OREANDA-NEWS. On 10 April 2009 was announced, that the 8th International Medical Forum opened on April 5 at Sokolniki exhibition centre. This large social project and the key event in the field of medicine and rehabilitation of handicapped people is traditionally held at Sokolniki exhibition centre in early spring. This time the Forum is especially significant, as far as 2009 was proclaimed the Year of Equal Opportunities in Moscow!

On April 5 the exhibition was officially opened by the Forum organizers, MVK International Exhibition Company and members of Moscow Government. The floor was given to V.I. Lavrokhin, Head of the Presidential Administration of Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry; E.I. Kuzmicheva, Member of the State Duma Committee for education; V.N. Galkin, Deputy Head of the Health Care Department of the Moscow Government; I.V. Gordeyev, Deputy Head of the Department of Social Protection of Moscow residents; V.V. Shkolnikov, Deputy Chairman of the All-Russian Society of Disabled People and others.

The exhibition area of 1, 000 sq.m. has roomed a plethora of medical innovations from Russia, Italy, Israel, Germany and other countries. None of the Moscow medical forums has ever presented such a wide choice of medical inventions focusing on all types of rehabilitation. Telephone sets for physically challenged people, orthopedic footwear, advanced computer-assisted diagnose, invalid cars, unique therapeutic exercisers, elevators for invalids, healing music, career fair for handicapped people and many others things were available at Sokolniki on April 5-8.

In the Year of Equal Opportunities MVK together with Moscow Invalid Car Club (MAKI) has organized a MOTOR RALLY “SPRING” by manual control cars for physically challenged people. The automobilists competed in obstacle slalom in Sokolniki Park.