The First "FOLLOW UP SIBERIA!" Tour Laid the Groundwork for International Cultural Exchange

- The first tour of the "FOLLOW UP SIBERIA!" international cross-cultural project organized by the Nornickel company took place on May 25-28, 2018, in the polar cities of Norilsk and Dudinka. Among the members of the international team were: Milos Petrovic from Serbia, George Khalaf from Lebanon, Anne Lukkarila & Toni Marjanen from Finland, Vikram Kamboj from India, Raymond Walsh from Canada, and Mahmoud Maher from Egypt. The 4-day tour consisted of an extensive cultural program. The project's team visited the opening ceremony of the Arctic Curling Cup 2018, participated in the Journalists & Bloggers' Curling Tournament, went to the Norilsk and Taymyr regional museums, visited Nornickel's open pit and copper plant, was initiated into Taymyr locals, tried traditional Siberian cuisine, etc. The "FOLLOW UP SIBERIA!" team communicated with local citizens, world-famous curling players and even met with the head of Dudinka. The participants experienced Siberian hospitality while getting to know the culture and history of the region. The team members showed their audience and beyond that Siberia has much more to offer than just natural resources and wide-open spaces. Thus, they laid the groundwork for attracting the attention of the global community to Siberia prior to the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019 on a larger scale. Reference:    Nornickel is the general partner of the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019, the partner of the International University Sports Federation (FISU), Russian Olympic Committee and Russian Olympic Team, Russian National Football Team and Russian Football Union, Russian Football Association and "Futsal at School - The Arctic Region" All-Russian project, Night Hockey League and World Legends Hockey League, Russian Curling Federation and "Arctic Curling Cup" international tournament in Dudinka. In addition, Nornickel owns the CSKA professional basketball club and the "Norilsk Nickel" futsal club. The "FOLLOW UP SIBERIA!" project is centered around an international online contest that started one year before the beginning of the 29th Winter Universiade Krasnoyarsk 2019 and will last until its closing from April 2018 to March 2019. Any person can join it by shooting a video and/or taking up to three photos covering the "Part of Siberia in My City" topic, i.e. something connected with Siberia but situated in your local community; post these on your social media accounts with the #FollowUpSiberia hashtag. For more info check the project's official website followupsiberia.com.