OREANDA-NEWS. May 12, 2014. Norilsk Nickel has marked the end of the social projects contest. A total of 91 projects will receive grants in order to implement social initiatives ranging from non-governmental organizations and unions to state and municipal entities based in the polar areas of Krasnoyarsk Krai (the city of Norilsk and Dolgano-Nenets municipal district) and Murmansk region (the city of Monchegrosk and Pechenga district).

The winning projects are generally devoted to public welfare initiatives and development of grassroots movements in the Polar region. The winning projects cover a wide range of initiatives:
- Social assistance to the most vulnerable groups of public;

- Implementation of innovative methods and technologies to interact with children, adolescents and young adults;

- Maintaining cultural heritage and rejuvenating the ethnic culture of small indigenous polar peoples;

- Forming the base to promote physical education and public fitness;

- Holding environmentalist events, landscaping and planting greenery;

- Fostering educational arctic tourism.

Some of the projects tackle repairs, renovations and outfitting of educational institutions, youth policy and physical education centers as well as improving amenities in courtyards, sports- and playgrounds.

“I find original ideas pushed by the project teams exciting, said Svetlana Ivchenko, MMC Norilsk Nickel Social Policy Department Director, - among them volunteer centers Grandmother for an Hour, Social Entertainers, School of Reindeer Driving, Shadowplay Theater, young adult coworking, Agency of Charitable Repairs, Environmental and Ethnographic Teams, Art Studios, promotion of sailing and kayaking and many others”.

Norilsk Nickel will award the contest winners with grants ranging from RUB 45 000 to RUB 5 000 000. Implementation of the projects goes into effect on July 1st, 2014.

BACKGROUND
Social projects contest is an integral component of the World of New Opportunities new charity and welfare initiative aimed to support public initiatives and develop the regions in which the company operates. A total of 302 projects were submitted. The applications went through a peer appraisal and were evaluated by the company’s employees, federal and regional experts in social responsibility program implementation.