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23 September 12:00 – 14:00Sideline Events
General Meeting of the Union of Museums of Russia
The State Hermitage Museum, The Hermitage Theatre
In the anniversary year of its founding, the Union of Museums of Russia is holding its General Assembly, at which it will review a quarter of a century of work and set out the prospects for further development. The focus will fall on the key projects implemented this year and in previous years, along with progress on the National Programme for the Development of Museums in Russia to 2030, prepared by the Union of Museums of Russia on the instruction of the President of the Russian Federation.
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24 September 10:00 – 11:30Special Topics Track
On the Concept for the Development of Museums until 2030
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Fifth atrium
In fulfilment of the list of instructions issued by the President of the Russian Federation on 7 May 2026, No. Pr-1029, the 12th St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum (hereinafter the Forum) will host a strategic session devoted to a discussion of the draft Concept for the Development of Museums in the Russian Federation for the Period to 2030, prepared by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation together with the Likhachev Russian Research Institute for Cultural and Natural Heritage.
The draft sets out the principles of a systematic approach that takes account of the current state of the museum sector, its trends and its problems, and that rests on combining the efforts of state authorities, municipal administrations, museums, public organizations, and museum audiences in preserving and giving new prevalence to cultural heritage. This approach defines the aim, the objectives, and the main priorities for the sector’s development, directed on the one hand towards greater involvement of Russian society in preserving cultural heritage and historical education, and on the other towards raising the quality of museum work in providing access to objects, collections, and sites for Russian citizens and visitors from abroad.
The session’s principal objectives are to present the methodology and method behind the draft Concept, to comment on its structure and main content, and to create the conditions for professional dialogue among representatives of museums, government authorities, public organizations, and the academic community with an interest in the steady development of the sector. -
24 September 10:00 – 11:30Film
Cinemas, TV, and Platforms: Cooperation or Opposition?
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Green Hall
Developing cooperation between the platforms on which films and series are watched is of the greatest importance for maximizing audience reach. International experience, including that of industry players in unfriendly countries, and domestic practice alike suggest that a symbiosis among all participants is inevitable.
Points for discussion:
• Big data analysis or a producer’s instinct: how to combine different approaches to developing a project.
• Audience convergence: how experiences of engaging with film on different platforms complement and differ from one another.
• The particular features of launching and supporting a film project in each environment: what can be complementary and what may create conflict. -
24 September 10:00 – 11:30Cultural Heritage: Traditions and Modernity
The Power of Heritage: Distinct Identity for the Sake of Unity
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Blue Hall
The unity of a multi-ethnic country is formed through a combination of historical, cultural, linguistic, and value-based foundations, and through the strength of statehood. Cultural heritage in this context acts as a connecting link, passing down the experience of a shared life through the generations, full of achievements and tragedies, together with the principles of mutual respect.
In this discussion the experts will focus on ethnocultural heritage. Many countries and regions today are working to preserve and develop it, introducing comprehensive programmes for revitalization, support, and legal regulation.
Points for discussion:
• Who seeks to understand and preserve the ethnocultural heritage of peoples, and why?
• What is the significance of ethnocultural heritage for harmonizing intercultural engagement, mutual understanding and trust, and the development of multi-ethnic communities?
• Why do folk art, festivals, rituals, and crafts enrich the individual? How do they contribute to the shared cultural palette of nations, creating cultural bridges?
• How to strike a balance between innovative approaches and traditional methods of preserving cultural heritage? Is there a way to do it in a manner that combines advanced technology with respect for historical context and cultural values?
• What risks and challenges do contemporary practices pose for ethnocultural heritage?Speakers will share their experience and their views on why and how preserving the distinct identity of each people shapes the unity of a multi-ethnic society.
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24 September 10:00 – 11:45United Cultures and Technologies towards the Cultural Code of the Future
New Technologies in Culture and Art: Harmful or Helpful, Beneficial or Risky
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, First atrium
The section is going to examine how digital tools, platforms, and artificial intelligence are changing the cultural environment. It will address the new opportunities open to authors, museums, theatres, media projects, and the creative industries, and how technology is affecting the very nature of creativity, the perception of art, and the role of the individual in the cultural process. Participants will discuss where the line runs between a tool and a replacement for the author, how new technologies help widen audiences and open culture up to different generations, and what is happening to the ‘value content’ of art in the digital age. At the heart of the conversation is the question of whether technological development can strengthen culture as a space of meaning rather than dilute it.
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24 September 10:00 – 11:30Education in Culture
The Russian Music Education System: A Return to its Roots
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Third atrium
The Russian system of musical education, one of the oldest and most respected in the world, is today passing through a crucial stage in its history: a return to the national foundations on which a young professional musician is trained. The contemporary educational model is intended to absorb the best of the Russian school of performance while also taking account of global trends in the development of education in academic music.
The established list of principal focus areas in professional musical education, exhaustive as it may seem, continues to be supplemented by programmes in demand at this new stage in the evolution of academic music both in Russia and worldwide. The successful experience of creative institutions abroad, bound to their Russian counterparts by strong partnerships of many years, has a significant role to play in this process.
The dialogue now developing dynamically between musicians of Russia, China, and the member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States is entering a significant new stage, leading to joint educational programmes and large-scale festivals and forums whose ultimate aim is to create a single international system of professional qualifications geared to the particular character of academic musical education. -
24 September 10:00 – 11:30Special Topics Track
Culture without Borders
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Red Hall
The events of the last decade have only served to prove that what distinguishes humanity from the rest of creation is culture. It is culture that gives society its structure and informs its values, taboos, and behavior. Nowhere is human consciousness more clearly attested than in our cultural reflexes. In spite of the attempts of weakness and intolerance to bind culture and limit cultural interaction, culture, like a mountain river, invariably forges a path and touches us all. In effect, it cannot be bound, and the participants of this panel session will explain why.
