At the XI St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum, within the Media Culture section, a panel discussion was held titled “Family In the Spotlight: How Culture and Media Can Help Address the Demographic Question".
Participants included Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Tatyana Golikova, Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova, Head of the Presidential Directorate for Public Projects Sergey Novikov, Chair of the Patriarchal Commission for Family, Protection of Motherhood and Childhood Rev. Fyodor Lukyanov, and Director of the Eurasian Bureau of China Media Group Bin Wang. The discussion was moderated by TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov.
The speakers exchanged views on how the theme of the family is reflected in contemporary Russian culture and in the media, and discussed the potential of mass media and culture to help tackle demographic issues. They raised the question of the challenges families face today, noting that in Russia, the family has always been the unshakable foundation of society and the guardian of tradition.
Representatives of government, civil society, and the clergy proposed ways to counter challenges that often come from outside and explained how the media and mass culture can help strengthen family values.
As Tatyana Golikova noted, the media should not showcase “anti-family values,” popularize a child-free lifestyle, or create a distorted view of marriage. In her view, it is necessary to restore the emotional appeal of parenthood and foster a mindset in which as many people as possible consider the family the highest value. The media have a special role to play, she stressed, because they shape public opinion at the level of emotional attitudes.
“Family is a fundamental value, and the way we relate to family determines both the well-being of the state and the size of the population,” said Tatyana Golikova.
In her remarks, Maria Zakharova drew attention to external factors influencing demographic processes in Russia. “The foreign environment is trying not just to influence us, it is trying to destroy us, just as it tries to destroy everything it does not like,” she said.
She called the attempt to substitute values the most dangerous method of outside influence on a country’s population.
During the panel, Andrey Kondrashov announced the creation of a media award for coverage of family themes. “At TASS we have already drafted the regulations for this award, approved the concept, and as of 25 September we are beginning to accept applications from media outlets,” he said.
Summing up the discussion, Tatyana Golikova emphasized the importance of supporting families and traditional values to increase the country’s population.
“We are a very large country. We cannot afford to have a small population. For now it is small. But the country has enormous potential, and it would be a sin not to use it. Why are we discussing this today at the International United Cultures Forum? Because the same idea is being voiced on all platforms today: culture shapes meanings, and meanings determine our attitude to a given issue. If we do not approach the fundamental issue of the family through culture and through media culture, we will not achieve what we all truly want. I am absolutely convinced that we are all proud of our country, that we all love and respect it deeply, and respect the values that historically belong to it. Our main motto should be this: there should be more of us Russians,” said Tatyana Golikova.