Everyone Must Find Their Place in Life: Inclusive Festival #PeopleLikePeople Concludes in Russia

April 7, 2026

From March 29 to April 5, the 10th All-Russian Inclusive Festival #PeopleLikePeople (#LyudiKakLyudi) — one of the largest events in the field of supporting people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) — took place in Moscow and 78 regions of Russia.

This year, the festival brought together more than 700 venues across the country, with a total reach — including online broadcasts and media support — of over 230,000 people.

"This is a huge number, and it seems to me that the festival is achieving its goal — the dissemination of accurate, proper information about what autism is",

commented Artur Khaustov, Director of the Federal Resource Center for the Comprehensive Support of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder at MSUPE, on the scale of the festival.

The festival's events included both beloved formats — Family Day at the Russian State Children's Library and the Main Venue in Tsaritsyno — as well as completely new activities.

On March 29, the festival opened with Family Day at the Russian State Children's Library. More than 2,000 people visited the venue. Families could receive consultations from leading organizations working with children with ASD in Russia, attend lectures, and participate in various activities and master classes. The central event was a grand concert featuring over 20 inclusive groups and performers.

On April 3, the festival's Theater Day was held for the first time, bringing together inclusive theater groups and practitioners at the Diana Gurtskaya Center for Social Integration. The day began with a discussion moderated by film and theater actress Irina Bezrukova.

The festival's online events spanned three days — from March 30 to April 1 — and covered the main areas of importance for families raising children with autism: medicine, education, and society.

The central event on March 31 was a debate — "Inclusion or Correction" — in which two teams of experts attempted to understand the advantages and disadvantages of educational organizations of different formats, weighing all the pros and cons. The debate concluded with a live vote. The debate was attended by Artur Khaustov, Director of the FRC ASD MSUPE, and Irina Gordeeva, Head of the "RASsvet" School.

On April 1, experts examined in detail the issues of ethical language in the field of autism during a round table, and the day ended with a live practicum featuring case studies on the specifics of interacting with people with ASD. The moderator of the "Society" cluster was Evgenia Khilkevich, Head of the Sociocultural Integration Department.

On April 2, World Autism Awareness Day, the festival's Business Program took place, where round tables discussed the most important and pressing topics in the field of autism in Russia today:

"Education of Children and Adolescents with ASD: Trends, Difficulties, Successful Solutions" (moderator - A. Khaustov)
"Clinical Recommendations and Quality of Medical Care"
"Life Arrangements for Adults with ASD"

The festival always pays special attention to sports. On April 3, the traditional festival Sports Marathon "Adaptive Physical Culture and Sports for Children with ASD" was held, moderated by Sergey Pantsyr, Associate Professor at MSUPE and Head of the "Karabin" Tourist Club.

The grand closing of the festival took place at the Main Venue in Tsaritsyno — a huge number of people attended inclusive theatrical performances, fashion shows, creative master classes, a table football tournament, a new technology zone, and much more.

The event concluded with a celebratory concert featuring outstanding musicians and performers, and the hosts were, as tradition holds, the festival's ambassadors Georgy Dronov and Tatyana Babenkova.

This year, the concept of the festival's main day, held at the Tsaritsyno State Museum-Reserve, was slightly modified:

"If last year the people gathered here were those directly related to autism spectrum disorders and the support of children with autism, today this is truly an inclusive day, where ordinary visitors participate in a variety of interesting master classes, concert performances, orienteering, and other events.

This is a genuine model of an inclusive society, where children with autism spectrum disorders are integrated and included.

And I hope that our tenth inclusive festival will give an even greater impetus to the development of the support system for children with autism. Each of them, each of our children, must find their place in life. First, go through a difficult path, where each child is accompanied, where each receives an education, and ultimately realizes themselves and finds their place",

emphasized Artur Khaustov.

At the conclusion of the festival, the results of the Parental Initiative Competition "Personal Matter" named after O.A. Vlasova were announced.

Winners:

Cultural Initiatives (Projects in the field of culture and art for people with autism):
"May-Method" – Elena Evgenievna Maykhrovskaya, Moscow
Sports Initiatives (Projects in the field of sports and physical activity for people with autism):
"The Impossible is Possible!" – Daria Vasilievna Bogomolova, Moscow
Family Initiatives (Projects on life skills training, psychological support for families, work with siblings):
Telegram channel "Pathological Demand Avoidance: Information and Support" – Elena Vladimirovna Moskvicheva, Oryol
Created for Children (Projects of any orientation aimed at minors - children and adolescents - with autism):
"Intensive in Romanovo" – Tatyana Vasilievna Filippova, Sergey Viktorovich Stepanov, Tula
First Person (Projects created by autistic people for autistic people):
Telegram channel "Kitten and Magic" – Tatyana Alekseevna Nefedova, Novosibirsk

Honorary Awards for long-term service to the community:

Margarita Alekseevna Urmantseva – President of the St. Petersburg Association of Public Associations of Parents of Disabled Children GAOORDI (since 1992), member of the Public Chamber of St. Petersburg, member of the Public Council under the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation, Russian public figure, psychologist, educator, laureate of the 2021 State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of human rights and charitable activities.
Natalya Anatolyevna Nesterkina – autistic person, general practitioner, active speaker at the annual festival "Autism: Different Perspectives on What Matters," long-time moderator of the forum for autistic people and their loved ones.

You can watch the festival's broadcasts here: