World Congress of Families Trip to Moscow -- 3 Speeches and 24 Meetings in 5 Days

by Staff
January 3, 2011

MEDIA ADVISORY, (christiansunite.com) -- World Congress of Families Managing Director Larry Jacobs was in Moscow (Nov. 25 to Dec. 2) to speak to the Sanctity of Motherhood Conference at the invitation of Mrs. Natalia Yakunina, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees.

During his stay, the WCF leader gave three speeches altogether and conducted a total of 24 meetings.

On November 30, Jacobs lectured to the students and faculty at Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) on Demographic Winter, World Congress of Families and the International Pro-family Movement. A lively question-and-answer session followed, with students asking questions about homosexuality, same-sex parenting and bio-ethics.

Indicative of the reception Jacobs received, more than 20 students offered to do volunteer work for Alexey Komov and the "Moscow Demographic Summit: Family and the Future of Humankind" (tentatively scheduled for July 12-14, 2011). The Moscow Summit was officially endorsed at the World Congress of Families Selection Committee that met at Focus on the Family Headquarters in Colorado Springs in September.

On December 1, Jacobs participated in the prestigious 8th Annual Pitrim Sorokin Conference, which brought together some of the best and brightest sociologists in Russia.

At the conference held at MSU, Jacobs again spoke on Demographic Winter and other threats to the natural family. His remarks were interrupted five times by thunderous applause. The audience was surprised but delighted to discover an American who shares their values of the traditional family and social conservatism. The conference wholeheartedly endorsed plans for the Moscow Demographic Summit.

While visiting MSU, Jacobs met with Dr. Vladimir Dobrenkov, Dean of the University's Sociology faculty. At the Sanctity of Motherhood Conference, he spoke with Ewa Kowalewska (who runs Human Life International's European office), Father Maxim Obukhov (head of the pro-life centers of the Russian Orthodox Church), Father Dimitry Smirnov -- in charge of the department of the Russian Orthodox Church that deals with pro-life/pro-family matters -- Galina Zajceva (Russian pro-life leader), Igor Beloborodov (pro-life Orthodox leader) and Professor Anatoly Antonov, a professor of sociology at MSU and a World Congress of Families scholar since the mid-1990s.

At the Russian State Social University (RSSU), Jacobs conferred with a leading sociology professor, the chair of the sociology department, and the Rector/Acting President, who was also supportive of plans for the upcoming Demographic Summit and offered use of the University's facilities.

Jacobs also met with a number of key Protestant pro-family leaders, including Ilya Okhotnikov, who heads the Church of God Seminary in Moscow and Lyuba Uryutova, who's a leader in the Elizabeth Center and various pro-life pregnancy centers and family ministries in and around Moscow.

Special thanks go to Alexey Komov for helping to arrange and coordinate Jacobs' visit. Komov is chairman of the Organizing Committee of the "Moscow Demographic Summit: Family and the Future of Humankind," and the World Congress of Families Representative in Russia and the CIS.

Jacobs observed: "My visit to Moscow could not have been more encouraging. Besides the opportunity to speak at the Sanctity of Motherhood Conference, give two speeches at Moscow State Lomonsov University and attend 24 high-level meetings, we found significant support for the Moscow Demographic Summit from all levels of Russian society. While I was in Moscow, in his annual address to the Russian nation, President Medvedev touched on the country's demographic crisis and proposed three new initiatives, including giving a family land on which to build a home after the birth of their third child. Two of these ideas were originally proposed by Professor Antonov to the Presidential Demography Advisory Group which he serves on."

Jacobs concluded, "We picked the perfect spot for the world's first Demographic Summit."

For more information on the World Congress of Families, visit www.worldcongress.org.