The participants in the session were presented with the program. Photo: “World of Discoveries”
The festival of the Russian Geographical Society opened the specialized session «World of Discoveries» at the all-Russian children’s center «Ocean». The program participants are schoolchildren from Russia and Egypt. They got acquainted with the history and projects of the RGS, took part in an intellectual tournament, and attended a film lecture. Ahead of the children are educational sessions, team projects, meetings, and new discoveries.
The new session began with a large-scale and official opening ceremony. On the shores of the Pacific Ocean, the anthem of Russia was played for the center’s students; the teams received their flags and underwent the traditional initiation into the ranks of «oceanians».
The participants of «World of Discoveries» got acquainted with the program of the specialized session. The schoolchildren were greeted by Olga Borovikova, deputy director of the «Tigrenok» team, and Olga Gizatullina, methodologist for the specialized sessions of the RGS. They told the participants about the main focus areas of the program and the projects that would be implemented during the session. The schoolchildren will not only expand their knowledge of geography but will also work in teams. One of the key projects will be the creation of an atlas of the small-numbered peoples of the Far East.
The children also learned about the history of the Russian Geographical Society, which celebrated its 180th anniversary in 2025, and watched a documentary about the Society’s landmark expeditions and modern projects. The participants received «Diaries of Pioneers» and t-shirts with portraits of outstanding Russian geographers: Fyodor Litke, Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, Ivan Kruzenshtern, Nikolai Przhevalsky, and Nikolai Miklukho-Maklai.
The participants were able to test their knowledge already on the first day. An interactive quiz based on the all-Russian Tournament of Geography Experts was held for the schoolchildren. The intellectual competition has been held by the Krasnodar Regional Branch of the RGS since 2010. During this time, more than 18,000 people from Russia, Egypt, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan took part in it. Over the years, the questions for the participants were written by well-known scientists and science popularizers, including Academician Vladimir Kotlyakov, cosmonaut Viktor Savinykh, TV presenters Nikolai Drozdov and Ivan Zatevakhin, People’s Artists of Russia Vladimir Mashkov and Konstantin Khabensky, and many others.
Twenty-five teams took part in the tournament during the specialized session. The children answered questions on geography and various fields of Earth sciences. The best result was achieved by the team consisting of: Artem Litvintsev and Olesya Kichaeva from the Primorye Territory, Varvara Sudakova from the Oryol Region, Yana Fedotova from the Altai Territory, Darya Nikolaeva from the Moscow Region, and Pyotr Naumovich from the Irkutsk Region.
For many participants, this event was their first introduction to the format of the all-Russian Tournament of Geography Experts and a good training session before the future competitive tests of the RGS.
The «World of Discoveries» project, which consists of themed sessions, has been running since 2015. It is implemented by the Russian Geographical Society together with the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, at the initiative of the Chairman of the RGS Board of Trustees, President of the Russian Federation V. V. Putin. The Krasnodar Regional Branch of the Russian Geographical Society, with grant support from the RGS, is responsible for organizing and conducting the thematic sessions. The main goal of this large-scale project is to preserve and enhance Russia’s intellectual potential. In 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin highlighted «World of Discoveries» as one of the most successful projects of the RGS. More than 8,000 children from 15 countries have already become participants in «World of Discoveries» at the all-Russian and international children’s centers «Orlyonok», «Ocean», «Smena», «Artek», and «Alye Parusa».