The 4th National Congress of UNESCO chairs in the Russian Federation took place on March 6-7, 2019, in Kazan (Tatarstan, Russia), basing on the facilities of the Tisbi University, Kazan.
The Congress took place in presence of UNESCO Director General, Ms. A.Azoulay, and under general coordination of G.Ordzhonikidze (National Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO), and V.Egorov (Coordination Committee of UNESCO Chairs in Russia).Problems and prospects of about 60 UNESCO chairs, being active in Russia, in the fields of science, education, and culture, were presented and discussed.
At the meeting of the Coordination Committee, its four-year report (2015-2019) was presented, and its fellows for the next four-year period were elected. Applications of four major Russian universities for the initiation of new UNESCO chairs were discussed as well. Dimitri Spivak took part in the works of the Congress as head of one of the most respected chairs, working in the realm of culture, in Russia, and as a full member of the Coordination Committee. Problems of Culture and Dialogue were regarded in his plenary report, which was concentrated upon basic insights of the cultural strategy of UNESCO, including the paradigmatic shift from the concept of intercultural dialogue – to the rapprochement of cultures, as well as problems and prospects of interfaith dialogue on the vast territory of Russia, especially between Orthodox Christianity, Northern (Lamaist) Buddhism, and Islam, both Suni and Shi’a; and upon basic issues in the work of our UNESCO/UNITWIN Network of Interfaith Dialogue.