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24 September 10:00 – 11:30Education in Culture
Cultural Dialogue and Social Responsibility: Partnership to Develop Social Theatre
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Youth Centre exhibition hall
The creative economy is a powerful resource for both economic growth and positive social change. Businesses are increasingly shifting from selective philanthropy to systemic investments in human capital, while the theatrical arts are evolving into an effective tool for addressing pressing social issues.
Today, theatre plays an important role in fostering an open cultural environment and creating a space for dialogue among people. By integrating art, education, and civic engagement, social theatre is taking on an interdisciplinary nature.
Since 2022, the Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights has supported theatrical approaches to working with vulnerable social groups. Social theatre is evolving as a distinct field that addresses pressing social needs by taking into account the demands of children with disabilities, adolescents who exhibit deviant behaviour, and families facing difficult life circumstances. Spanning art, psychology, and social work, this format provides a source of support for families by helping them overcome crises and forge new identities.
The discussion will bring together leaders from the cultural, educational, business, and non-governmental sectors. Experts will debate the potential of social theatre and explore successful models of cross-sector collaboration as well as public-private partnership mechanisms. They will specifically look at ways to scale up projects that foster sustainable infrastructure and expand access to cultural life for diverse social groups. -
24 September 11:00 – 12:15
Design as a Cultural Practice
Sideline EventsA Museum With No Walls: How Design Is Reimagining the Cultural Experience
Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design
Modern museums and exhibition spaces are no longer just ‘repositories’ for artefacts, but have evolved into complex media environments where design takes on the role of the primary storyteller. How can we ensure that an encounter with Russian culture becomes an emotional and intellectual adventure for the younger generation as opposed to just a tedious lesson? What new languages – immersive, digital, interactive, or tactile – enable us to discuss the classics in a way that is accessible and engaging without sacrificing depth?
This session will explore how design is reinventing museums and transforming them from a space of passive contemplation into a forum for dialogue. It will also examine how this shift is altering the very nature of the cultural experience. The participants will discuss how an exhibit’s design can serve as a co-creator of the curator’s vision instead of simply acting as an illustration of it. -
24 September 11:00 – 12:30Sideline Events
Religion, Education, and the Family: Values and Prospects
St. Petersburg State University, 7/9 Universitetskaya Embankment, Petrovsky Hall
This event looks at ways to intensify cooperation between traditional religious denominations and the education sector in contemporary Russian society. The discussion will examine value-based aspects of family upbringing within the educational environment. The session aims to identify prospects for collaboration between religious and educational organizations through the lens of the latest policies regarding education, youth, and the family and to analyse historical and value-related aspects of such interaction.
Discussion topics:
• Religious education and theology in modern society: values and prospects
• The study of religion as a cultural asset and strategic advantage
• Historical aspects of interaction between religion and education
• The family as the foundation of religious and moral upbringing and education -
24 September 11:30 – 13:00Musical Culture
Audience of the Future: How to Get Children and Young People into Classical Music
St. Petersburg State Academic Capella, Concert hall
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24 September 12:00 – 13:30Theatre
A Dialogue of Festivals on the Global Theatre Stage
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Great Lecture Hall
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24 September 12:00 – 13:30Museums
Global Ethics of Restoration in the Postcolonial World
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Fifth atrium
At the center of the discussion are the restorer’s ethical choice and the diversity of cultural ideas about heritage preservation. How can common professional principles be reconciled with the diversity of cultural traditions? Where is the boundary between preserving a monument and its necessary renewal? Who has the right to determine its future fate—the professional community, national institutions, local residents, international organizations? In the postcolonial world, these questions require particular attention to the equality of participants, the historical experience of different countries, and the autonomy of national schools of heritage conservation.
One of the central subjects of the discussion will be the project to create a digital archive of monuments of Africa and the countries of the Islamic world. Its discussion will make it possible to address the ethical responsibility that arises even before restoration intervention—at the stage of studying and documenting the monument. Advance scholarly documentation is intended to preserve reliable information about its condition, help assess changes, and serve as a basis for sound conservation and restoration decisions.
At the same time, digital documentation does not replace the material original and requires a clear distinction between the recorded state, scholarly interpretation, and hypothetical reconstruction. The project will be considered from the standpoint of the ethics of international cooperation: jointly setting priorities, involving national specialists, agreeing on conditions for the storage and use of materials, exchanging knowledge, and long-term responsibility for the results.
Particular attention will be paid to work in conditions of conflict, natural disasters, and other threats, when the need for prompt action raises especially acutely the question of its justification and consequences.
The session will serve as a platform for open professional dialogue on principles capable of uniting scholarly integrity, respect for cultural diversity, and responsibility to future generations—both in the direct restoration of a monument and in the creation of its digital documentation. -
24 September 12:00 – 13:30Cultural Heritage: Traditions and Modernity
Humanizing the Arctic: Cultural Heritage as a Development Resource
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Red Hall
The Arctic has always been a region of ideas, where human creative energy has found expression for centuries. The discussion will examine how the cultural and historical heritage of the Arctic is studied and preserved, above all the ethnocultural legacy and experience of the region’s indigenous peoples, and consider current trends in international cultural cooperation in the Arctic. The humanization of the Arctic regions is becoming a necessity of the twenty-first century. It is critically important for creating an atmosphere of social optimism and for configuring a comfortable environment in which to live in the region, and consequently for the sustainable development of the Arctic.
Points for discussion:
• What humanitarian resources does the Arctic possess? What will preserving them bring both for the Arctic itself and for society as a whole?
