2025-07-31-annual-report

Russian Speaking Community Northern Ireland

Charity No: 107128

Annual Report 2024-2025

TRUSTEES REPORT

The Trustees of the Russian Speaking Community Northern Ireland (RSCNI) are pleased to submit the Annual Charity Report for the financial year 2024/25. This report outlines charitable activities, achievements, challenges, and organisation development during the Charity’s financial year running from 1[st] July 2024 to 31[st] July 2025. Is should be noted that the dates of Charity’s financial year were changed in June 2025, so that currently the year runs from 1[st] August to 31[st] July of the consecutive calendar year. Despite a challenging operating environment, the charity continued making positive progress, supported by the outstanding commitment of the trustees, volunteers, and providers of services (hereafter referred to as ‘staff’).

Governance and Management

Throughout the year, the Charity actively engaged with the Russian-speaking community aiming to strengthen the governance and ensure effective leadership and a broader representation.

In February 2025, at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), the acting Charity Chairperson, Ms Oksana Shelest, resigned from the post, as well as from the Board of Trustees, with immediate effect. In the elections that followed, Dr Alexey Shitvov was appointed the Chairperson, Dr Svetlana Svyatko as Treasurer, and Ms Tatiana Panova as Secretary of the Charity. All three had previously been on the Board of Trustees.

The Trustees continued reviewing governance policies and procedures to ensure that the Charity operates efficiently and in line with its charitable purposes and current statutory requirements. In particular, Financial Policy was revised extensively to account for the tightening budget, which made it economically unfeasible to continue funding the external accountant. The financial operations were optimised to avoid the need of a specialist financial software..

The charity membership structure was revised. The current structure had been essentially that of a Foundation Charity, where members were the same as Trustees. The envisioned new structure was to become an Charity Association, where the members are represented by a wider group of volunteers. This transformation deems to be necessary to increase the number of voters and nominations for the Board of Trustees. The new membership structure is planned to be adopted in 2025/26.

Activities and Achievements

The Charity’s core projects, the Culture and Learning Centre (CLC) ‘Zhar-Ptitsa’, ‘Club 55+’, and Community Choir ‘Rosinka’ continued to operate successfully throughout the year, although the latter two experienced some challenges in the second semester.

The Culture and Learning Centre hosted language classes, classes in mathematics and natural sciences, arts and crafts, as well as a popular Robotics Club and Knitting Club for kids aged 7 to 16. The pupils have different levels of proficiency, as for some kids Russian is a mother tongue, whereas others are bilingual or native English-speakers. Learning the language by edutainment, in mixed learning groups, through discussion of interesting topics and by mastering language skills in staged theatrical performances and in casual communications results in high satisfaction and positive at ude towards further education. The Charity provides affordable means for children from Russian-speaking and mixed-tradition families to sustain, learn and advance the language skills in a safe, professional and amicable environment, as well as offers diverse opportunities for Russian-speaking parents and volunteers to take active roles in the community.

A critical situation emerged in the spring term of the CLC teaching year 2024/25, when the landowner of the premisses rented for the Centre (Currie Primary School Belfast) terminated the rental agreement

RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY NORTHERN IRELAND (NIC 107128)

2

from June 2025. The Trustees and the CLC staff and volunteers dedicated significant time and effort to finding new premises that would suit the project needs and permit further development. As of the end of July 2025, there were several feasible options, but in each case the rent price was significantly higher than the one paid previously. This cannot be easily recovered by increasing the price of the classes and clubs, given that even a small increase in the price would make the attendance unaffordable for many families, so that the Charity had to rely on the reserves in the next teaching year, whilst trying to increase the grant application rate. This matter became the priority for the Board of Trustees for the next financial year.

‘Club 55+’ initiative is aimed at enhancing social experience of senior adults by means of recreational trips across the province, culture nights, and social gatherings. The Charity provides a small financial support, contacts and event advertising. The activities are organised and run by the Club members, but due to a lack of leadership, the Club programme is not planned ahead for a longer term. The Trustees have been dedicating significant effort to developing the Club into a more structured entity, which requires a Club leader with the strong interest, available time, and suitable experience.

