Applicants from villages in the Murmansk region willing to enter the competition attended a three-day intensive course on social design. Residents developed projects for their villages and presented them to their fellow villagers once the course was over.
Nornickel’s charitable program “A World of New Opportunities” has been operating in Monchegorsk and the Pechenga district for several years. It supports public initiatives and builds social partnerships in these regions.
Full immersion in Lovozero
In September 2023, residents of the villages of Lovozero and Krasnoshchelye submitted applications to enter the competition. Each project selected is awarded funding from 100,000 to 6 mln rubles. Before the program was launched, seminars and training sessions were held.
The village of Lovozero is the center of culture for the indigenous people of the Murmansk region — the Sami. It hosts international Sami holidays and festivals. There are about 100 indigenous Sami families in the village and about 300 in which at least one family member is a Sami.
The intensive course teaches applicants how to prove why their project is important for the community, how to draw up detailed budgets, build effective teams, and create partnerships.
The village of Lovozero is the center of culture for the indigenous people of the Murmansk region — the Sami. It hosts international Sami holidays and festivals. There are about 100 indigenous Sami families in the village and about 300 in which at least one family member is a Sami.
The intensive course teaches applicants how to prove why their project is important for the community, how to draw up detailed budgets, build effective teams, and create partnerships.
Tatiana Medvedeva,
Head of Kola Division Charitable Programs and Corporate Communities:
“People may have ideas, but not everyone knows how to package an idea into a project proposal. You should know how to present your idea, how to overcome your competition, how you can improve your proposal, and what risks you should bear in mind.”
It is important to be passionate about your idea and build a good team. It is even better if you have partners, says Tatiana Medvedeva. She is certain that people who write project proposals and implement projects are special and can make a difference for their communities.
Participants can seek expert advice on how to write a winning project proposal. For example, Yuri Tyushev has been teaching intensive training courses almost since the inception of the program.
The seminar was held in the local library — the Family Reading Center. It is a modern space with reading rooms for adults and children, a recording studio, a conference room, and a local history center.
Participants can seek expert advice on how to write a winning project proposal. For example, Yuri Tyushev has been teaching intensive training courses almost since the inception of the program.
The seminar was held in the local library — the Family Reading Center. It is a modern space with reading rooms for adults and children, a recording studio, a conference room, and a local history center.
Tatiana Pavlova,
a librarian in the village of Lovozero, took part in the training:
“I knew what design was, but I had never written a project proposal before. The course is very effective, you get fully immersed. There was no bla-bla, we got down to practical work right from the start. This was really great. I benefitted a lot from it. I have three projects that I want to implement. One of them is definitely relevant. I think I can do it.”
Each expert has favorites. To avoid bias, experts from the Taimyr Peninsula evaluate the Kola Peninsula’s projects, and vice versa. Summing up the results of the course, Yuri Tyushev believes that 5 or 6 projects from Lovozero can do well at the competition.
“The main thing is to build your team, bring social engineers together. If you can do it, this is what really matters,” Yuri Tyushev believes.
Physical education, people with disabilities, organization of burial sites — nothing escaped the attention of active citizens.
“Some of our participants have a lot of experience, some are young people who grew up with A World of New Opportunities. Success in the competition does not depend on age,” says Tatiana Medvedeva.
The library was renovated in time for its anniversary in 2020. After the renovation, the Family Reading Center became a comfortable space for residents and visitors of Lovozero.
A World of New Opportunities experts after the intensive course in Lovozero.
This small sketch can trigger important social changes. Hundreds of projects have already been implemented in the areas where Nornickel operates.
How the program works
Nornickel has been implementing charity projects aiming to foster social activity for 9 years. Over this time, a universal startup launch method has been developed.
The first step is to attract people who want to make a difference. “These are people who care. Earning money is not so important to them; they are even willing to pay to realize their ideas. They dream of doing good. When we come to a new area, we try to find such people. We call them heroes of social change,” says Yuri Tyushev.
Then the program which was nicknamed a social design bureau starts. “This is a metaphor, but the program does help us create a community that will design local social life. It’s not about money, it’s always about people,” Yuri Tyushev believes. Participants undergo training and, with the help of experts, write their project proposals. Social initiatives cover different areas, such as folk theater, preservation of cultural heritage and education.
A World of New Opportunities has nominations in all socially significant areas:
Based on training results, projects enter the competition "A World of New Opportunities" and receive funding. Nornickel has a large, well-funded program, which has few equals in Russia. It makes available hundreds of millions of rubles and it is for charity, not for business,” emphasizes Yuri Tyushev.
The first step is to attract people who want to make a difference. “These are people who care. Earning money is not so important to them; they are even willing to pay to realize their ideas. They dream of doing good. When we come to a new area, we try to find such people. We call them heroes of social change,” says Yuri Tyushev.
Then the program which was nicknamed a social design bureau starts. “This is a metaphor, but the program does help us create a community that will design local social life. It’s not about money, it’s always about people,” Yuri Tyushev believes. Participants undergo training and, with the help of experts, write their project proposals. Social initiatives cover different areas, such as folk theater, preservation of cultural heritage and education.
A World of New Opportunities has nominations in all socially significant areas:
- volunteering and social support of vulnerable groups;
- new ways of working with children and young people;
- urban development and improvement;
- preservation of cultural heritage;
- promoting healthy living;
- environmental protection;
- environmental education, biodiversity research and Arctic tourism;
- organizational development of non-profits;
- encouraging initiative and engaged citizenship in children and adolescents.
Based on training results, projects enter the competition "A World of New Opportunities" and receive funding. Nornickel has a large, well-funded program, which has few equals in Russia. It makes available hundreds of millions of rubles and it is for charity, not for business,” emphasizes Yuri Tyushev.
1 bn rubles
was spent by the company on social projects over 9 years
Nornickel implements programs aimed at triggering and encouraging social activity in all areas where it operates, including industrial cities, such as Norilsk, and small villages. Over 9 years, the company has provided support for hundreds of projects within the framework of A World of New Opportunities. Over this period, 3,242 proposals entered the competition, of which 855 projects were awarded a total of 976.5 mln rubles in funding.
October, 2023