• How are the indigenous peoples of the Arctic being involved in humanitarian and scientific projects? What does the notion of developing the Arctic mean to them?
• What languages does the Arctic speak? Why should the languages of the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North be revitalized and protected?
• Why can Arctic museums be regarded as an indicator of the region’s level of modernization?
• What is the mission of Arctic education? Why does the experience of exploring the Arctic through art matter today?
• What successful practices and what barriers exist for international humanitarian partnership in the Arctic, given the current geopolitical situation?
• Arctic educational tourism: between dream and reality.
Discussing a broad range of social and cultural questions through specific projects will make it possible to reveal shared values and experience and to anticipate the main approaches to working with the heritage of the Arctic, so that the past can be turned into a living present. -
24 September 12:00 – 13:30Circus
Circus as a Bridge between Cultures: How Universal Emotions Overcome Language Barriers
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Blue Hall
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24 September 12:00 – 13:30Cultural Heritage: Traditions and Modernity
The Estate as a Stage: Theatre in a Cultural Heritage Setting
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Youth Centre exhibition hall
What happens when a museum is no longer a place people come to see an exhibition but instead becomes a living cultural venue? Theatre can give country estate museums a new route, a way to attract a new audience, and give that audience a reason to return.
Taking part in the discussion will be leading street theatre companies from across Russia, together with representatives of the Union of Theatre Workers of Russia and of museums. They will talk about how to turn history, architecture, and landscape into a cultural product in their own right, how theatre can raise the profile of a place, develop event tourism, and create projects that cannot be replicated anywhere else. -
24 September 12:00 – 13:30Film
Transcontinental Film Train: Routing Best Practices for Joint International Projects
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Green Hall
Cinema is the universal language of cultural diplomacy today.
Points for discussion:
• Over the past few years there has been a significant shift away from a focus on the markets of the United States and Europe towards China, India, Turkey, the countries of the Middle East, Latin America, and the Balkans.
• In 2025 and 2026, the Russian film industry is showing growth in the number of joint projects with friendly countries, with more and more Russian films and television shows being made in China, India, Serbia, and elsewhere.
• Other challenges include the language barrier and the localization of humour. Adapting scripts so that humour and drama register with international audiences without a loss of meaning requires a great deal of effort.
• The complexity of international film and television projects stems from the particular character of different markets and from the fragmentation of the media landscape and distribution. Promotional strategies differ radically.
• The main challenges of the coming years are to turn the growth in the number of joint international projects into a qualitative industrial system and to build a strong brand for Russian cinema. -
24 September 12:00 – 13:15Theatre
The Future of Russian Theatre: Development Concept to 2035
The outcomes of the all-Russian forums held under the plan for marking the 150th anniversary of the Union of Theatre Workers of Russia, on laying out a concept for the development of theatre in Russia to 2035
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Third atrium
The session will look for a comprehensive approach to the development of theatre amid the challenges of today, including digitalization, changing audience preferences, the transformation of economic models, the development of regional cultural infrastructure, support for young specialists, and the strengthening of spiritual and moral values through theatre.
A concept for the development of theatre through 2035 could form the basis for identifying new directions in the development of theatre, preserving cultural heritage, supporting the professional community, developing theatre education, strengthening regional theatres, and building a sustainable system of support for the theatre sector, as well as serving as good practice for partners abroad. -
24 September 12:00 – 16:00Youth Programme
The Young Artist and Artificial Intelligence: Forming Professional Principles of Interaction
St. Petersburg State Academic Capella, Small Hall
Artificial intelligence is becoming part of everyday life and having an increasingly visible impact on the creative professions. Taking the visual arts as its focus, the youth programme provides a platform for dialogue in which Russia’s artistic community, together with representatives of technology companies, considers the opportunities and challenges presented by AI and works towards a shared professional position.
Points for discussion:
• Russian and international practices in the use of artificial intelligence in the visual arts;
• Principles for working with artificial intelligence within the professional community;
• Initiatives to develop this field in Russia. -
24 September 12:20 – 12:30United Cultures and Technologies towards the Cultural Code of the Future
Presentation of the ‘AI Talks’ Feature in the Smysly Magazine
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, First atrium
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24 September 12:30 – 14:00United Cultures and Technologies towards the Cultural Code of the Future
Regional Cultural Code: How Local Becomes Shared
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, First atrium
The discussion is devoted to how regional cultural practices, traditions, and projects become part of the country’s shared cultural space. Modern technology gives the regions new opportunities: it helps them preserve their distinctiveness, make local stories visible, and translate them into a language a wide audience can understand. During the session, participants will discuss how the digital environment helps regions make themselves heard, how authenticity is preserved when they become part of the federal and international agenda, and why regional cultural codes so often prove a source of living content. The aim of the discussion is to show that a shared cultural space is built through respect for diversity.
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24 September 12:30 – 13:45
Design as a Cultural Practice
Sideline EventsDesign as a Chronicle of Time: Our Legacy
Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design
Design has always been a reflection of its era that captures values, anxieties, hopes, and aesthetic ideals. Today, in a time of rapid technological and social changes, design decisions serve not only as aesthetic choices, but also as cultural documents by which future generations will judge us.
Design is also an ethical act: every choice regarding the materials, form, production methods, and messaging used in design not only leaves behind a visual legacy, but a social and environmental footprint as well. How can the principles of sustainability, inclusivity, and social justice be incorporated into the creative process to become a cultural imperative rather than a passing trend? What do we, as a culture and civilization, want to convey to the future through the material world, the urban environment, and visual languages?
