Voluntary service at the State Hermitage Museum

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The voluntary service at the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg , Russia supports the Hermitage Museum in external and internal matters. It serves as an informal link between museum staff and the public. The cooperation brings the volunteers closer to the knowledge of the employees. Volunteers can organize projects that reflect their personal interests and goals related to the museum.

aims

The main aim of the voluntary service is to familiarize young people from all over the world with the museum's broad collection and to bring the subject of world cultural heritage into focus. Another aim is to bring young people closer to the value of traditions and thereby create a sense of responsibility for their preservation. The voluntary service enables young students to work on various cultural projects. Many of them are directly linked to the museum's activities.

history

Shortly before the 300th anniversary of Saint Petersburg in 2003, Mikhail Kožuchovski presented his idea of ​​voluntary service to the administration of the Hermitage. 150 volunteers were found. On May 23, a group of volunteers in red uniforms entered the museum for the first time. The volunteers helped wherever help was needed. In the early years many projects arose in collaboration with various departments of the Hermitage.

The team

The project continues to evolve due to the many different volunteers. The result is a community made up of both Russian and foreign students and employees of various age groups. So far, volunteers from Russia, Switzerland, the United States, Austria, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Lebanon, Brazil and other countries have participated in the project. These include linguists, art historians, journalists, teachers, computer scientists and many others who are not necessarily directly related to art. The time required and the period of participation is determined individually by each volunteer.

Awards

On November 23, 2013, a celebration was held in honor of the volunteer service in the atrium of the General Staff of the Hermitage Museum. Organized by the Youth Policy Committee of the St. Petersburg Government, the aim was to promote the young volunteer movement and to draw the attention of citizens, authorities and companies to the activities and projects of volunteers. The best of 150 volunteer associations participating in the competitions were awarded honorable diplomas and prizes. The voluntary service of the State Hermitage Museum received an award as a winner in the category “Implementation of City Events” as a participant in the “Effective Voluntary Service” competition. A first-class diploma and a bronze statue of the “Little Prince” were given to the coordinator of the Hermitage volunteer service, Michail Kožuchovski.

Activities in the Hermitage

Volunteers can take part in the following activities:

  • Reception and security: greet guests, check admission tickets and answer questions
  • Work on scientific projects: maintenance of museum and inventory data, restoration , archaeological work, classification and management of stored artifacts
  • Preparation of museum publications
  • Correspondence with other organizations
  • Development of new communication technologies and design of multimedia projects
  • Assistance in the organization of seminars and international conferences of the Hermitage and voluntary service
  • Translating, teaching foreign languages ​​and leading discussion groups to promote language exchange
  • Support in setting up and renovating exhibitions and transporting artifacts

Projects

WHY (World Heritage & Youth)

This is the main project of the volunteer service. Behind the name hides the question of the importance of involving young generations in the preservation of the cultural heritage. The aim of the program is to strengthen the importance of tradition in the awareness of young people. Various seminars and conferences on the subject of culture and monument preservation are held for this purpose . An example of the various topics is the current discussion about the possible construction of the Okhta Center, one of the most criticized construction projects in today's St. Petersburg. Many of the volunteers expressed their disapproval of the possible construction. The voluntary service is therefore actively involved in the discussion and the preservation of St. Petersburg's old town.

Hermitage Summer University

This project was created through the WHY project. Since 2009 the voluntary service has been organizing a summer university in cooperation with the Russian company Rosatom . Russian students, mostly from rural areas, are invited to attend a series of seminars and lectures on topics related to culture and tradition. For many, the Summer University offers a first opportunity to deal with the topic of cultural heritage. The voluntary service therefore organizes various activities that appeal to the interested target group. The 2011 Summer University is expected to take place in Kaliningrad .

Ropscha project

The aim of this first project of the voluntary service warmly is to draw attention to problems of the preservation of historical architecture. The rural settlement of Ropscha, southwest of Saint Petersburg, is the site of a palace of the Romanovs and a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage Sites . Hermitage volunteers engaged in a campaign to preserve the monument. They gathered information about the project and wrote an extensive report on the importance of the palace. The establishment of the Christmas Tree Museum in the palace enabled children of the city to better understand the history of Christmas.

Games and competitions

Every year the volunteer service organizes games, contests and events that help children understand world history more easily. The games always focus on one aspect from the areas of history, cultural heritage and tradition. In February 2009, for example, the voluntary service organized a project called The Scythian Day , during which the children had the opportunity to learn more about the Scythian culture and the Pasyryk culture of the nomads from the Altai region through play. The competitions, which are organized together with the science departments of the State Hermitage Museum, are primarily for educational purposes. During a thematic excursion or a research project, children discover the amazing world of history and culture.

Games and adventures organized by the volunteer service:

  • Adventure "Flexagons Ifigenia", April 12, 2019
  • Adventure "The Zodiac Signs", April 12, 2018
  • Adventure "Gods, Stars, Planets", April 12, 2017
  • Film adventure “Discover your Europe in the Hermitage”, September 26, 2016
  • Adventure "Legends of Space", April 12, 2016
  • Festival “Discover your Europe at the Hermitage”, September 26, 2015
  • Adventure “Discover your Europe in the Hermitage”, September 2013
  • Adventure “Discover your Europe in the Hermitage”, September 2012
  • Adventure “Volunteer Games”, December 2010
  • "Cat addiction" adventure, March 2009
  • Adventure “Volunteer Games”, December 2009
  • Game "The Day of Scythians", April 2009
  • Star Wars game, December 2008-March 2009
  • Ice Age game, December 2008
  • Game "Indiana Jones at the Hermitage", December 2008

Computer Science Competitions

Since 2005, the volunteer service began running computer science competitions for high school students. Every year, in cooperation with the scientific and methodological department of the school center, he organizes competitions that are thematically linked to the exhibitions at the State Hermitage. The tasks of the competitions can be carried out in the form of an animation, a multimedia presentation or a digital painting.

Competitions organized by the voluntary service:

  • "Ermitage: We Protect the Heritage of Nations", September – December 2018
  • "Ermitage and the Russian Ballet", March – May 2018
  • "Ermitage in the turning point", October – December 2017
  • "Tour de France1717. The great journey of Peter I", February – May 2017
  • "Byzantium and Russia", September – December 2016
  • "Palmier: Inhaling Life", March – May 2015
  • “¡Buenos días, Argentina!”, September – December 2015
  • “Frogs on the move”, April – November 2015
  • “The Origins of the Hermitage”, April – November 2015
  • "The fairy tale world shimmers on the horizon", December 2012
  • "Cats - big and small", April 2012
  • “9 days before the September calendars,” December 2011
  • “The garage of Nicholas II in the Winter Palace”, December 2011
  • “On the threshold of discovery”, October 2010
  • “In the footsteps of the Olympic gods”, April 2010
  • “Sankt Peterburg's Autograph”, April 2010
  • "Animationskater 2009", March 2009
  • "New Year", December 2007
  • “Story of a Christmas Tree”, December 2005

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Article on voluntary service ( Memento from March 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ http://www.benevole.ru/