Forum for Tolerance's
WORLD OF UNLIMITED POSSIBILITY

May 15, 2016

POST RELEASE

On May 15, 2016, the international exhibition center Crocus Expo hosted the Forum for Tolerance's “World of Unlimited Possibility.” The goals and objectives of the Forum were to direct public attention to some of the most pressing issues of modern society. Participants discussed the real problems of social integration and adaptation for people with disabilities, the challenges for children suffering from illnesses, and possible resolutions.

More than 2,000 people attended the event.

The Forum for Tolerance’s speakers included the director of the Vera Hospice Charity Fund Nyuta Federmesser and the organizer of events for the first children’s hospice in Moscow, Dom s mayakom [“The House with a Lighthouse”], Victoria Anikeeva; the co-chairman of the Coordinating Council for Children with Disabilities at the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Committee Member for the Issues of Guardianship in the Social Sphere for the Administration of the Russian Federation Elena Klochko; the director of the charity foundation Podari Zhizn [“Gift of Life”] Ekaterina Chistyakova; the program director for the Naked Heart Foundation’s initiative, “Every Child Deserves a Family,” Inna Monova; the director of the Vykhod [“Way Out”] Kseniya Novikova; founder of the charity drive “Gift for an Angel” Anastasia Prikazchikova; singer Danko (Alexander Fadeev); actress and television personality Evelina Bledans with her son; prominent advocate for community development, and graduate of Russia’s New Economic School and INSEAD, Oleg Eremin; head of the employment program for the Regional Public Organization for the Disabled “Perspectiva” Mikhail Novikov; entrepreneur and financier Valentin Preobrazhensky; and co-founder of the Socializaciya [“Socialization”] Club Ekaterina Mitskevich.

The moderator for the Forum was Russian journalist, television and radio personality Yelena Khanga.

The Forum for Tolerance included an exclusive first look at the first children's hospice in Moscow, Dom s mayakom [“The House with a Lighthouse”], which was presented by the Vera Hospice Charity Fund, as well as children’s workshops dedicated to the issues discussed during the conference.

As Nyuta Federmesser, director of the Center for Palliative Care for the city of Moscow, summarized: “We are very excited for 2017, when Moscow will open its first children’s hospice clinic, Dom s mayakom [“The House with a Lighthouse”]. Children’s hospice provides a place where parents and children do not need to feel pain or fear, where they will be surrounded by understanding doctors and nurses, and volunteers, as well as visits from clowns and pet therapy. We are unbelievably appreciative and grateful to all those who have helped us: Crocus Group, who has provided the funds for construction; the city of Moscow, which has given us a location and a building for the hospice in the center of Moscow; and every person who donates money towards the care of these children with terminal illnesses.

But it's important not only to help financially. It is imperative that we change our society's relationship to social issues and to those people who have found themselves in difficult situations. There was a time when even talking about care for people with terminal illnesses was virtually taboo. Many considered cancer to be contagious and thus protestaed against the construction of hospices. Now the number of these kinds of myths has grown substantially smaller. And this shift occurred largely thanks to all of those who did not fear helping, who did not shy away from talking about things which may be difficult, but are incredibly important for all of us, so that every human being can feel safe and equal, regardless of their social status, age, or health”.