The Community Choir ‘Rosinka’ project conducted a series of rehearsals during the autumn term of 2024. However, in the beginning of 2025 the choir faced a serious challenge in finding a new choir conductor. The choir rehearsals were suspended until September 2025.

Events

In spite of the challenges faced, the Charity delivered several cultural and educational events during the year, all of which received a very positive feedback.

In the Culture and Learning Centre ‘Zhar-Ptitsa’, teachers, volunteers, and pupils prepared and delivered several festive events, including the Autumn Festival (26[th] October 2024), New Year Festival (14[th] December 2024), Russian Pancake Week Festival (1[st] March 2025), and the stunning end-of-year performance “The Cat’s House” on 21[st] June 2025.

Autumn Festival 2024 in the Culture and Learning Centre ‘Zhar-ptitsa’

RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY NORTHERN IRELAND (NIC 107128)

3

Spring Festival ‘Maslenitsa 2025’ in the Culture and Learning Centre ‘Zhar-ptitsa’

The End-of-Year Celebration 2025 in the Culture and Learning Centre ‘Zhar-ptitsa’

The annual New Year celebration at ‘Zhar-Ptitsa’ was the Charity’s largest event of the year, with over 150 children, parents, and volunteers participating and attending. Professionally directed by Ms Inna Sudilovskaya and supported by volunteers and staff of ‘Zhar-Ptitsa’, the event featured traditional cultural elements, plays, dancing, choir performance, sweet treats, and entertainment for children and families.

The programme of the ‘Club 55+’ project included several events, notably a master class at Loaf Pottery on 26[th] July 2024, attended by 12 people, and a group trip to Shanes Castle Steam Rally on 4[th] May

RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY NORTHERN IRELAND (NIC 107128)

4

1. The pottery class was extremely rewarding and a great fun for the participants, who made their own pieces of glaze ware. This activity was highly recommended by the participants for future events.

‘Club 55+’ trips to Loaf Pottery and Shanes Castle Steam Ralley

The Charity organised a team-building event on 13[th] June 2025. That included a guided historical walk of Belfast City with the professional local Russian-speaking guide Anna Philips. The event was attended by the CLC teachers and volunteers, as well as the Charity trustees, who provided a very positive feedback on the initiative. Team-building exercises, particularly outdoors, are intended to be run on a regular basis at least biannually, or more frequently, subject to the availability of funding.

Charity team-building in June 2025

External Relations

During the year, the Charity placed an increased emphasis on outreach activities. Staff of the CLC ‘ZharPtitsa’ attended a teaching conference in Dublin, where they met colleagues from Ireland and UK, learned on new approaches in teaching Russian as a foreign language, and exchanged good practice.

The Charity also established and strengthened positive working relationships with the Russianspeaking community in Limerick, Republic of Ireland. As part of this collaboration, the theatrical group ‘Sunflowers’ from Limerick visited CLC ‘Zhar-Ptitsa’ on 17[th] May 2025 with a musical production of ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The performance was warmly received by our pupils, staff, and parents. The guests were offered refreshments and a guided tour of Belfast with Anna Philips.

RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY NORTHERN IRELAND (NIC 107128)

5

Charity hosted a visit by a youth theatrical group ‘Sunflowers’ from Limerick

In 2025, there was the 80th anniversary of the end of the World War II. In many countries of the Former Soviet Union, this event is celebrated on 9[th] May as Victory Day. The Charity paid respect to the memory of those who suffered from the brutality of the WWII and celebrated the victory of the United Nations with a special history class at CLC ‘Zhar-Ptitsa’ on 10[th] May 2025 delivered by a guest speaker Dina Kurbanova, the coordinator of the civil initiative ‘Immortal Regiment’ in Ireland. The main lesson for the pupils to learn was that the victory is impartible and every nation, and every family too, contributed their ultimate effort and paid a grave price for the freedom and peace in the world, hoping that no such a conflict will ever happen again.

Alongside the events, the Trustees dedicated more effort to the publicity in social networks, particularly on Facebook (htps://www.facebook.com/RussianCommNI). There was a noticeable increase in the number of followers, as the Charity posts received significantly more views and responses. The increasing visibility of the Charity resulted in new contacts and opportunities, e.g., the theatrical group from Limerick, and is considered as a priority for the next year.

