18 June 2019
June 18th, the Coordinating Council of the "Trianon Dialogue" Russian-French Civil Society Forum held its third meeting in Moscow. This year, the Russian side organized the session at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.
MGIMO Rector Anatoly Torkunov kicked off the event by expressing his gratitude to Marina Loshak, a member of the Coordination Council and Director of the Pushkin Museum, for hosting the event.
Marina Loshak noted the symbolism of the meeting taking place at the Pushkin Museum during the opening days of the exceptional exhibition “Shchukin. Biography of a Collection”, whose fate was closely linked to French history and culture.
The event began with a presentation of the Russian Public Opinion Research Centre’s report on “How France is perceived by Russian youth through the prism of education”. The Trianon Dialogue carries out on a regular basis joint research with the Centre in order to gain a better understanding of the society within which it is operating. This is particularly the case for the university community. The main results of the research are published on the Trianon Dialogue’s platform.
The Co-Chairs of the Trianon Dialogue, MGIMO Rector Anatoly Torkunov and Ambassador Pierre Morel gave a talk, during which they highlighted the main Trianon events already held in 2019: the Moscow International Education Fair, the Real Estate MIPIM in Cannes, the Gaidar Forum, the 40th anniversary of the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI) and the publication of the Russian Diaries of Thierry de Montbrial, the Stolypin Forum, the Trianon startups in Versailles and the meeting of young businessmen and economic leaders “Choiseul 100. Russia”. The speakers emphasized the importance of the recent St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which hosted several Trianon sessions dedicated to the nature of the “dialogue interaction format”, the education system of the future, cultural initiatives and expanding cooperation between the business communities.
Alexandre Orlov, the Executive Secretary of the Trianon Dialogue on the Russian side, described a literary contest organized in Paris by the Association of French Russianists. The winners were invited to participate in the literary event in August at the Sirius Educational Center.
The guests next spoke about the plans for the second half of 2019. MGIMO’s Vice-Rector for General Affairs Artem Malgin presented the upcoming events in the agenda: the Moscow Urban Forum, the Paris Peace Forum, the Paris gathering of the Choiseul 100 project participants, the Trianon Startups in Moscow and more. The members of the Coordination Council engaged in an active exchange of ideas regarding the new projects.
Vladimir Grigoryev, Deputy Director of the Federal Agency for Media and Mass Communications, together with the Chief Editor of the Gateway to Russia project, presented an initiative aimed at promoting Russian culture abroad called “Window to Russia”. The online platform will allow foreign users to access Russian literature, films, and museum collections. The first stage of the project will be set up in English and French and other languages will follow.
The Rector of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration Vladimir Mau made a presentation of the Russian-French Network University, and the potential areas for its cooperation with the Trianon Dialogue. Anatoly Torkunov expressed his support for the project, noting his willingness to cooperate in expanding the network of the university, which fits into the roadmap of the Russian-French educational cooperation approved by the Ministers of Education of the two countries.
Claudie Haignere, a member of the Coordination Council spoke about a contest of artistic writing for Russian and French youth entitled “Cher demain”. The preliminary topic of the contest “If you could speak to the intelligence of the future, what would your message be?”
The Project Coordinator of the Moscow Urban Center “City” Alexei Raskhodchikov described to the Committee members the joint Russian-French competition of young architects aimed at designing university campuses and libraries. The first stage of the competition will be held at the Moscow Urban Forum.
The Executive Secretary of the Trianon Dialogue on the French side presented a project for a seminar on linguistic policy in France and in Russia, to be organized by the French Ministry of Culture.
The sides also discussed upcoming events such as the Russian-French music festival in Toulouse and the days of Russian cinema in Paris.
The French Co-Chair, abiding by the regulations for choosing a topic for the Forum in 2020 suggested a highly relevant theme “Sustainable Development”. Next year, participants will search for ways to solve environmental and social problems, but also make sure all of the projects in 2020 are concerned with changing the perception of the problems of sustainable development in civil societies.
After the meeting, the Coordination Council members enjoyed the “Shchukin. Biography of a Collection" exposition, one of the greatest collections of European modern art.
— See the MGIMO web-site for russian version