The session participants will discuss how design serves as both an instrument for cultural memory as well as a tool for shaping the future that can define the nation’s identity for those who come after us. The session will focus more on the cultural substance of design solutions and their ability to become part of our legacy as opposed to their sheer market success. How do today’s projects define the visual and conceptual landscape of tomorrow, and what exactly constitutes a designer’s ‘cultural footprint’, i.e., that which endures in people’s minds, the living environment, and history itself? -
24 September 13:15 – 14:45Musical Culture
International Music Competitions to Facilitate Long-term Creative Collaboration between Musicians and Audiences from Different Countries
St. Petersburg State Academic Capella, Concert hall
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24 September 13:30 – 14:45Theatre
School Theatre Development Vectors: Focus Areas and Priorities
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Third atrium
Points for discussion:
• Theatre education as a state priority.
• School theatre and the shaping of values.
• Training teachers of theatre.
• The role of professional theatres as mentors to school companies.
• Developing patronage and mentoring programmes.
• School theatre as a tool for education, communication, and unlocking a child’s creative potential. -
24 September 14:00 – 15:30Theatre
Cultural Dialogue at the Crossroads of Cultures
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Great Lecture Hall
Points for discussion:
• The Russian language as a channel for national cultures. Productions of national classics and contemporary literature in Russian-language theatres abroad. The path to dialogue.
• Building a multi-ethnic audience. Integrating Russian theatres into the national context. How a Russian theatre can become a natural part of the cultural landscape for audiences of the titular nation without losing what makes it unique.
• Joint projects and touring as the visible result of mutual enrichment. The effectiveness of the existing festivals of Russian theatres abroad (Meetings in Russia, Theatre Autumn, Compatriots, and others) and the need for new forums, including on the platforms of the CIS. How to make touring more than an exchange of productions and turn it into broad creative engagement, through masterclasses, laboratories, and the like. -
24 September 14:00 – 15:30Museums
Who Owns Cultural Heritage in the Postmodern World
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Red Hall
Restitution has ceased to be a purely legal or museum problem. It is becoming part of a new global ethics, an ethics of coexistence in which the past is neither rewritten nor allowed to stand in the way of the future.
The language used in such demands is changing radically. Once it was “return our property so that we may keep it ourselves”. However, now it is increasingly asserted that the very act of possessing and studying another culture’s artefacts is an act of appropriation and cultural violence. For museums, which have built their identity over centuries on the principle that to preserve is to respect and to study is to acknowledge value, this is a serious challenge.
Participants in the discussion will address several key dilemmas. First: how to preserve objects never intended for museum existence? Second, where do the limits of acceptable intervention lie? Last, and more difficult still: can a museum move from being an unconditional custodian to a temporary intermediary between cultures, without losing its identity or retreating into an ivory tower? -
24 September 14:00 – 15:30Cultural Sovereignty in the 21st Century
Faith and the Stage
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Blue Hall
What is “Orthodox” cinema, and more broadly Orthodox culture? Where does the line run between culture and preaching? Are ‘popular’ and ‘crowd-pleasing’ synonymous? And what about ‘popular’ and ‘primitive’? Can high culture command a sufficiently wide audience? Which matters more for Orthodox culture: tactical marketing that meets current audience demand, or a strategic approach that shapes trends and creates new niches? The connection between eras: how to keep the classics relevant? Is it possible to continue academic traditions today, and how? We see how theological illiteracy leads to a distortion of purpose even where intentions are good. But how are spiritual guidance and theological scrutiny to be exercised without interfering with an author’s vision? Producer, author, spiritual adviser: what is the balance between the roles? Which values genuinely matter to society today? Is a separate Orthodox culture for young people needed? Where can Orthodox culture meet its audience: online cinemas, television, film, theatre?
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24 September 14:00 – 15:30
Lecture
Cultural Heritage: Traditions and ModernityFrom Local Initiatives to Global Dialogue: Expertise from the Miklouho-Maclay Foundation
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Youth Centre exhibition hall
Within Russia’s cultural policy today, considerable importance attaches to preserving historical memory as the foundation of national and civic identity, to continuity between generations, and to the country’s cultural sovereignty. A key mechanism for achieving this is the study and promotion of Russia’s historical and cultural heritage within the context of world culture.
The lecture will examine the projects of the Miklouho-Maclay Foundation, whose priority is to preserve the scientific and humanistic legacy of the outstanding Russian scholar Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay, the 180th anniversary of whose birth will be marked in 2026. By examining the projects, the lecture will explore the role of informal channels of communication and the experience of building links between science and society, developing intercultural dialogue and shaping a positive image of Russia in the world. It will also consider the potential of scientific and cultural heritage as a resource of trust and dialogue that can help address foreign policy objectives and convey Russia’s interests through neutral formats.
The lecture will present an analysis of the humanitarian projects carried out by the Miklouho-Maclay Foundation in partnership with scholars of the Russian Academy of Sciences and figures from the cultural world, drawing on the historical experience of Miklouho-Maclay’s work as an intermediary in the nineteenth century, and will consider the effectiveness of cooperation between the state, business, and the non-profit sector in the field of cultural heritage. -
24 September 14:00 – 15:30Sideline Events
Historical and Military History Museums: Historical Truth, Generational Continuity, and Responsibility for the Future
State Museum of Political History of Russia
Historical and military museums today act as custodians of truth, as venues of historical education, as centres of the spiritual and moral upbringing, as promoters of historical knowledge, and as opponents of its falsification. The contemporary displays of leading museums offer innovative solutions built on the latest digital technologies and on the principles of immersion: when history is brought to life, it offers complete absorption in the atmosphere of the period. Military history museums act as transmitters of meaning and of the most important value-based narratives, as champions of a patriotic museum agenda, and as integrators of socially significant projects delivered by the state. Participants in the discussion will share distinctive methods of patriotic work, discuss the strategic tasks facing the Association of Historical and Military History Museums and the country’s entire museum community in preserving and defending historical truth, and present successful historical education projects and new formats for engaging with audiences.
