The meeting of the organizing committee dedicated to the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum’s preparation and holding took place at the Government House chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova. The architecture, the focuses of the business and cultural programmes of the event that will take place on November 16–18, 2023 were discussed.
When opening the meeting, the Deputy Chairwoman of the Government underlined first of all the importance of the Russian President’s decision to hold the Forum in the today’s geopolitical environment, also including the change of its format and filling it with new content.
“The new multipolar world that is being born before our eyes is impossible without a dialogue of civilizations. According to the concept agreed with the President, the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum should acquire a new dimension since 2023 and become a venue for discussion of the most urgent and pressing ideological issues. It is suggested to assemble the ministers of culture from the CIS, SCO, BRICS and other friendly states. We need to discuss the topical issues of interaction of cultures of various states in the new, rapidly changing world. Because of that our Forum has been named the United Cultures Forum, and we must hold it at the appropriate level,” says Tatyana Golikova.
The Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Olga Lyubimova covered the issues of the new Forum’s architecture in her speech: its structure, the component parts of the programme as well as the cultural events.
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“The renewed architecture of the Forum means transfer from a big number of chamber discussions to serious big discussions of the main issues. We offer our guests to focus on the central dialogue event — the United Cultures Forum — and the main programme which in its turn is divided into the business and cultural programmes,” says Olga Lyubimova.
She also said that the business programme will include three programme units: Getting to Know History Via Culture, Artificial Intelligence — a Threat or a Benefit for Culture, Traditional Culture as a Foundation for Building a Civilized Society. Discussions chaired by prominent figures from the world of culture and high-level experts who will serve as curators, will take place as a part of each of the said units. No more than six discussions will be planned for each of the programme units.
Besides, panel discussions to discuss specific topics in six main focal areas of culture are planned: theatre, music, education in the world of culture, inter-museum dialogue, cinema, preservation of cultural heritage. General discussions and final meetings will be held as a result of the discussions.
The cultural programme will include numerous events, with a gala concert at the Mariinsky Theatre Second Stage, gala closing ceremony at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, concerts including by state nation ensembles, an exhibition among them.
Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoy, Director of the Department on Multilateral Humanitarian Cooperation and Cultural Relations of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Alexander Alimov, Deputy Governor of St. Petersburg Boris Piotrovsky, Artistic and General Director of the State Academic Mariinsky Theatre Valery Gergiev, Executive Director of the Cinema Fund Fyodor Sosnov, Director of the Russian Federal Service on Surveillance for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) Anna Popova, CEO of the Channel One Konstantin Ernst, First Deputy of the Director General of the TASS Information Agency Mikhail Gusman, and other members of the organizing committee and invited experts took part in the meeting.
