The Mosty (Bridges) telegram channel builds links between new émigrés and helps to make useful and friendly acquaintances
Founders of the project, podcaster and producer Pavel Osovtsov (Milan) and scriptwriter and director Sergey Ilyin (Yerevan) said that having studied other similar Telegram channels that gather emigrants, they realized that the angle should change from passive consumption to active participation.
A traditional situation: a user does not seek to establish any connections, but comes in to request some simple information (how to withdraw money, where to get insurance) and disappears until the next question. In Bridges things work the other way round: you do not ask first, but tell about yourself, your experience, what and whom you are looking for and how and whom you can help in turn. New participants send the moderators a "circle" — a one-minute video of themselves talking about themselves.
"Together with the participants we create a safe space, where there is no discussion of politics, immigrant longing and survivalist atmospheres. It is also a creative daily life, a kind of dating hub for relocates of all ages and social backgrounds, who can find professional connections and company in their new place of residence."
In the first month 14,000 users joined the project.
A logical continuation of the project was the launch of 'City Bridges' — closed chat rooms where residents of a particular city come together. There are already chat rooms in London, Berlin, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Milan and Tel Aviv.