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24 September 14:00 – 15:30Cultural Sovereignty in the 21st Century
From Cultural Sovereignty to Technological Leadership: Using Artificial Intelligence in Heritage
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Fifth atrium
The panel discussion will be devoted to advanced practices in the use of artificial intelligence in the heritage sector, including the training of national multimodal language models on verified data about culture, history, and traditional values. The invited experts will discuss successful examples from both Russian and international experience.
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24 September 14:00 – 15:15
Design as a Cultural Practice
Sideline EventsA Distinct Identity without Folklore: How ‘Russian’ Is Emerging in Contemporary Design
Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design
Appealing to a country’s national roots in design is a long-standing trend, however today it is undergoing a profound transformation. The superficial imitation of traditional designs and frequent use of a folk style is giving way to a more complex, reflective engagement with cultural memory. How can we distinguish an authentic cultural statement from decorative ethnographic phenomena? Is it possible to create a ‘Russian’ aesthetic in design without resorting to direct references to the past?
This session seeks to find a new language of national identity that does not merely imitate tradition, but reinterprets it within the context of contemporary visual culture, technology, and lifestyle. The participants will discuss how the legacies of avant-garde, constructivism, and traditional folk crafts can serve as sources of inspiration without being left by the wayside. The session will focus on successful projects where the national dimension serves not merely as a decoration, but as a source of meaning that shapes a new aesthetic. -
24 September 14:00 – 15:00Special Topics Track
Presentation of the Study “The Russian Cultural Code”
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Press hall
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24 September 15:00 – 16:30Film
Movies at the Weekend? Outings to the Cinema Reimagined
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Green Hall
The skewed seasonality of film distribution in Russia, with its emphasis on the New Year holidays, has led producers to oversaturate the first ten days of January at the expense of the other 355 days. Cinemas suffer from uneven attendance, audiences suffer from having to choose between one good film and another, and everyone in the industry suffers. What means can be taken to develop and introduce new peak seasons? What can be learned from the best international practice? What can be done in practice to make a cinema year more balanced? These will be among the topics raised at this session.
Points for discussion:
• The particular features of marketing across the distribution seasons.
• A review and analysis of attempts to develop new peak release windows.
• A review of the best international practice in improving theatrical attendance. -
24 September 15:00 – 16:30Media Culture
Fathers in Russian and Global Multinational Culture and Media
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, First atrium
The discussion about the image of the father in the multi-ethnic culture and media of Russia continues the conversation started by TASS’s first national award “The Big Family of Russia”. It is also a logical continuation of the discussion entitled “Family in Focus: How Culture and the Media Can Help Address the Demographic Situation?” which TASS held at the Forum in 2025.
Points for discussion:
• The perfect father. The role of the man in the family. How is the image of the head of the family presented in the media (news, talk shows, reality television, social media, advertisements) and in cultural institutions (theatres, film institutions)?
• The image of the father in today’s media space: the “Sunday dad” and breadwinner, or an active participant in family life and in raising children? Does the contemporary image match expectations that assume a father’s active involvement in a child’s life on equal footing with the mother?
• How do traditional media and cultural institutions talk about demographic problems, large families, motherhood, fatherhood, and family difficulties?
• Should the status of the father be raised in society today? State support measures for fatherhood.
• The role of traditional faiths in the spiritual formation of the father of a family.
• The digital environment and family values: challenges and opportunities.
• The soft power potential of culture and the media in promoting pro-family policy.
• International experience. What measures of state and public support for fathers exist in friendly countries? -
24 September 15:00 – 16:30Theatre
International Theatre Cooperation as a Tool for Humanitarian Dialogue: The Role of Theatre Associations in Building Professional Bridges between Countries
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Third atrium
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24 September 15:30 – 17:00Special Topics Track
Cultural Code as a Necessary Condition for Creative Activity
St. Petersburg State Academic Capella, Chamber Hall
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24 September 15:30 – 16:45
Design as a Cultural Practice
Sideline EventsFashion in Cultural Dialogue: Identity, Tradition, and Global Trends
Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design
Fashion is one of the most vivid and dynamic design practices, as it responds instantly to shifts in culture, society, and mindset. Today, Russian fashion is being profoundly reconceptualized: the departure of Western brands has created a space for original creative expression, while simultaneously raising questions about the message we wish to convey to the world through the language of fashion. Should Russia seek its own distinct path or align with global trends? How can fashion embody cultural identity without simply devolving into an ethnographic costume? And, most importantly, how can fashion turn into a cultural practice that not only shapes a person’s wardrobe, but also their mindset, values, and sense of self?
The participants will discuss prospects for entering international markets and the role fashion plays in shaping a new cultural image of Russia. -
24 September 16:00 – 17:30Cultural Sovereignty in the 21st Century
Cultural and Traditional Synthesis: Civilizational Benefit or Historical Challenge?
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Fifth atrium
This panel discussion, held as part of the Year of the Unity of the Peoples of Russia, will explore the interweaving of the cultural traditions of different peoples in a single state. This is characteristic not only of Russia today but also of a number of other large states around the world, including India, Indonesia, and Vietnam. The aim of the discussion is to exchange historical experience of the harmonious coexistence of different peoples within a common cultural space.
