Lilacs for Rachmaninov

This newsletter features news of the many activities Linkages has sponsored in the past several months. The activities are related to various Partnerships as well as to the major celebration this year of the 1150^th anniversary of the founding of Velikiy Novgorod.

The year started out in January with a special concert of Russian music in Kilbourn Hall in honor of the anniversary. In June two professors of social work from SUNY Brockport and Nazareth College accompanied a group of nine graduate students to Novgorod as part of a class in international social work. The instructors conducted a seminar on the latest approaches used in the US in therapeutic work with families and youth in crisis. We are hoping that this represents the beginning of a series of student exchanges between Rochester colleges and Novgorod State University.

This year we learned that there are currently a total of 34 foster homes in the city of Novgorod. When the Partnership for Children began in 1998, there were none. Novgorod has also truly been a pioneer in Russia in the area of adoption. Novgorod recently passed an adoption statute. (The Partnership for Children emphasized creating a path to permanency for children who could never return to their own families.) In turn this year Moscow adopted adoption legislation modeled after the Novgorod law. Linkages members should feel a sense of pride that the seeds that were planted over ten years ago have had an impact on the entire Russian Federation!

Our regular English language teacher exchange took place in June and July. The city Administration in Novgorod scheduled two official celebrations, one in June to commemorate Novgorod’s history as part of the Hanseatic League to which many European countries that were part of the League were invited. The second and more extensive celebration took place in September. Novgorod’s sister cities from three continents were invited, including Rochester. The travelers from Rochester who were in Novgorod in June were able to take part in the colorful Hanseatic League celebration.

After many months of planning, a delegation from Rochester also traveled to Novgorod in September for a very moving and eventful four-day celebration. The celebration included parades, concerts, outdoor fairs, official receptions, exchanges of gifts and many speeches and toasts. The importance of the anniversary in Russia was highlighted by the appearance of the president of the Russian Federation as well as the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. I believe that all six delegates will agree that the hospitality of our hosts was unsurpassed and that we will all treasure fond memories of the celebration for many years.

Linkages plans to hold a public meeting on the glorious history of Novgorod and the anniversary celebration in December. We also hope to dedicate the next issue of the Linkages newsletter to the anniversary. The delegation brought several official gifts from the City of Rochester and from Linkages. Our hosts, however, had a request for a gift that none if us had thought of and that couldn’t be more appropriate for Rochester: lilacs! They suggested a gift of some of our famous lilac bushes to be planted in a new park dedicated to the famous composer, Sergei Rachmaninov, who was born in Novgorod and who was especially fond of lilacs. The Monroe County Parks Department has pledged to give us some lilac plants; Linkages is now looking into the logistics of transporting them across international boundaries to their new home in the center of Velikiy Novgorod.

Paul Caccamise

[added later]

The September anniversary celebration was preceded by another colorful festival in Novgorod in June. “Hansa Days” was held between June 18-21 to commemorate Novgorod’s participation in the medieval Hanseatic trade route that included many Nordic and European communities. Cities from all over Europe sent representatives to Novgorod for the celebration. Activities included exhibitions, concerts, performances, displays by craftspeople and a huge medieval market. The student group Jed Metzger writes about in his article in this issue of the newsletter was in Novgorod during the Hansa Days celebration. When they not attending seminars or participating in Partnership for Children activities, they were able to enjoy some of the very festival events.

[added even later]

Thank you for your ongoing support of Linkages in so many ways, through attendance at Linkages events, through home stays and through your financial contributions. Your contributions make it possible to carry out the mission of Lifespan and sponsor remarkable activities like the ones featured in this newsletter.