Yana Furman, the First Deputy Head of Perm Administration, welcomed the forum participants and spoke about the development and cooperation with NA in the city since their establishment.

“This year we celebrate 35 years of the NA movement. Perm was one of the first cities in Russia to establish such associations. Over the three and a half decades, NA have become trustworthy partners of the city administration and important drivers of positive change. Undoubtedly, the NA continue to grow thanks to active, creative, and caring residents who strive to make their hometown better. From the very beginning, it was clear that NA would become a vital institution for the city community, uniting residents and enabling effective interactions with the city authorities. Currently, 46 million roubles are subsidized  annually to support the city's NA” – emphasized Yana Furman.

In order to help NA work effectively – from organizing events in their neighbourhoods to implementing community initiatives – The City Is Us competition has been held for almost 30 years. Today, its grant fund totals 30 million roubles. In addition, the contest for support of local initiatives of socially oriented non-profits is held annually across 8 city districts, with a total grant fund increased to 5 million roubles this year.

Support of initiative projects is a key priority in working with NA. These projects allow residents to directly address local issues, contributing to the city infrastructure development and improving urban environment. Thanks to such support, public initiatives are being implemented: public gardens and parks are being renovated, new public and youth spaces are being created, and equipment is being purchased for community centres – including the creation of public cinema halls and playgrouds for children and teenagers. In addition, in the next two years, four new community centres will be established. This year, 22 NA projects will be also implemented as part of the initiative project competition.

As part of the forum, the Mayor of Perm awarded letters of appreciation to the chairpersons of the local NA.

As part of the “Partnership in Action” session, experts discussed mechanisms of collaboration between local governments and non-profit organizations in shaping urban environment. The participants shared their successful experiences of participation in various competitions and described the implementation of their projects. Guests from other regions also presented their practices.

“Our association actively cooperates with non-profit organisations, building partnerships with them for addressing specific challenges. This cooperation makes it possible not only to strengthen social infrastructure, but also to expand support measures for residents. When our project won, we used funding from local entrepreneurs to install a log cabin on the Sviyaga River embankment. There will be pottery wheels and we will hold master classes for children,” – said Vladimir Sidorov, Chairman of the NA League of Ulyanovsk Oblast.

For conference guests from other cities, the strategic session ‘Home for NA’ was held in an off-site format. The participants visited community centres in Kirovsky City District.