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24 September 16:00 – 17:30
Открытая сессия «Бесогон и культура»
Special Topics TrackCultural Alternatives through the Eyes of Besogon: The Meaning and Significance of the ‘Diamond Butterfly’ Film Awards
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Great Lecture Hall
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24 September 16:00 – 17:30Special Topics Track
Museum Space: Modern Technologies and Value Guidelines
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Red Hall
The conference responds to the need to develop common professional and substantive approaches to implementing Federal Law No. 74-FZ of 21 April 2025, “On Commemorating the Victims of the Genocide of the Soviet People during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945”, in museum, exhibition, educational, and tourism activities. The Federal Law established a common legal basis for commemorating the victims of the genocide of the Soviet people, defined the concept of that genocide, set out the principal forms of commemoration and the powers of public authorities, and established the institution of a national operator. Since 2026, the functions of the national operator have been performed by the National Centre for Historical Memory under the President of the Russian Federation. Under these circumstances, the pressing task is to move from individual museum, exhibition, and memorial initiatives towards a unified professional framework founded on shared principles of historical accuracy, scholarly verification, the ethically responsible presentation of tragic events, the personalization of memory of the victims, and the use of modern technology. Within this system, a museum should be regarded not only as a place where historical evidence is held but also as one of the fundamental institutions shaping a culture of historical memory, one that translates documented historical knowledge into the cultural and public environment of today. Particular importance attaches to engagement between museums and memorial complexes, cultural heritage sites, archives, and the sites of the mass murder and burial of civilians. Bringing these together into coherent routes of historical memory makes it possible to take work to preserve that memory beyond individual museum displays and create a single historical space, accessible to people living in the regions, to tourists, to schoolchildren, and to young people.
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24 September 16:00 – 17:30Special Topics Track
Music Education: Balance between Tradition and Digital Technologies
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Blue Hall
Amid rapid digitalization, the system of musical education faces new challenges. On one side is the introduction of state digital services (Online University Admission, the Pushkin Card, the Student Showcase) and more stringent information security requirements (Order No. 117 of the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control). On the other is the practical experience institutions have accumulated in confronting systemic difficulties. It is important to stress that digital technology is an aid and a means of meeting state requirements for transparency in education, not a substitute for the live creative process. The online format has objective limits: under the relevant regulations, fully remote study is not permitted for a number of musical disciplines, above all in secondary vocational education. Music cannot be taught entirely online; live performance, contact with a teacher, and experience of the stage remain fundamental. How can the living nature of musical education be preserved amid digitalization? Where does the line run between technological efficiency and the loss of human contact? How can digital services work for the benefit of art and people, rather than the other way around? These questions lie at the heart of our agenda. This year’s Forum theme is “United Cultures, Common Values”. Participants in the session will discuss how to find the right balance between the traditional values of musical education – the spiritual nature of art, direct contact between mentor and pupil, the cultivation of artistic taste, and the development of creative individuality – and the inevitable digitalization that should serve art and people rather than replace human interaction. Significantly, the Association brings together Russian institutions and institutions from other countries: the Belarusian State Academy of Music, the Republican Music College at the Belarusian State Academy of Music, and the Mongolian State Conservatory. Questions of the digital transformation of education matter to all the participating countries. Including representatives of these institutions in the discussion will make it possible to consider both Russian practice and international experience. The participants will identify shared challenges and common ground in approaches to digitalization, as well as information security.
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24 September 16:45 – 18:00Theatre
Theatre as a Space for Preserving Cultural Identity: National Theatre in the Age of Globalization
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Third atrium
The theme has international significance, since the preservation of cultural identity, language, and tradition is an important concern for many countries. The session offers an opportunity to share best practices in supporting national theatres and to present Russian experience in a broad international context. The programme proposes an expert session devoted to the national theatres of the peoples of Russia, the preservation of cultural identity, and the place of national theatre in world theatre.
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24 September 17:00 – 18:30Film
Greed and Genres
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Green Hall
Cinema should not live by fairy tales alone; the effect of family viewing on box-office attendance matters, but it is not the only measure. Global demographic change, a shifting social and cultural landscape, and global economic turbulence all require creators to rethink their approach to the films they make. Older audiences, whose formative cinema-going experiences were shaped by films very different from today’s franchises and comic-book adaptations, are waiting for films of their own. Which genres can and should find an audience in the new world cinema? How do audiences respond to new creative offerings? How are these trends playing out in Russia and worldwide? These themes will be central to the discussion.
Points for discussion:
• Who is today’s cinema-goer? How is the demographic changing and how should producers’ offerings change in response?
• The importance of genre diversity.
• From ancient Greek epic to war films: the most successful theatrical examples illustrating the need for genre diversity. -
24 September 17:00 – 18:30Cultural Heritage: Traditions and Modernity
Artificial Intelligence for Museums: Hidden Opportunities
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, First atrium
Questions about what artificial intelligence and AI-based tools actually represent when used to create works, whether images, video, or music, are being raised with increasing urgency in the cultural world. Is AI generation a tool, a creator, or a plagiarist? Is bringing masterpieces to life popularization or vulgarization? The technology is already here and the rules are not, and if the cultural community does not articulate its position now, the rules will be written by those who do not care about art at all. AI generation is a brush, not an artist. But it is a brush that has memorized every painting in the world and never asked permission. Our task is not to break it but to learn to handle it in such a way that Rembrandt does not become a dataset, or Vasnetsov a prompt.
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24 September 19:00 – 20:30Youth Programme
A Series of Meetings between Cultural Luminaries and Young Forum Participants
N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory, Great Hall named after A. G. Rubinstein
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25 September 09:30 – 11:00Musical Culture
The Development of Concert Organizations in Academic Music. The International Touring Activities of Russian Philharmonic Organizations
St. Petersburg State Academic Capella, Chamber Hall
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25 September 10:00 – 11:30Cultural Sovereignty in the 21st Century
Peacemaking Ideals in Modern Eastern and Western Cultures
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Youth Centre exhibition hall
This panel discussion, organized in partnership with the Leo Tolstoy International Peace Prize Foundation, is devoted to the role of historical experience and cultural traditions in preventing and ending conflicts and in strengthening mutual understanding between peoples.
