Under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, a meeting of the organizing committee was held at the Government House to prepare for and hold the 11th St. Petersburg International Forum of United Cultures, which will take place on September 11-13, 2025.
"The St. Petersburg International Forum of United Cultures is growing and gaining popularity. This year, it will be held not only at the State Hermitage Museum and the State Academic Capella, but also at the famous Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve. We will not only establish a new tradition, but also reveal the amazing beauty and special atmosphere of this protected site, first and foremost to our foreign participants and guests. I am confident that the events of the forum, held in the magnificent recreated interior of the Catherine Palace and surrounded by masterpieces of park architecture, will be remembered for a long time," said Tatyana Golikova.
The theme of this year's forum is "Return to Culture — New Opportunities." The business program will include 11 thematic sections, including a new one — "Art Education."
The sections will be curated by:
- "Business Culture" — Igor Shuvalov, Chairman of VEB.RF;
- "Cinema" — Fyodor Sosnov, Executive Director of the Cinema Fund;
- "Cultural Heritage: Traditions and Modernity" — Yulia Kupina, Director of the Russian Museum of Ethnography;
- "Media Culture" — Andrei Kondrashov, CEO of ITAR-TASS;
- "Museums" — Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director General of the State Hermitage Museum;
- "Musical Culture" — Olga Khomova, Director General of the St. Petersburg State Academic Capella;
- "The Path of United Cultures and Technologies to the Cultural Code of the Future" — Roman Karmanov, Director General of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives;
- "Theatre" — Artistic Director of the State Theatre of Nations Evgeny Mironov;
- "Traditional Values as the Basis for Cultural Dialogue" — Konstantin Mogilevsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of Russia;
- "The Circus" — Edgar Zapashny, Director General of the Bolshoi Moscow State Circus on Vernadsky Prospekt;
- "Art Education" — Grigory Zaslavsky, Rector of the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts.
Each venue will host a series of panel discussions, with a wide range of participants announced for each.
"The forum will include the now traditional ceremony of awarding the Hermitage Prize in the field of culture and art. This year's laureates will be conductor and musician Teodor Currentzis and Director General of the State Hermitage Museum Mikhail Piotrovsky," said Tatyana Golikova.
The forum will be attended by guests and participants from the world of culture: directors, artists, writers, musicians, scientists, and entrepreneurs. In total, more than 400 speakers from Russia and abroad will take part in the forum.
"To date, 34 official foreign delegations have confirmed their participation, including senior officials from four international organizations, namely: the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Interstate Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation, the CIS Executive Committee, and the League of Arab States," said Russian Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova.
According to her, the forum will traditionally serve as a platform for official negotiations with the heads of relevant foreign ministries, both in a bilateral and an expanded multilateral format. In addition, the signing of bilateral documents is planned.
The forum will also feature two unique cultural events: the Chinese Culture Festival and Ethiopian Culture Days.
A meeting with cultural figures and officials from SCO countries is also planned.
Thematic section events will traditionally be held at the Hermitage General Staff Building, the St. Petersburg State Academic Capella, the Bolshoi St. Petersburg State Circus, and, for the first time, at the Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve, the Gatchina Museum-Reserve, and the Alexandrinsky Theatre.