On Wednesday, April 15, the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources (Rosprirodnadzor) launched an international children's and youth award “Ecology - is everyone”. The new initiative of the service announced the head of Rosprirodnadzor Svetlana Radionova during a press breakfast with journalists in Moscow.

"We all breathe the same air and drink the same water. Our health depends directly on the state of the environment. We decided that a change of ideology was necessary. We can't be as effective as possible just by enforcing order and levying fines. Here the role of education is important. We are for culture: rational consumption, proper disposal of waste. And we believe that children of different ages and groups must be involved in the process of saving the environment. We have already received feedback from various countries: Italy, Belgium, Great Britain, China. This is our positive agenda, and we feel it is our duty to implement it properly.

The "Ecology is Everyone" Award should become a unifying platform for productive work from the point of view of bringing up a fundamentally new - responsible generation," said Svetlana Radionova.

Among the main goals of the Award are ecological education of children and youth, increasing their environmental awareness, social activity, including with the help of "green" volunteering, popularization of the responsible attitude to natural resources. To solve the tasks, fascinating formats will be used, such as flash mobs or challenges.

The “Arctic Initiatives” Center is the general partner of the project.

“Why are we involved in this project? Because it's absolutely relevant to our mission. We were founded to make the world a better place. So the task we face is enormous, and it is not an entirely idle one -to involve as many people as possible in the process of increasing attention to environmental issues. And if we're talking about being effective, the best option is to involve children and teenagers in this story. It is a new way of seeing the problem: childlike, sincere, which allows us to make appropriate decisions. So that we can get away from the paradigm of development and consumption and learn to be friends with this ecosystem in a childlike way”, - Rustam Romanenkov, Secretary of State - Deputy General Director of the Arctic Initiatives Center, commented.

The initiative of Rosprirodnadzor was also supported by the National Children's Camp "Orlyonok", Detskoye Radio, the charity fund "Club Dobryakov" and the brand OLGA SKAZKINA.

Everyone between 7 and 16 years old who lives both inside and outside of Russia can participate in the Award. To participate it is necessary to submit an application on our website until October 1, 2021. Gala award ceremony and the winners of the Award will be held at a gala concert in Moscow on November 25. The winners will take part in an environmental field camp that will be held from November 28 to December 18 at the National Camp " Orlyonok ".

The new Rosprirodnadzor initiative will not only develop social environmental responsibility, but also build capacity for professional implementation in the environmental sector and effective teamwork skills.

Let us remind you that in 2020 for the first time in the history of the Russian Federation environmental goals are taken to the national level. The Award "Ecology is everyone!" answers simultaneously to several: "Comfortable and safe environment for life", "Creating opportunities for self-realization and development of talents", "Digital transformation".