There took place the Volga Federal District Student Pedagogy Brigade Forum. The opening ceremony was held in Saratov University on 22 November. The event was supported by the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, the Resource Youth Centre, the Russian Student Brigades (an All-Russian youth public organisation), and the Ministry of Youth Policy and Sport of the Saratov Region.

The forum is set to improve summer recreation for children in the Volga Federal District. To achieve this goal it is necessary to teach qualified personnel in a new way due to the help of student pedagogy brigades. This year the forum is dedicated to the 60^th anniversary of Russian student brigades.

At the beginning of the ceremony the participants paraded with the flags of the regions which took part in the forum. The audience was welcomed by SSU Rector Aleksei N. Chumachenko.

‘I am glad to see to in Saratov University. The Volga Federal District brigades are the best pedagogy brigades in the country. And I express my gratitude for it. You perform a very significant task – you deal with children. The pedagogy work is extremely important for SSU. I hope you will get inspiration and find new ideas at the forum,’ said the rector.

He thanked the project moderators and partners as well as its members that they had come to Saratov. Aleksei Chumachenko added that they would visit Saratov again.

First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Public Relations of the Saratov Region Dmitrii YE. Konusov also expressed his gratitude to the event moderators, especially SSU which celebrates its 110^th anniversary this year.

‘Today there are talented young people here. You chose a serious profession. I believe you will be able to convince future generations how important it is to learn the history of their country.’

In addition, Deputy Minister of Youth Policy and Sport of the Saratov Region Angelina A. Belovitskaya wished that the forum participants would work productively.

Associate Professor of the Department of National History and Historiography Irina V. Yaster and Associate Professor of the Department of Pedagogy Natalia Yu. Kurchatova commented on the history and development of the student brigade movement and pointed out the Komsomol was its prototype. Also they showed archive videos about the life of Soviet students and told the forum attendees about activists of the student brigades who had climbed the career ladder after their graduation.

Associate Professor of the Department of General and Social Pedagogy (the University of Tyumen) Grigorii N. Kudashov, the author of game study method, shared his report on games as a tool to communicate with children and effective education method.

Then the speech was delivered by Head of the regional Student Brigades Georgii I. Bolotov. He hoped that the forum members would get only positive impressions despite of the cold weather.

The event lasted for three days. After the official opening ceremony its participants went to the Volga Horizons recreation camp to improve their skills, share their experience, and gain knowledge.

Notably, in 2019 the Student Pedagogy Brigade Forum won the All-Russia University Youth Project Contest.