7th Russian Congress September 2025
The 7th Russian Congress took place in Kazan from 22 to 25 September 2025. This time, it was an international congress, with contributions from Switzerland, Nepal and Thailand. Unfortunately, due to the political situation, these could only be presented via video. Kazan Federal University, one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia, once again agreed to host the congress. The university’s president even attended the opening ceremony.
Around 120 participants from 20 Russian cities were present, including many parents and professionals. The theme was ‘MIR’, which has two meanings in Russian: ‘world’ and ‘peace’. Given the current situation, this proved to be an excellent theme that could be addressed in a variety of ways. There were presented philosophical and biographical contributions, reports from various countries on the situation of people with disabilities, methods and aids for improving everyday life, artistic performances, a congress hymn for persons with disabilities in Russia with the authors themselves, excursions to National museum of Republic of Tatarstan, innovative immersive museum in University and the Kremlin and workshops such as pottery, painting, theatre, therapeutic games and the tea ceremony. On the last evening, most participants donned their finest attire for an inclusive ball.
The atmosphere was very warm, and the feedback from participants once again showed how important it is for them to take part in such an event — these are truly tools for change! We are all very grateful to Liia Ivanova, who worked mostly alone and voluntarily for months to make this event happen! After the congress, preparatory meetings were held for upcoming congresses. Many participants are already looking forward to attending again.
