MOSCOW, April 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

On April 23, 2018, the "FOLLOW UP SIBERIA: COMMUNICATION WITHOUT BORDERS" international online session took place at the "Rossiya Segodnya" press center. Participants of the session discussed the prospects of international sporting competitions as a platform for cross-cultural communication.

The session marked the launch of the "FOLLOW UP SIBERIA!" international digital program. It is a joint project of Nornickel and Euronews, which is implemented with the support of the Directorate of the 29^th Winter Universiade. The program focuses on the international online contest that will be held on social media from April 2018 to March 2019. The winners will visit the regions of Siberia, get acquainted with the locals, share information about their native countries and find common interests. The best participants will arrive in Krasnoyarsk during the Universiade. It is the first large-scale communication project for Russia in support of the World University Games.

Niaz Samadizadeh, VP Content Strategy at Euronews, spoke about the project:
"I think this project really gives us something new and fresh to give our audiences. Firstly, the cross-cultural exchange with young people is a fantastic way to deliver authentic stories. This project in a way mirrors what we do because we will be following participants every day as they go on this voyage of discovery in Siberia."

The speakers of the session were:

• Larisa Zelkova, Senior VP of Human Resources, Social Policy and Public Relations, Member of the Management Board at Nornickel;
• Elena Bezdenezhnykh, VP/State Secretary, Member of the Expert Council at Nornickel;
• Oleg Matytsin, President of the International University Sports Federation (FISU);
• Niaz Samadizadeh, VP Content Strategy at Euronews;
• Ilya Averbukh, Honored Master of Sports of Russia in figure skating, silver medalist of the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

Guests of the session discussed the development of territories through organizing major sporting events, youth participation in the volunteer movement, and the relevance of new media for cross-cultural interaction.

Larisa Zelkova said that the Organizers of the project saw it as a blueprint for future sporting events:

"I hope that "FOLLOW UP SIBERIA" will set a new standard for preparing and hosting Universiades as not only a sports youth project, but a project that will help people learn to communicate and build relationships with each other."

The video of the session is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVlk_RjLpW4.

SOURCE Nornickel