On April 13-15 a seminar was held in Moscow entitled "Creating Awareness, Influencing and Training the Media" in the framework of the Sochi 2014 Excellence Program. The event focused on spreading knowledge about Paralympics. The seminar co-organized by the Russian International Olympic University and Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee was conducted and facilitated by IPC Academy Director Chris Solly, IPC Senior Manager on Media and Communications Craig Spence and Head of LOCOG Media Relations Jayne Pearce. Russian Paralympic Champions Sergey Shilov and Olesya Vladykina participated as guest speakers. The seminar was attended by people representing Sochi 2014, RIOU, a number of Russian newspapers, radio stations and information agencies as well as private companies: Procter&Gamble, VISA, Volkswagen Group Rus, MegaFon, KROS, Aeroflot, and the Russian Railways.

Paralympic champion Olesya Vladykina (left) gives a "play-interview" as part of her team work at the seminar.

As part of the team work the participants tried to solve practical questions related to Paralympic awareness and special features of work with Paralympic athletes.

While debriefing after the seminar Chris Solly underlined the importance of creating a communication and media strategy for a better awareness of the population about the Paralympic movement.