The vaccine is good: how Kazan became one of the inclusive capitals of Russia

The V International forum "Kind Kazan. Inclusion as a new social norm: challenges and solutions", where hundreds of representatives of NGOs, volunteers, authorities and socially responsible businesses share their experiences and ideas. Kazan authorities and philanthropists have demonstrated how in recent years the city has made a real breakthrough in building an inclusive environment by implementing several large-scale projects for children and adults with disabilities. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

A 10-year journey

The Good Kazan Forum is dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the city project of the same name, initiated by Mayor Ilsur Metshin as one of the priorities for the development of the capital of Tatarstan. During this time, four inclusive centers for children with disabilities, two training apartments, a large sports complex, a coworking space, and even Russia's first inclusive boulevard with the country's only bike rental for special children have appeared in the city. It is expected that a fifth inclusive center will be opened in Kazan this year, as well as Russia's largest rehabilitation center for people with disabilities.

It all started with school "Fairs of Kindness", where children sold their crafts, sending the proceeds to charity, and with "Diaries of Good Deeds", which have been given to all Kazan first-graders as a gift at the beginning of the school year for 10 years, and they keep it for a whole year. Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, calls this practice of teaching caring since childhood the vaccine of goodness.

— Ten years is quite a long time, we can sum up the results. And the main result is that we have united philanthropists, just kind people, 134 NGOs and charitable foundations in Kazan alone — all of them work under the brand of the Good Kazan project. This is a lot of systematic work. And if a person is in trouble, thanks to Good Kazan, thanks to our federal colleagues — the Presidential Grants Fund and federal funds from large companies — no one is left alone with their problem. Since childhood, we have been teaching children to think that someone needs their help. We started with 19 grades, and today 1,264 children with disabilities have the opportunity to study among normotypic children. Healthy children, seeing children with disabilities next to them, learn to take care of them and treat them with respect. And this is the most important thing for us — an atmosphere of kindness and attention to each other. The benefactors of the fair, first—graders, parents, universities, colleges, enterprises — this big river of kindness is bursting in Kazan today, and I am very happy about it," said Kazan Mayor Ilsur Metshin at the opening of the forum.

Today, almost 6.5 thousand disabled children live in Kazan, and most of them are covered by various inclusive projects and infrastructure that have emerged in recent years. The existing inclusive centers and training apartments accommodate up to 4 thousand children annually, and with the commissioning of the fifth center, this number will grow proportionally. In these open spaces, children learn everyday skills, study the school curriculum and attend creative classes.

At the same time, 54 schools and 68 kindergartens have created special conditions for the education and upbringing of children with special needs.

As part of the Good Sport project, eight sections for children with disabilities have been opened at municipal sports institutions, where 133 children are currently engaged. In the inclusive Dan sports complex, built in 2022, up to 500 people can simultaneously practice 15 sports, including Paralympic sports.

An adapted printing house has been created in the coworking space of "Good Kazan", and a carpentry workshop has been created at Kalinina 3, where young people with disabilities over the age of 18 receive career guidance and socialization.

Taking care of the elders

Kazan does not forget about disabled adults, of whom there are about 80 thousand in the city - an accessible environment is constantly being created for them, the necessary infrastructure is being expanded, and employment assistance is being provided.

A network of "Dobry Souvenir" outlets is developing, where products from inclusive workshops are sold. By the end of 2025, products worth more than 2 million rubles have been sold.

The Good Kazan project provides significant assistance to the families of participants in a special military operation, supplying them with food and household chemicals, diapers and baby food, household appliances, helping with the purchase of medicines and medical services, repairs and rental of housing, as well as payment for utilities.

Along with this, the capital of Tatarstan has become a venue for major sports and cultural events for children with disabilities. For example, for almost 10 years Kazan has been hosting the Good Wave music competition, a joint project with the Igor Krutoy Academy of Composer. Since 2017, 12 thousand children from all over the country have become its participants. And since 2018, a swimming tournament for children with Down syndrome "Let's win together" has been held in the city.

Government assistance

To date, 15,000 people — NGO employees, volunteers, partners, and benefactors - have been actively involved in the projects of Good Kazan.

Sibur and Tatneft are among the largest sponsors. Various grants, including federal ones, also play an important role. Over the past nine years, Kazan has received 1.2 billion rubles from the Presidential Grants Fund for the implementation of 519 charitable projects. This is 80% of the total amount of funds allocated by the fund to the Republic of Tatarstan during this period.

— The projects submitted for presidential support reflect the current problems of society. NGOs are often the first to sense and voice people's requests. And in this regard, it is very important that President Vladimir Putin has created a mechanism where any proactive, caring person can apply and receive support if he is a true ascetic, if he chooses the most significant problems. We have a quarter of all projects aimed at supporting inclusion. Society is increasingly sensitive to people who have limited opportunities for various reasons, and it has become clear that they need special care. And a third of the projects at each competition are new. Because someone, having received support, is already getting on the wing and developing further on their own, without grant support. To get a grant, initiatives just need to be strong. It's important for us to have projects that really help people, really help them. In this sense, Tatarstan's percentage of winning projects from submitted applications is always higher than in other regions," said Ilya Chukalin, General Director of the Presidential Grants Foundation.

Today, the Kazan City Hall and the Good Kazan Foundation set themselves an ambitious task — to create a "seamless" inclusive system for people with disabilities, so that when moving from kindergarten to school, then to university and adulthood, the child would not have difficulties adapting to a new level. Given the progress made by the Kazan authorities and philanthropists, there is a good chance that this complex task will be solved.