Artek: Diplomacy in Action summit of young ambassadors of peace has opened in Artek. The current session brings together young diplomats from 14 countries who will present their own social and cultural projects, and discuss them with their peers. These projects mostly aim to strengthen ties between people all over the world. A big multicultural concert opened the program, with Chairman of the Crimea State Council Vladimir Konstantinov attending the ceremony.

“The theme of your summit is very important because you have come to Artek as ambassadors of peace,” Vladimir Konstantinov told the children. “You will soon go home, and you will tell your friends about what you have seen in Artek and Crimea. This is what public diplomacy, as well as your work at the summit, is all about. I hope that, as adults, you will retain your interest in other countries and cultures, and then people all over the world would understand each other better,” he added. Konstantinov presented the children with 60 copies of his book Follow Your Path in Russian and English.

In his welcoming speech, Deputy Director of Artek Anton Denisov noted that children from many countries had been coming to the camp for many years. ‘They arrive here to make friends and to agree on how to build the future together. I want you all to feel mutually supported during this session and to take with you a piece of the Crimean sea, sky and sun, so that Artek will also become popular in your home countries. And all friends of Artek, scattered throughout the world, should remember this wonderful moment and come back here in their thoughts,” he noted.

During the evening opening ceremony, ambassadors of Peace acquainted the children staying in Artek with their countries’ heritage. Verses in Belarusian and Montenegrin, as well as Italian and Uzbek songs resounded from the stage. The children also learned how to perform Mongolian and Abkhazian dances under the guidance of their peers, wearing national costumes. A media screen, installed near a campfire in Camp  Morskoi , broadcast greetings to the children in Artek from their counterparts studying at Russian embassies’ 100-plus schools in Poland, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary, Israel and other countries. And finally, the children performed the famous song Let There Always be Sunshine in various languages.

“It’s really great to be here in Artek, we have the best team and the best counselors,” said Jovana Devic from Serbia. “It is very interesting to make friends and talk to children from various countries. As I see it, each of us has opened a door to his or her country for all of us today. These conversations enrich all of us. By getting to know each other better, we realize that, actually, we have a lot in common,” she added.

The summit ends the international educational program Children, Ambassadors of Peace, organized by Artek in partnership with the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic Academy, the Diplomats’ Club, the Foreign Ministry’s secondary boarding school and the Artek Support Foundation. The program includes meetings with career diplomats and Diplomatic Academy representatives, business games and creative meetings, as well as the Equals to Equals project that involves 300 school students from 14 countries holding classes in diplomacy for their peers from all Artek camps.