unesco

23 June 2022

Scientific Conference dedicated to the 30th Anniversary of UNESCO UNITWIN

On June 17, 2022, Scientific conference ‘30th Anniversary of UNESCO UNITWIN Program’ took place at the premises of Peter the Great Polytechnic University in St. Petersburg, Russia, under the auspices of National Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, under the guidance of its Secretary, Mr. G.Ordzhonikidze. About 50 reports, presented by leading researchers and experts of this country, were dedicated to various aspects of the UNITWIN program, and its unique creative potential.
Head of our UNESCO chair, D.Spivak, gave an introductory talk at the plenary session, which was dedicated to main trends of the UNITWIN strategy, and talked, inter alia, about our Network of UNITWIN/UNESCO Chairs in Interfaith Dialogue for Intercultural Understanding. He also served as moderator of a session dedicated to Digital Transformation. Our Scientific Secretary, M. Stepanov, gave a talk dedicated to new trends in preservation of cultural heritage and their impact upon intercultural dialogue.

Photo by D.Spivak
23 May 2022

4th International Bolgar Theological Forum

On May, 19. 2022, 13^th International Economic Summit ‘Russia – Islamic World’ was conducted in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan, Russian Federation. 4^th International Bolgar Theological Forum ‘Theological Legacy of Muslims in Russia’ took part in its framework. Head of our North Caucasus affiliation, Dr. G. Seidova, took part in the Forum, and gave an invited talk. dedicated to Turkish- and Iranian-Language Legacy of Muslims of South Russia.
18 April 2022

New conference in Daghestan

On April 7, 2022, Scientific conference dedicated to ‘Russia – Ukraine: Choice of Value Orientations’ was conducted in the city of Makhachkala, Daghestan Republic, under the auspices of Ministry of National Politics and Religious Issues of Daghestan. The head of the Daghestan affiliation of our UNESCO chair, Dr. G.Seidova, and two of our professors, Dr. M.Bilalov, and Dr. A.Buttayeva, took part in the conference, giving invited plenary talks dedicated to various aspects of the main topic of the conference.

Photo: G. Seidova
6 April 2022

Meeting of Coordination Committee of UNESCO Chairs in Russian Federation

On April 6, 2022, a meeting of the Coordination Committee of UNESCO Chairs in the Russian Federation was held. The meeting was dedicated primarily to the assessment and evaluation of applications for opening new UNESCO chairs in Russia. The applications were presented by Russian Technological University, G. Plekhanov Russian Economic University, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Kursk State Medical University, Tomsk State University, and Khanty-Mansiisk State University. A representative of our Chair took active part in the debates which were quite lively and constructive.

Photo by D.Spivak
18 March 2022

Conference ‘Digital Transformation of Education: Present-Day Realities’

On Thursday, 17, our Chair took part in a conference ‘Digital Transformation of Education: Present-Day Realities’, organized by Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the City of St.Petersburg, under the auspices of National Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, in the framework of St.Petersburg International Educational Forum. Our Chair, D.Spivak, gave an invited plenary talk on ‘Digitization in Strategy of UNESCO’, which was mostly dedicated to new normative documents, approved at the 41^st session of UNESCO in November, 2021.

Program of the meeting (in Russian)

Photo by D.Spivak
11 February 2022

Round Table on Scientific and Social Projects focused upon Protection of Cultural Heritage

On February 9, 2022, Round Table on Scientific and Social Projects focused upon Protection of Cultural Heritage was conducted, under the auspices of Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, Coordination Committee of UNESCO Chairs of the Russian Federation, and Committee of the City of St.Petersburg for State Control and Protection of Historical and Cultural Objects. About 100 experts from the leading Russian universities, as well as scientific research centers, from all over the country, took part in the meeting. Our UNESCO chair served as a co-organizer of the event, and provided two plenary talks. The first one, given by our Chair, D.Spivak, was dedicated to Actual Directions in Preservation and Revitalization of Cultural Heritage, especially in context of intercultural dialogue. Another one, given by our Scientific Secretary, M.Stepanov, considered Preservation and Re-vitalization of Cultural Heritage in Digital Age. Both reporters took into account the main standard-setting UNESCO documents, ranging from six Conventions on culture, to the materials of the recent 41^st Session of UNESCO General Conference. Best practices, both monitored and conducted by our Chair, were also regarded.

