International Round Table ‘Family - Multigenerational Continuity of Traditional Values: ‘Ancestors are not Divided into Nationalities’

On 19 November in Khanty-Mansiysk, the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly held the International Round Table ‘Family - Multigenerational Continuity of Traditional Values’.

The participants discussed the role of the multigenerational family in the transmission of traditional values and the development of a healthy, harmonious and happy society.

The round table was held by Marina Volkova, Head of the Department of Happiness of the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly, Director of ANO ‘Eurasian Centre for Support of the Institute of Family and Family Values’, and Medoun Diop, Assistant for External Relations of the Embassy of Senegal in Russia.

‘If all families are happy, the whole world will be happy,’ said Svetlana Smirnova, Chairperson of the General Council of the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly, in her welcoming remarks to the roundtable participants.

Natalia Strebkova, Commissioner for Human Rights in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra (Russia), noted that the topic of family support is under special attention of human rights activists all over the world and emphasized the importance of international integration in social policy issues. Consolidation of the state and society around traditional family values is vital today, the expert believes.

‘No matter what the state takes care of, we can never replace the role of parents,’ said Natalia Strebkova and explained that in matters of the state approach to family problems, it is important to pay special attention to fostering parental responsibility.

The Commissioner for Human Rights in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra (Russia) shared the region's experience in supporting families with disabled children, foster families, elderly people living alone and other categories of citizens who are in one way or another deprived of the opportunity to live in a familiar family.

Natalia Strebkova also spoke about the experience of government assistance in raising children in the families of indigenous peoples of the North. The program of sustainable development of Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra made it possible to introduce hybrid forms of education for children and to realize their right to education while remaining in the family and preserving their national identity.

Lyudmila Nizamova, Commissioner for Children's Rights in KhMAO-Yugra, spoke about the creation of supportive communities in the region, particularly in educational organizations, such as councils of fathers, elders, projects ‘Mother's Poetry’, ‘Parents’ Lounge’, “Library of Heroes”, etc. New forms of work with parents allow Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra to share its positive experience not only with Russian regions, but also with other countries.

President of the National Public Committee ‘Russian Family’, Laureate of the Russian Federation Government Prize in Education, Doctor of Political Sciences, Professor Galina Klimantova made a presentation ‘Multigenerational Family - Values and Meanings’.

‘The translator of living traditional values is precisely the multigenerational family,’ the professor asserted.

The scientist considers the increasing number of nuclear families - young families living separately from their parents - to be one of the challenges of modern times. It is necessary to study multigenerational families and teach people to live in such families. This approach will make it possible to avoid disruption of the continuity of generations, development of egoism and individualism among young people, as older people carry the code of culture and morality.

Igor Khalevinsky, a member of the Supreme Advisory Council of the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly, Chairman of the Council of the Association of Russian Diplomats, PhD in Economics, spoke about the ‘family centrism strategy’ developed in Russia. It is aimed at increasing the birth rate, supporting the institution of family and marriage, and preserving traditional values. According to the expert, all regions of the country took part in the creation of the strategy, and the positive experience of other Eurasian countries, particularly China, was also taken into account.

Igor Khalevinsky cited successful projects of the Department of Happiness of the Eurasian and African Peoples’ Assembly as examples of effective cooperation between families and international public organizations.

Ekaterina Migal, the winner of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra Governor's grant competition for the development of civil society for individuals in 2023, spoke about the Happiness Family Shift project. The project provides field holidays for families with two or more children, thanks to which they begin to better understand, love and appreciate each other.

Mehriban Sadygova, Advisor to the Director of the Federal State Budgetary Institution ‘House of the Peoples of Russia’ - Director of the branch of the House of the Peoples of Russia in the Lugansk People's Republic, shared the experience of the work of the Houses of the Peoples of Russia aimed at strengthening traditional values in the family and society.