Financial Review

The following tables provide an overview of the Charity finances for the reported period from 1[st] July 2024 to 31[st] July 2025:

• Table 1 lists the receipts and payments on the Charity’s account;

• Table 2 details the funding received from various sources;

• Table 3 reviews the Charity assets and liabilities.

Overall, the Charity remains in a good financial standing. The total cash funds in the accounts increased by 54%, as compared to the previous year. This is essentially due to the income from the tuition fees in the CLC ‘Zhar-Ptitsa’, which still remain low and affordable to families on the budget, and due to the low rent of the CLC premises. The increase in the income from CLC partially resulted from a higher number of students and more classes and club sessions in the CLC educational programme. Also, ending the contract with the external accountant in the beginning of the Charity financial year and adopting a simpler accounting structure run entirely by the Trustees allowed to save essential funds. The income from grants decreased noticeably against the previous year, which requires immediate action from the Board of Trustees. In general, all peculiarities of the Charity’s funds have clear origins and a means of improvement next year.

RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY NORTHERN IRELAND (NIC 107128)

6

TABLE 1: Receipts and payments accounts – year ended 31[st] July 2025

RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY NORTHERN IRELAND (NIC 107128)

7

TABLE 2: Summary of the funding received – year ended 31[st] July 2025

RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY NORTHERN IRELAND (NIC 107128)

8

TABLE 3: Statement of assets and liabilities – year ended 31[st] July 2025

Plans for the forthcoming year

Looking forward to the forthcoming financial year, the Trustees have identified the following key priorities to focus on:

• revamping the Charity membership structure and recruiting new members, also to the Board of Trustees; this will support the work of the Trustees and improve the decision making process;

• expanding the range of activities offered at the Culture and Learning Centre “Zhar-Ptitsa”, including drama classes, dance classes, language classes for adults, and new computer and robotics classes, as well as increasing pupils’ numbers; this will strengthen Charity’s financial standing and reduce dependence on external funding;

• increasing the grant application rate, particularly in view of the envisioned significant rise of the rent of premisses for CLC next year; becoming a member of more clubs and associations will contribute towards this goal;

• continued development of ‘Club 55+’ initiative, particularly, by appointing the club lead/coordinator, securing funding for the club, and advance planning of the events in line with the charitable objectives of the organisation;

RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY NORTHERN IRELAND (NIC 107128)

9

• revitalising the Community Choir ‘Rosinka’, which has been suffering from a lack of leadership and absence of a professional conductor; the running choir addresses several charitable objects, hence, is considered to be a high priority, with plans made to secure dedicated funding to hire a professional conductor;

• networking with Russian-speaking communities in Ireland and UK, as well as a closer partnership with local communities, including those of the major traditions and migrant communities, notably, Polish and Eastern European, will strengthen our community standing and bring new members and beneficiaries;

• continuingly promoting professional development for the Trustees and CLC teaching and administration staff, as well as revising and implementing essential Charity’s policies and procedures and staff training, will help sustain a safe, inclusive and infusive environment, as well as a highly rewarding experience for pupils, staff, volunteers and all beneficiaries.

Conclusions

The past year brought both changes and new opportunities for the Charity. It was marked by notable achievements and positive progress in all aspects of the Charity activities and operations. In the meantime, it uncovered some critical areas that require further improvement, which could be partly achieved by suitable funding and personal initiative. The Trustees under the new leadership remain committed to building on the success and positive dynamics of the organisation, addressing challenges and advancing the Charity’s mission and vision of promoting Russian language as a global medium of togetherness, education, career opportunities, cultural heritage, and cultural diversity for the benefit of all communities of Northern Ireland. The Trustees extend their heartfelt gratitude to all members, volunteers, sponsors, and partners for their unfailing support, positive advice, and encouraging feedback.

