Youth Programme for 12th St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum Announced

A highlight of the 12th St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum will be the participation of young industry professionals in international discussions on the development of creative unions, the integration of culture into the healthcare system, and the use of artistic intelligence in the artistic process, as well as their creative meetings with industry leaders.

A highlight of the 12th St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum will be the participation of young industry professionals in international discussions on the development of creative unions, the integration of culture into the healthcare system, and the use of artistic intelligence in the artistic process, as well as their creative meetings with industry leaders.

This year’s Forum is organized by the Roscongress Foundation, with the support of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, and the St. Petersburg City Administration.

The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation is establishing a system of core creative unions. They act as the primary entry point into the industry and promote traditional spiritual and moral values. A meeting of the working group on consolidating creative unions will be held at the Forum to discuss international youth events and the development of youth wings of the unions. The meeting will be attended by chairpersons of key creative unions and representatives of creative youth communities of the Taurida Art Cluster.

A series of meetings involving cultural luminaries Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Mashkov, and Mikhail Piotrovsky and students from creative universities and young artists will be held as part of the Ministry of Culture’s Culture of Sovereign Russia educational project. Participants in the meetings will discuss the key priorities of state cultural policy, the sharing of professional experience, and the cultivation of the younger generation’s worldview.

The purpose of the session ‘Cultural Longevity: Culture as a Resource for Quality of Life’ is to showcase Russia’s experience of incorporating cultural practices into public healthcare and social policy as a tool for strengthening cognitive health and psycho-emotional wellbeing of the population. The dialogue will focus primarily on the role of youth initiatives and collective creative practices in supporting the global trend towards cultural longevity, and the potential of choral singing and other sociocultural formats as effective tools for promoting health and quality of life. Participants in the discussion will include foreign ministers of culture, leading neurobiologists, heads of international cultural institutions, and representatives of youth communities from around the world.

The integration of AI into the cultural sphere has long sparked debate among experts. At the foresight session ‘Young Artists and Artificial Intelligence: Forming Professional Principles of Interaction’, participants will work together to develop a consolidated position for the international arts community on the use of AI in the visual arts and education.

The Forum’s youth programme offers young people the opportunity to directly engage in international professional dialogue, meet leading cultural figures, and find likeminded partners for future projects.

The 12th St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum will take place on 24–26 September 2026. The theme for the 2026 Forum is ‘United Cultures, Common Values’.

Registration for the Forum is open to members of the media until 24 August at this link.

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