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25 September 10:00 – 11:00Sideline Events
Meeting of the State Council of the Russian Federation Commission on Culture and Traditional Spiritual and Moral Values
Marble Palace
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25 September 10:00 – 11:30Theatre
Artificial Intelligence in Theatre
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Great Lecture Hall
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25 September 10:00 – 11:30Film
AI in Live Action
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Green Hall
AI gives live-action cinema new tools. The value of any tool is tested in the context of a particular film: did it help fulfil the vision and make the story and the characters convincing for the viewer? The discussion will address the possibilities of the technology, the responsibility of authors, and the cases in which AI can be effectively used in filmmaking.
Points for discussion:
• Artistic vision determines how AI is used.
• Changes in job descriptions affect people in real life: AI is changing tasks, the composition of crews, and the skills needed in production. People must be part of these changes and influence how the new tools enter their work.
• Russian technologies need to be developed in cooperation with the film industry.
• Creators’ rights and the trust of audiences are the foundation of working with AI. -
25 September 10:00 – 11:30Cultural Sovereignty in the 21st Century
Cultural Sovereignty in Civilizational Dialogue between East and West
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Blue Hall
This panel discussion is devoted to the question of cultural sovereignty, which has repeatedly been a stumbling block in relations between West and East. Participants will discuss what role the concept of cultural sovereignty has played at different stages of human history, and what is meant by it today, in a multipolar world. Is a compromise between universalist ideas and traditional cultures attainable? What does the loss of cultural sovereignty entail, and what lessons can be drawn from the relevant examples?
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25 September 10:00 – 12:30Sideline Events
Successors of the Suvorov Era: Representatives of Military Science and Practice in the First Half of the 19th Century
Information Historical and Scientific Center — Military Historical Library of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
As part of the preparations for the tercentenary of Alexander Suvorov, during the St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum and the Days of Army Culture in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, a round table entitled “Heirs to the Suvorov Era: Leading Figures in Military Science and Practice in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century” will be held. It will take place on 25 September 2026 at the Military Historical Library of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, one of the country’s oldest military libraries, founded 215 years ago in St. Petersburg.
The participants will include historians from the Research Institute of Military History of the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation; the Suvorov State Memorial Museum; the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library; the National Library of Russia; the Suvorov Museum in Novaya Ladoga; the State Hermitage Museum; the Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps; the Central Naval Library; representatives of the Suvorov Charitable Foundation; and representatives of the libraries of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, national and regional libraries, and federal and departmental archives and museums.
The round table will feature reports devoted to Suvorov’s legacy. They will examine the influence of his ideas and experience on the development of military organization in Russia in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Another point of discussion is the way Suvorov affected Field Marshal Pyotr Volkonsky, founder of His Imperial Majesty’s General Staff. Another question for discussion is preserving the military and theoretical legacy of Suvorov and Volkonsky, both of whom left a notable mark on military history, within the integrated environment of libraries, archives, and museums. -
25 September 10:00 – 11:30Youth Programme
Russian Artists’ Unions in Dialogue with the Global Youth
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Fifth atrium
A conversation between the artistic director of two of Moscow’s leading theatres and the Forum’s young participants about how a profession shapes the person who pursues it, and why the Russian school of theatre endures as long as masters and students continue to share the same stage.
Points for discussion:
• The remarkable figures and events that shaped Russian theatre and its influence worldwide;
• The formative role of theatre in shaping moral character, drawing on examples from the past and present;
• Changes in theatre in response to the interests and expectations of younger audiences. -
25 September 10:00 – 11:30United Cultures and Technologies towards the Cultural Code of the Future
AI in Music: Algorithms, Authorship, and New Rules in the Industry
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, First atrium
AI today no longer merely assists in producing music but is becoming a full-fledged participant in the market: it generates tracks, imitates voices, enters the charts, and competes with human artists for the audience’s attention. A central theme of the discussion will be AI’s effect on the ecosystem of streaming services. Recommendation algorithms increasingly promote content created using neural networks, which changes the logic by which popularity is formed. It also calls into question the traditional mechanisms for selecting and promoting music. Particular attention will be given to situations in which AI tracks compete with the output of real human performers. This is creating a new conflict within the industry: musicians, producers, and rights holders speak ever more often of the erosion of the profession, the devaluation of creative labour, and unfair competition. Technology companies, meanwhile, regard AI as a tool for widening creative possibilities and democratizing music production. A separate discussion will address the labelling of content: should music created using artificial intelligence be specially marked on streaming services, and how might that affect audience perception and the competitive environment. Presentation of "Cossacks Make Hits" -
25 September 10:00 – 11:30Theatre
Theatre Education in Cultural Dialogue: Exchange of Students, Teachers, and Master Artists
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Third atrium
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25 September 10:00 – 11:30Cultural Sovereignty in the 21st Century
Science's Cultural Code: From Discoveries to Heritage
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Red Hall
A nation’s cultural code is the foundation of national identity and the guarantor of Russia’s civilizational sovereignty. For our country, the value-based and motivational grounds that underpin its understanding of itself are rooted in its distinctive historical and ethnocultural character, supported by a system of traditional values, historical memory, and the country’s outstanding scientific and technological heritage. Leading science museums and outreach institutions play a key role in transmitting that heritage. Acting as centres of soft power and as platforms for global dialogue, they turn major engineering breakthroughs, from the conquest of space to the development of the nuclear industry, into a tangible history of achievement. Science museums display technical achievements but also function as venues for innovative research, setting international standards for preserving intellectual heritage and instilling in citizens, and above all in young people, a deep and considered sense of pride in their country. During the session, experts will discuss mechanisms for integrating scientific and technical heritage into the country’s cultural agenda and will draw up practical recommendations for strengthening the role of science museums and outreach centres as a tool for reinforcing national self-awareness and civic identity.
