News

21 May 2025

5th Congress of Russian UNESCO Chairs

5th Congress of UNESCO Chairs in the Russian Federation was conducted on May 20, 2025, in Moscow, basing at the facilities of G.V. Plekhanov National Economic University. Representatives of about 60 Chairs took part in the meeting, which takes place every four years. The Сongress was chaired by Mr. V. Egorov, Head of Coordination Committee of UNESCO Chairs in Russia, and by Ms. K. Gaverdovskaia, who represented the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. UNESCO HQ was represented by a bright talk given by Mr. Sobhi Tawil, who spoke online. Representatives of about 20 UNESCO Chairs gave brief talks dedicated to problems and prospects in their manifold activities. Elections of members of the Coordination Committee of UNESCO Chairs in Russia for the next 4-year term took place. A new version of the Charter of the Committee was discussed and approved. Mr. D. Spivak, who represented our Chair, gave a talk dedicated to focal points in our works. He was elected to serve as a permanent member of the Coordination Committee for the next term.

Attachment: Program of the Congress (in Russian)

Photo by D.Spivak
28 April 2025

12th Toksovo Readings

12th Toksovo Readings took place in the town of Toksovo, nr. St.Petersburg, on April 25, 2025. The Readings are conducted annually, basing at the facilities of the local Education Centre (director – Ms. N. Nikandrova). They gather each time large numbers of scientists, educationers, societal activists and local dwellers of all ages. Proveedings are published as a yearly almanach. This time the Readings were dedicated to geological and biological heritage of the Karelian peninsula, situated between the Baltic sea and the Ladoga Lake, living cultures of this vast region, as well as ways of preserving geo- and biodiversity, enhancing knowledge for climate action, reducing disaster risk and promoting resilience. As usual the meeting was led by a famous local writer and activist, Mr. V.Kudriavtsev. D.Spivak represented our Chair as member of the Organizing Committee, and gave a brief talk dedicated to ecological strategy of UNESCO.

Attachment: Program of the 12th Toksovo Readings (in Russian)

Photo by D.Spivak
21 April 2025

Conference at Pontifical Gregorian University

12th International Conference ‘Christianity in Azerbaijan: History and Modernity’ took place on April 10, 2025 at Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy. Azerbaijan is a country, neighboring Russia in the Southern Caucasus. Its population speaks a Turkic language and belongs mostly to Shiite Islam. Christianity came to Azerbaijan in the 4th century A.D. from the Byzantine Empire and formed a special structure, called Church of Caucasian Albania. Christian faith has formed since those ancient times an important part of the religious landscape of Southern Caucasus. The conference gathered a number of scholars and experts in interfaith contacts from Azerbaijan, EU and the Russian Federation, the USA and Canada, Great Britain and Turkey, to name but a few. Our Chair was represented by Ms. G. Seidova, who gave a talk dedicated to the Role of City of Chora (Derbent) in History of Caucasian Albania and its Church.

Attachment: Program of the conference (in Azerbaijani, English, and Russian)
1 April 2025

Newsletter of our UNESCO / UniTwin Network

Our Chair forms integral part of UniTwin Network for Inter-religious Dialogue and Intercultural Understanding (IDIU). The Network comprises more than 30 UNESCO Chairs from 20 countries. Professor F. Mansouri from Deakin University in Australia serves as our Convenor. On March 4th, 2025, publication of our Newsletter was launched. Our Chair greets this new project most cordially and intends to take every effort to contribute to its promotion and success.

Newsletter # 1
1 April 2025

Session of Coordination Committee of UNESCO Chairs

Spring session of Coordination Committee of UNESCO Chairs in Russian Federation took place on March 28, 2025, basing at the premises of the federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow. Following an introductory address by the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for UNESCO of the Russian Federation, Mr. A. Alimov, applications for foundation of two new UNESCO chairs were regarded, both coming from the city of St. Petersburg. One of them was submitted by the Presidential Academy of Economics and Management, another one, by National University of Traditional Folk Crafts. A number of other issues were discussed, especially program of the forthcoming National Congress of UNESCO Chairs, which is due to take part in May, later this year. Our Chair was represented online by D.Spivak.
30 December 2024

International Forum on Actual Issues of Sustainable Development

On December 24, 2024, International Forum ‘This is My World: Territories, Languages, Cultures in Sustainable Development’ took place in Ufa, the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan, which forms part of the Russian Federation. The Forum was summoned under the auspices of Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, and State University of Ufa. Representatives of quite a few universities and research centres from Russia, as well as from foreign countries, took part in its work. Our Chair was represented by D. Spivak, who gave a plenary talk, dedicated to Intercultural Dialogue and Sustainable Development in UNESCO Strategy.