Dr Alexey Shitvov

Chairperson

Russian Speaking Community Northern Ireland

RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY NORTHERN IRELAND (NIC 107128)

10

CULTURE AND LEARNING CENTRE ‘ZHAR-PTITSA’ REPORT

It has been another successful academic year for the Culture and Learning Centre “Zhar-Ptitsa” in Belfast, which has been operating since 2015, supporting social ties, conducting educational activities and community events for Russian-speaking children and families from different parts of Northern Ireland.

The Centre has been running in-person Saturday language classes, sports and arts activities, and various club sessions, as well as weekday online sessions for children and youths aged 3-16. The Charity itself was founded in 2013 as a multinational cultural and educational organisation to address the issues of social isolation and integration, and to provide support to bilingual children and ethnic minority families in Northern Ireland, helping them to preserve their unique culture, make friendships with children from different backgrounds, develop good manners and learn new skills by engaging in various activities, classes and participating in various performances and events. Our beneficiaries are Russian-speaking families from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Central Asia, Israel and other countries, as well as local mixed families.

Our Culture and Learning Centre is open for anyone interested in Russian language and cultural diversity of the Russian-speaking countries.

In-person language classes and activities were delivered every Saturday (except for the school holidays) throughout the academic year from September to June, and included

• early years rhythm and rhyme;

• Russian language classes of different levels;

• speech development classes;

• literature classes;

• dance classes;

• artwork and crafts;

• robotics and coding club for different ages;

• theatrical studio.

To these activities, new classes were added in 2024/2025, including:

Fun Mathematics;

• Travel Around the World (Club “What? Where? When?” Curious Learners);

• Russian GCSE preparation class;

• knitting club.

During the year, 54 children between age of 3 to 16 attended these classes and sessions offline (c.f., 43 children in 2023/2024) and 7 children attended classes online (the same number as in 2023/2024).

All classes were taught in groups formed by age and knowledge level, including:

• Early Development ‘Malyshariki’: games (2-4 years);

• Basic: foundations of reading & writing in Russian (5-7 years);

• Intermediate and Upper Intermediate: beginners reading & writing group (6+ years);

• Advanced: basic Russian grammar and the World around us (8+ years);

• Advanced Plus: advanced Russian grammar and World around us (9+ years);

• Online: Russian grammar (8+ years);

• GCSE Russian: grammar, reading, writing and preparation for the exam (14+ years).

RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY NORTHERN IRELAND (NIC 107128)

11

In the Early Development group ‘Malyshariki’ toddlers learned to hold a pencil and a paintbrush, draw flowers, geometric shapes, animals, vegetables, and fruits. They coloured pictures and, through play, learned words and movements from children’s game songs. The children learned to sit patiently at the table, listen, and repeat.

In the Basic group , children learned to colour objects correctly, find differences in pictures, memorised short poems, studied numbers, letters, and colours. They tried to combine sounds into syllables and words, practised writing and tracing printed letters. They worked with modelling materials, construction sets, and games made from improvised and natural materials. Numbers up to 10 and additional teaching aids were used to support learning. Children also used puzzles to create stories and fairy tales, played spoon puppet theatre, and learned to listen and understand what the teacher was reading.

A session of the Basic group class

In Fun Mathematics , there were different age groups. The classes aimed at developing logic, thinking, memory, observation skills, attention, and basic mathematical abilities. During these lessons, children followed verbal instructions to create shapes, practiced counting, completed simple geometric tasks, and built figures from separate parts. They solved age-appropriate logic problems involving numbers, shapes, height, and age, took part in fun counting activities, and found differences in pictures.

The activities were adapted to the children’s age, abilities, and an educational program for curious learners. We also used rebuses and a variety of engaging puzzles. Children aged 5–7 and older participated in the activities voluntarily, choosing tasks that interested them. The lessons included activities aimed at developing attention, thinking, memory, logic, and overall intellectual skills. The children assembled puzzles, drew based on verbal instructions and from memory, constructed given figures from separate parts, and solved logic problems, including fraction problems after learning the basics of fractions. They also worked on geometric tasks designed to develop imagination and a sense of volume and space, using a variety of engaging puzzles made of plastic, wood, and paper.

A session of the ‘Fun maths’ class

RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY NORTHERN IRELAND (NIC 107128)

12

The children took part in friendly competitions, created and presented tasks to their classmates, and learned — or were close to learning — how to fairly evaluate both the lesson itself and the performance of all children.

