On December 9, the winners of the national award "Patriot 2023" were awarded in Moscow. The purpose of this award, which is a public-state initiative, is to identify the best practices and recognize the merits of citizens and organizations for their significant contribution to the civic and patriotic education of citizens of the Russian Federation and compatriots living abroad.
Russian Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Izmir and the Solzhenitsyn Association for the Study of Russian Language and Culture became the nominee of the award "The Best Project of Compatriots" children's camp "Pilgrim", which is a project of the community of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Izmir and the Association for the Study of Russian Language and Culture named after A.I. Solzhenitsyn.
At the beginning of the award ceremony, the address of the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin was read out, which was announced by the First Deputy head of the Presidential Administration S.V. Kiriyenko.
Russian Russian Orthodox Priest Georgy Sergeyev, responsible for the organization of the care of the flock of the Russian Orthodox Church in the territory of the Turkish Republic, and the head of the children's camp "Pilgrim", Chairman of the Association for the Study of Russian Language and Culture in Izmir Andrey Ponomarev took part in the award ceremony.
Russian Russian Language and Culture Association named after A.I. Solzhenitsyn, with the support of the Russian Orthodox Church and the representative office of Rossotrudnichestvo in the Republic of Turkey, organized a children's camp "Pilgrim" in 2021.
The organizers of the camp set as their task the study of the Russian language and culture, the basics of the Orthodox faith, general physical training, orienteering, participation in mini-hikes. A theater workshop has been organized in the camp, where children study the basics of public speaking and acting.
Over the past three years, more than 200 boys and girls have become participants in the project, including not only children of compatriots, but also children from Turkish families.