Appendix: Program (in Russian)
20 January 2022

New Book on Peacebuilding

Newly appointed professor of our Chair, Dr.Laura Yerekesheva, has just published a comprehensive research review, entitled ‘Youth of Central Asia: Challenges for Peacebuilding‘. The book is focused upon basic trends, institutional aspects, and challenges, which are currently actual for young people in four Central Asian countries. i.e. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The review was prepared under the auspices of UNESCO Cluster Office in Almaty, namely, its Sector for Social and Human Sciences, as part of implementation of International Decade for the Rapprochement of Cultures (2013–2022). It has been published by UNESCO, and may be attained at its official site.
19 January 2022

New Film on Interfaith Dialogue

Head of affiliation of our UNESCO chair in the Northern Caucasus, Dr. G.Seidova, has served as the Scientific Consultant of a 45-minute documentary, entitled ‘Derbent: Gateway to Faith’, which has just been released. The film, which was created under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, is dedicated to traditions of interfaith dialogue and peaceful coexistence, which have existed for centuries in the city of Derbent, Southern Daghestan. Both Shiism and Sunism, as well as Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, and, retrospectively, Zoroastrianism are represented.
29 November 2021

Proceedings of a Conference in Local History

Annual Readings in Local History took place in Toksovo, a town in the Karelian peninsula in the vicinity of St.Petersburg, in April, 2021. They are an event which is organized and conducted independently, by a group of local historians, writers and educators, basing at the facilities of the local secondary education centre, under the auspices of our UNESCO Chair. The main reason of our collaboration is conditioned by the fact that local population consists of two large ethnic groups, namely, Russians and Finns, which makes both UNESCO strategy of intercultural dialogue, and practices of rapprochement, elaborated in its framework, most useful here. Proceedings of the 2021 Readings were published a couple of days ago under the auspices of our Chair. They were dedicated to the 70^th anniversary of a local poet, Anatoly Ivanen, who died several years ago. Ivanen had both Finnish and German roots, and grew into a prominent Russian poet.
29 November 2021

Intangible Heritage in Cultural Strategy of UNESCO

A new paper on the Intangible Heritage in Cultural Strategy of UNESCO has just been published by our Chair, D.Spivak, in the International Journal of Cultural Studies, 2021, No. 3 (44). For basic ideas of the article, see its

Summary

Safeguarding intangible heritage forms a focal part of the cultural strategy of UNESCO, which is now being most actively elaborated and promoted. Basing on one of the two essential definitions, contained in the main text of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, approved by UNESCO in 2003, one may regard it as comprising five main subject fields, i.e. ‘(a) oral traditions and expressions, including language as a vehicle of the intangible cultural heritage; (b) performing arts; (c) social practices, rituals and festive events; (d) knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe; (e) traditional craftsmanship’ (I.2.2). This kind of heritage is directly and deeply linked with two adjacent concepts, belonging to the same level of description, that is, with tangible heritage, on the one hand, and with cultural diversity, on the other hand. As a result, one feels authorized to regard the text of the corresponding three ‘great UNESCO conventions’, i.e. Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972), Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003), and Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005), as parts of a single ‘mega-text’, regarding them in turn as three different facets of the same mega-concept of heritage. Forming an integral part of the cultural strategy of UNESCO, implementation of this concept is indispensable for the attainment of such overarching objectives as social coherence and sustainable development. As to the inner elaboration of the concept of intangible heritage, this seminal concept is presently linked with the implementation of Strategic objectives 7 and 8 of the Medium-Term Strategy, consisting respectedly in giving impetus to advanced identification and documentation, protection and safeguarding, promotion and enhancement, as well as revitalization and transmission of all basic types of heritage; and in promoting its creative facet, especially by all kinds of ‘marginalized and vulnerable communities and individuals, in particular indigenous communities’. UNESCO Medium-Term Strategy for a new eight-year term (2022-2029), which now being most actively elaborated and discussed in the framework of expert community, forms the nearest perspective for the development of the topic of the intangible heritage.