In the Advanced group , children studied literary texts by authors such as Kostaev (“The Flute and the Pitcher”), Chaplinka (“The Winged Alarm Clock”), Dragunsky (“Deniska’s Stories”), Suteev (“Stories About Animals”), as well as other fairy tales and short novels. They became familiar with each author and their creative work, analysed the texts, identified positive traits in the characters, and learned from their examples. They also noticed awkward and unattractive actions, reflected on how the characters might have acted differently, matched proverbs and sayings to events in the stories, compared them, and recalled similar examples from real life. Children learned many new and unfamiliar words and came to understand that every book is a discovery of something new and interesting — an encyclopaedic source of knowledge for us.

Through the reading and observation, children learned to read by roles and dialogues, to recognize punctuation marks and intonation. They practiced following along whilst their classmates were reading, listening attentively to peers and teachers, and reinforced the concepts of synonyms, antonyms, and words with the same root. They also made bird feeders themselves and played language games such as “The Odd Word Out”, “Find a Word Within a Word”, “Which Fairy-Tale Character”, and many others.

In the Advanced Plus group, children studied works by the following authors:

• Krylov’s fables “The Dragonfly and the Ant” (all children participated in acting), “The Swan, the Pike, and the Crab”, “The Waterfall and the Spring”, and others. They read these works by heart and by roles, explored the moral meanings, and practiced reading expressively and with understanding.

• A. K. Tolstoy’s “The Mound”. Children discussed examples, compared, and discovered new aesthetic meanings of words.

• Khamirov’s “Alexander Nevsky”, based on the dramatic events of the Battle of the Neva in 1240 fought between the Novgorod Republic and the Kingdom of Sweden.

• Works of Konstantin Ushinsky, writer and educator, whose teaching paradigm was the moral guidance rather than strict instruction.

• Works of Shakespeare, which was inspired by the friendly visit of the theatrical group from Limerick in May 2025. After watching the musical, we analysed the work, watched excerpts from Franco Zeffirelli’s film of 1968, and read passages from the book. We discussed why the expression was used: “For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.”

• Other authors and works, including Anna Saks (tales about flowers) and Antoine de SaintExupéry’s “The Little Prince”. The children were introduced to international authors, explored outstanding generations of literature, and studied moral and ethical lessons in stories, comparing them, and learning how wonderful and meaningful fairy tales are. We also learned poems for the New Year celebration in December 2025, studied Russian Pancake Week traditions, folk songs (‘chastushki’), and many other cultural works.

The Travel Around the World (Club “What?, Where? When?” Curious Learners) club focused on various themes throughout the year, including:

• Early Autumn: autumn flowers; the music of flowers; introduction to international writers (Anna Saks), composers (Tchaikovsky), and poets (Afanasy Fet and Alexander Pushkin).

• Celebrating the New Year – national and local traditions. Children studied the history of the Christmas celebrations and prepared for the “What? Where? When?” game.

RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY NORTHERN IRELAND (NIC 107128)

13

• Space: interesting facts about space and experiments. This also included preparation for the game.

• Our Planet Earth: the origin of the planet, climate zones, flora and fauna, mineral resources, water, and much more. Preparation for the “What? Where? When?” game.

• Peter the Great: the Tsar Reformer and Great Westernizer.

• The Beginning of Chronicles: Latin alphabet; Glagolitic script; early printers, their lives and first books; the creation of chronicles on the topics studied. Preparation for the “What? Where? When?” game.

• Final preparations and the game: completing preparations for the “What? Where? When?” game and playing the game based on all the material studied during the year. One of the teams received a special prize — an owl, a symbol of wisdom.

A session of the ‘Travel around the world’ club

Pupils of ‘Zhar-Ptitsa’ also attended sessions of the new knitting club ‘KlubOk’ . The Club’s educational and general development programme, focusing on artistic pursuits, regardless of gender or age, aims to provide conditions for the development of each child's creative personality, enabling them to apply acquired knowledge in practice and adapt to the modern world, and to instil an interest in knitting, develop creative imagination and aesthetic perception, and a desire to improve their creative skills in this area of arts and crafts. The programme is designed for participants at the basic level, with an average annual enrolment of 7 people. The programme utilised a variety of learning formats: conversation, games, and practical work with ongoing, individualised support from the instructor. The primary form of activity was group work, with individual workloads adjusted depending on the skill development. This organisation of activities promoted team building and the ability to help each other.