‘Traditional values are not just words, they are the basis of our existence, the foundation on which our society is built. <...> Educational institutions can and should become centers of cultural preservation, the basis of intercultural dialogue. It is this dialogue that enriches us all, allows us to share knowledge while preserving our identity. <...> Strengthening traditional values in the family and society is possible only through joint efforts. Let our experience become the basis for creating a more cohesive and harmonious society,’ said Mehriban Sadigova.

Daria Matsouk, director of the Botanik Educational Centre from Egypt, spoke about the parental school. ‘Educate yourselves, don't educate your children’ - this is the opinion of the organizers and participants of this project.

The educator also told about a tradition in her multinational family. Every day in the evening, all family members, gathering round the table, name three reasons why everyone could call themselves a ‘Molodets’ in Russian.

‘Then there is a feeling of happiness. Everyone has a space where a supportive environment is created. <...> We ourselves create history, traditions... If we are together, we all feel good,’ says Daria Matsuk.

‘Large families of all countries, unite!’ - This was the slogan chosen by members of the ANO Centre for Assistance to Large Families ‘Multimama’, whose activities were described by its founder and president Alina Kontareva.

Victoria Samoilova, founder and head of the marketing agency ‘Synergia Plus’, president of the Association for the Development of Russian-Spanish Cooperation (ADIRE) (Spain), warned of the danger of levelling universal values. She spoke about cognitive warfare, the methods of which are currently being developed by NATO, and the fact that such tools have already turned real values in Europe into anti-values.

Rosa Okuklu, a chemistry teacher at the private international secondary school CLASSICA-M in Alanya, Turkey, focused on the dangers of globalization.

Globalization is a scary process that can be compared to a vortex from which you can't jump out,’ says the teacher. - But building the family institution can help, and through events like our roundtable, we have the potential to do so.

Victoria Taganova, founder, CEO of Beauty Finland TMI, and president of the Sun Ray International Children's Foundation (Finland), says that the formation of a strong personality in society should not be done by glorifying individualism and personal success, but by fostering respect, compassion, caring for others, and an orientation towards common goals.

‘Family gives a sense of security and belonging to society. The family is a certain world, and only we decide how it should be,’ the expert believes.

At the present stage, Victoria Taganova sees three ways to consolidate the world community: returning respect for the institution of the family, developing dialogue between generations, and countering the negative influence of the media.

Marina Bakanova, Chief Physician at ICMC Dua Hospital (Pakistan), presented brief conclusions of her research paper ‘Traditional Family as a Factor of Sustainability in a Multipolar World (on the Example of BRICS)’:

‘The BRICS and Global South platforms are more resistant to the challenges of the time, but the gender plague of Europe is reaching them as well... Purely patriarchal families are not active today, families are being built within the framework of partnership relations, but family values are not being lost, but are developing in step with the times. The modern model of the family, updated in accordance with the realities of the time, should become a promising model for the organization of family relations in modern multipolar society, taking into account the traditions and mentality of its peoples’.

Tatyana Bokova, Co-Chair of the Youth Commission of CSRF France, drew attention to the problems of children of Russian compatriots, who experience the problem of self-identification, being deprived of the opportunity of upbringing in a multigenerational family. She told how Russian compatriots in France create intergenerational ties by volunteering and visiting nursing homes.

Ilaan Kyndykan, head of the creative association ‘Kyndykan’ from Yakutia, told how she created a doll based on a family legend in honor of her grandmother who miraculously survived in extreme conditions. This doll spent 115 days in space with a group of Russian cosmonauts, and thanks to it the children of Yakutia were able to send a message to the planet in their native language about happiness, peace and friendship.

‘Ancestors are not divided into nationalities, they are our genes and the strength of the clan,’ asserts Ilaan Kyndykan.

The participants of the round table were so energized by the positive energy of the last speech that at the suggestion from the Middle East representative they amicably sang the song ‘Let there always be sunshine’ in Russian.