.
In addition, an important event of the tour program was the international round table "Integrated Development of Rural Areas: Prospects for Eurasian Partnership". It was attended by the Head of the General Secretariat of the Eurasian Peoples' Assembly Svetlana Smirnova, Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Larisa Buranova, Deputy Prime Minister of the Udmurt Republic Olga Abramova, Minister of National Policy of the Udmurt Republic Eduard Petrov, Head of the municipality "Municipal Okrug Sharkansky District of the Udmurt Republic" Vasily Muklin.
During the the round table, the participants identified points of interaction between the states and regions of Russia, exchanged the results of social projects, proposed new forms of closer partnership, including with other countries.
Svetlana Smirnova noted:
“Rural development is important for the preservation of the cultural traditions of the peoples of Eurasia. We hope that new projects will appear that will unite countries in the development of rural tourism and intercultural interaction.”
Also, in addition to the extensive and rich program of the tour, the participants noted the friendly atmosphere and hospitality of the Udmurt people.
“This is a place where you want to come back,” - said the representative of Kazakhstan, Anar Izden.
They wished to conduct such training in their states for the sake of preserving the cultural heritage of the peoples of Eurasia.
The continuation of the educational program for project participants will take place in July. A series of webinars await them on finalizing the 10 project ideas.
Recall that the project is being implemented by the Eurasian Peoples’ Assembly with grant support from the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives.