By the end of the school year, children achieved the following results:

• acquired subject knowledge and skills in knitting basic stitches using simple patterns and reading them; completed their first projects and developed the ability to bring creative projects to completion;

• become more patient, learned to follow instructions, correct mistakes, and plan their work step by step;

• achieved the personal development (confidence and interest in the task); children felt they can create simple things with their own hands, developed accuracy, independence, and pride in their results. They also develop the ability to work alongside others, ask for help, and help the fellow knitters.

RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY NORTHERN IRELAND (NIC 107128)

14

A session of the knitting club ‘KlubOK’

The Robotics and Coding Club included a beginners’ group for younger children (7+) and a more advanced group for older children building programmable robots. The average number of participants in the beginners’ group was 6 and there were 10 children in the advanced group.

The Club utilised a variety of teaching methods, aimed to:

• provide a basic understanding of the design and operating principles of robotic devices;

• provide training in the basics of programming robotic devices;

• develop general scientific and technological skills in engineering design;

• develop psychophysiological skills: memory; attention; logical thinking; analysis; and concentration;

• develop the ability to express thoughts in a clear, logical sequence, to analyse situations and independently find answers to questions through logical reasoning.

The Club's older age group worked on more complex programmable robots, including assembling their electrical circuits and programming the operations. During the sessions, participants learned how mechanical robot components interact with electronic and optical sensors and actuators, how to create operating algorithms for robotic devices, and how to observe safety rules when working with tools and electrical devices. At the end of the programme, a robot car competition was organised amongst the Club participants. Certificates were awarded to the winners and certificates of appreciation to the Club participants.

A session of the Robotics club

Alongside the in-person Saturday classes and clubs, the Centre successfully continued its online learning programme in Russian language. In 2024-25, two groups of different language proficiency undertook these classes on a weekly basis.

In addition to the academic activities, the Centre successfully organised various seasonal festivities involving the pupils, staff, parents, and volunteers, including:

RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY NORTHERN IRELAND (NIC 107128)

15

• Autumn festival (October 2024): active games; fancy dressing; face painting; treats and Halloween disco.

• The New Year Performance (December 2024), organised by the Charity and actively supported by volunteers and staff of the Centre, featuring traditional Father Frost (‘Ded Moroz’) and Snow Maiden (‘Snegurochka’) characters, New Year presents, festive activities, dancing and singing around the Christmas tree for children and adults. This was the biggest event of the year to celebrate the arrival of the New Year before everyone took a break for the Christmas holidays.

• The Russian Pancake Week festival ‘Maslenitsa’ (March 2025) comprised modern and traditional folk games, singing, dancing, fun and tea party with traditional Russian food bliny (crepes).

• Theatrical studio ‘Sunflowers’ from Limerick presented the musical “Romeo and Juliette” in the Centre in May 2025, attracting guests from the Republic of Ireland and local community members. The musical had a huge success, and our theatre and technical crews were able to socialise, share experiences, and establish professional connections for future visits and upcoming events.

• The End of Year Performance (June 2025): musical play “Cat’s House” was prepared and performed by our Theatre club (studio) with magnificent decorations, special effects, and colourful costumes made by our pupils and volunteers. Children from as young as 4 years of age were involved in acting on the stage, singing and dancing along with older pupils in the musical performance that had been rehearsed on a weekly basis throughout the year and resulted in a huge success. Children were able to develop confidence on the stage and learned new skills required to perform in public. The musical closed the academic year, followed by the award ceremony for pupils, volunteers, and staff.

Daria Hanzharova

Coordinator

Culture and Learning Centre ‘Zhar-Ptitsa’

Russian Speaking Community Norther Ireland

RUSSIAN SPEAKING COMMUNITY NORTHERN IRELAND (NIC 107128)

16