MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Putin stressed in his annual Federal Assembly address the importance of supporting activities of various NGOs and volunteer movements operating in Russia, and charged with this task Russia's civic chamber and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives.
"We believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed very important and timely measures aimed at improving the efficiency of cooperation between the authorities and non-profit organizations," Gatilin said.
He added that the president's recommendations will allow many NGOs to reach a new level of cooperation with federal, regional and municipal authorities.
The spokesman also noted that under the framework of the "Sanctity of Motherhood", the foundation has implemented the "School of social action," a project aimed at developing NGOs' young leaders' skills.
According to Gatilin, every year, in cooperation with regional authorities, universities and non-governmental organizations the foundation is holding four to five such seminars.