19 November 2019
November 14th-16th, the VIII St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum took place. The main theme of the event this year was "Cultural Codes in the Context of Globalization". The forum was jointly organized by the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Culture and the Government of St. Petersburg.
On the platform of the cultural forum, the Russian-Austrian "Sochi dialogue" held a discussion devoted to "Culture and Children", a presentation by the Director of the Salzburg festival Helga Rabl-Stadler "100 years of the Salzburg festival" and a lecture by Christoph Leitl on "Russia and the EU-opponents or partners".
The Co-chair of the Sochi dialogue, also Aide to the Russian President A.Fursenko, moderated the round table "Culture and Children", which dealt with the challenges of teaching the younger generation about high culture, and how to include it in the educational process.
One of the key priorities of the Sochi dialogue is working with youth. The Artistic Director of the St. Petersburg State Academic Ballet Boris Eifman remarked that the education of the younger generations is primarily about familiarizing them with the values of high culture.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev met during the forum with representatives of the arts and culture. The meeting was also attended by the Co-chairs of the Sochi dialogue, the Aide to the President of Russia A.Fursenko, the President of the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry C.Leitl, and the President of the Salzburg music festival H.Rabl-Stadler.
On the third day of the forum, the presentation "100 years of the Salzburg Festival: Keeper of traditions and trendsetter" devoted to the traditions and latest trends of the Salzburg festival and the development of creative ties between Austria and Russia was held. The Russian program will be a central one at the Salzburg festival in 2020, during which a meeting of the Sochi dialogue will take place.
The Director of the festival and a member of the Coordinating Council of the Sochi dialogue H.Rabl-Stadler underlined that human interaction is everywhere and it is clear that not all issues should be decided at government level. The Sochi dialogue between Russia and Austria will continue its work and will hold a session next year during the Salzburg festival, to highlight the fact that the festival has for goal to maintain peace.
November 15th, on the sidelines of the forum, K.Leitl gave a lecture on "Russia and the EU-opponents or partners?" at Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University. The lecturer noted that an open dialogue with continuous communication is necessary to successfully expand international cooperation and achieve our goals. He also remarked that we should keep in mind that we have a common perspective and a shared future.
— See the MGIMO web-site for russian version