Program (in Russian): Attacment
5 November 2024

6th National Congress in Cultural Studies

6th National Congress in Cultural Studies took place from October, 30 till November, 1, 2024. in Moscow, Russian Federation, basing at the facilities of D.S. Likhachev Russian Scientific Research Institute of Cultural and Natural Heritage. Our Chair took most active part in the organization of congress and in conducting its scientific program. D. Spivak served as plenary speaker, and as moderator of a section meeting dedicated to Cultural Identity in Multipolar World. A. Venkova served as moderator of a section on Cultural Facets of Visuality, and gave a talk dedicated to this aspect of cultural studies. M. Stepanov served as moderator of a section devoted to Digital Issues and Artificial Intelligence, and gave a talk dedicated to these topics. The Congress became a landmark in Russian cultural science, so we are glad that our Chair contributed to its success.

Appendix: official program of the Congress and report summaries of its participants (in Russian)
14 October 2024

6th Bolgar Forum with International Participation “Theological Legacy of Muslims in Russia”

6th International Forum dedicated to Theological Legacy of Muslims in Russia, took place from October 7 till 11, 2024, in the holy town of Bolgar, which is situated in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation. Our fellow, Ms. Gulchokhrah SEIDOVA, took part in the Forum, giving a talk devoted to problems and prospects of present-day family life. She also served as co-moderator of three sessions, one of which was dedicated to legal aspects of Muslim families; another one, to their regional peculiarities in Russia; the third one, to their educational facets. In all cases, special attention was devoted to the present-day UNESCO viewpoints and strategies.

Attachment: official program of the Forum (in Russian)
14 October 2024

Intercultural Dialogue in Unesco Medium-Term Strategy

A new paper dedicated to actual aspects of UNESCO Medium-Term Strategy (2022–2029) was recently published by D.Spivak, Chair, in a Russian peer-reviewed scientific journal. Systematic comparison of the vision of intercultural dialogue in the actual Program of UNESCO activities (2022-2025), and in the main text of the aforementioned Strategy, form the main subject of the paper. Basic directions in the development of intercultural dialogue are presented in the framework of the intersection of five Major Programmes, and of four Strategic Objectives, forming the main peculiarity of UNESCO planning for the actual four-year period. These directions are: protection of languages and cultures of indigenous peoples, promotion of multilingualism and learning through mother tongues and national languages; theoretical elaboration of both its cognitive and communicative aspects; and ways of its linking with preservation and revitalization of cultural heritage, primarily in the framework of ‘diversity of heritage’. Basic dimensions of the activities of the Russian Federation in the framework of UNESCO activities as a whole, are carefully regarded. Promotion of intercultural dialogue, primarily in the framework of International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032), forms a particularly constructive trend, inter alia.

Attachment: full text of the paper (in Russian)
6 June 2024

Panel Discussion on Intercultural Projects

On May 5 to 8, 2024, St.Petersburg International Economic Forum took place in St.Petersburg, Russia. The Forum is a global event, gathering more than 17,000 participants from about 40 countries, ranging from state leaders and politicians to academics and business tycoons (St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (forumspb.com). Our Chair was invited to take part in a Panel Discussion ‘Uniting Cultures and Traditions in Modern Intercultural Projects’, which took place on June, 6. D.Spivak gave a brief talk dedicated to ‘Actual Trends in Theory of Intercultural Rapprochement’, mostly centered upon intercultural issues in Medium-Term Strategy of UNESCO (2022–2029), and International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032), and took part in a lively discussion.

Program: Business programme (forumspb.com) Photo by D. Spivak