Moscow, 3–5 December 2026 — Deputy Secretary General of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA), Ms. Zhang Ling participated in the annual International Forum of Civil Participation “WeAreTogether”, organized by Rosmolodezh and Dobro.RF of the Russian Federation.
Marking its fifth anniversary, the WeAreTogether Forum 2025 brought together a large number of activists of volunteer movements, heads of state institutions, leaders of public associations, high-level officials, as well as representatives of UN Volunteers (UNV) and other regional organizations.
The event traditionally features the award ceremony for the winners of the International Prize WEARETOGETHER. This year’s finalists were selected from 18,000 submissions across more than 40 countries, many of whom came from CICA Member States.
At the award ceremony, Ms. Zhang Ling, as a Member of the Directorate, presented awards to the laureates of the international track. In her remarks, CICA Deputy Secretary General congratulated the winners on their outstanding volunteerism projects and expressed appreciation to the organizers for their sustained efforts to ensure the Forum’s continued growth. She highlighted the contribution of Russia, including the initiative of inclusion of volunteerism into the CICA Catalogue of Confidence Building Measures and the promotion of collaboration among Member States in volunteerism activities.
The Deputy Secretary General noted that the fundamental values advocated by volunteerism — such as kindness, trust, mutual assistance and inclusiveness — coincide with the principles of CICA. She emphasized the potential of regional platforms to expand the scope of volunteer movements and reaffirmed the readiness of CICA to deepen cooperation among Member States in volunteerism, including through a number of CICA mechanisms such as the Youth Council and the Partnership Network of Leading Universities (PNLU), as well as a series of volunteer-thematic events commemorating the 2026 International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development (IVY 2026).
The award ceremony culminated in the attendance of H.E. the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, who presented the award to the winner in the nomination “Volunteer of the Year”. President Putin expressed gratitude to all volunteers for their selfless dedication and steadfast service, and encouraged more people to engage in volunteer activities. At the conclusion of the ceremony, UNV Executive Coordinator Mr. T. Kurbanov congratulated all participants on 5 December — International Volunteer Day (IVD) 2025 under the theme “Every Contribution Matters”, highlighting its particular significance as it marked the official global launch of IVY 2026.
The International Forum of Civil Participation «WeAreTogether» is a platform with purpose of uniting the government, business and civil society in a powerful partnership for meaningful development and effective public support. The Forum and the award ceremony for the winners of the International Prize WEARETOGETHER usually take part on December 5th, dedicated to International Volunteer Day.
The year 2026 was proclaimed by the United Nations as the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development (IVY 2026) at the initiative of Kazakhstan, one of CICA’s founding Member States and the CICA Host Country.