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25 September 10:00 – 11:30
Design as a Cultural Practice
Sideline EventsEducation as a Cultural Project: Who Are Design Schools Training and Why?
Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design
Discussions about design education usually focus on expertise, standards, and business demands. But there is another, cultural dimension: design schools not only create specialists, but also shape individuals who embody a specific worldview, ethic, and visual culture. What kind of worldview are we conveying to students? Are we training ‘problem solvers’ or ‘creators of meaning’?
At a time when design is becoming increasingly fluid and interdisciplinary as a profession, education should serve as a space that can cultivate the cultural responsibility of the next generation.
This session will explore what kind of education is needed to ensure graduates are not only in demand but also culturally grounded. The participants will discuss which subjects in the humanities and cultural studies should be included in a modern design curriculum and how to foster a sense of connection to broader culture amongst students. -
25 September 11:00 – 12:30Circus
Preserving Traditions. Modern Technologies in the Arena: Deepening or Weakening the Language of the Circus?
The Great St. Petersburg State Circus
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25 September 11:00 – 12:30Sideline Events
The New East: New Horizons for Intercultural Exchanges
St. Petersburg State University, 7/9 Universitetskaya Embankment, Petrovsky Hall
This session focuses on fostering a dialogue between the cultures of Russia and countries of the East. In this era of globalization, preserving national identity and promoting mutual understanding have taken on increasing importance. The participants will discuss the roles of language education, academic exchanges, and joint projects in the humanities and sciences. Key topics will include the teaching of Russian in the Middle and Far East (and of Eastern languages in Russia), the development of bilateral cultural initiatives, and professional training in intercultural communication. Real-world formats of cooperation will also be examined, such as summer schools, internships, the activities of cultural centres, joint publications, literary translations, and conferences on cultural studies, cinema, and the arts.
Discussion topics:
• Amidst the multipolar world that is taking shape, strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties between Russia and Eastern nations is becoming a crucial factor in fostering an inter-civilizational dialogue and mutual trust.
• Growing economic and political cooperation requires the training of specialists who can interact effectively in multicultural environments, have language skills, and understand their partners’ cultural codes.
• Digitalization and various other global challenges are driving the search for new ways to preserve and transmit cultural heritage, as well as the formulation of shared approaches to identity, education, and values. -
25 September 12:00 – 13:30Key Sessions
Session, Chaired by Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation and Chairperson of the Organizing Committee of the St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum Tatyana Golikova
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Fifth atrium
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25 September 12:00 – 13:30Musical Culture
Development of the System of Children’s Art Schools in 2026: Current Issues Regarding the Quality of Supplementary Pre-Professional Arts Programmes
St. Petersburg State Academic Capella, Concert hall
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25 September 13:45 – 15:15Cultural Sovereignty in the 21st Century
Science in Exhibitions: Imagining the Future
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Blue Hall
Science always works with the future. Years may pass between an idea or an experiment born in a laboratory today and a technical solution that becomes part of everyday life. Therefore, it is science museums and outreach centres that prove to be the venues where people can track the most important changes before they become routine. Scientific displays and exhibitions allow us, quite literally, to glimpse the future through a keyhole. What seems like science fiction becomes comprehensible and familiar. Discoveries, devices, and ways of interacting with the world succeed one another, generating a sense of uncertainty. Time is needed to grow accustomed to the new and to fit it into one’s own picture of the world. How can the future be exhibited so that it inspires rather than alarms? And what role can science museums and outreach centres play in preserving a sense of stability in a world that is changing ever faster?
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25 September 13:45 – 15:15Film
How to Form a Unified Film Space in the CIS
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Green Hall
The once-unified audience and professional space of the former Soviet Union needs a reset. Only by drawing on the positive experience of the past and viewing the people of the CIS countries as a single cinema audience will it be possible to achieve technological, creative, and audience breakthroughs in the decades ahead.
Points for discussion:
• A shared past: the experience of the national film studios in organizing financing, production, and joint distribution.
• Heritage practices as a springboard for development.
• The current state of the shared cinema space and the means of developing it: successful cases and strategies. -
25 September 13:45 – 15:15Special Topics Track
The Creative Dimension of Historical Memory
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Youth Centre exhibition hall
Historical memory today exists in scholarship, archives, museums, and education. However, for the younger generation, films, television series, documentaries, music, theatre, literature, animation, video games, social media, short videos, podcasts, graphic design, contemporary art, as well as interactive and immersive projects are the main channels through which they encounter history. The development of digital technology has substantially widened the scope for creative engagement with the past. Artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, digital reconstruction, generative graphics and sound, interactive maps, and other forms of presentation make it possible to render historical material comprehensible and emotionally immediate for a contemporary audience. At the same time, the development of these technologies creates new challenges. A historical event may be torn from its context, an artistic image may be taken for documentary fact, and a visually convincing digital reconstruction may displace genuine evidence. The spread of generative content and technologies for creating synthetic images, voice, and video sharpens still further the problem of distinguishing between a historical source, an artistic interpretation, and a digital reconstruction. In these circumstances, the task is not to restrict creative freedom but to foster a culture of responsible creative engagement with historical material, in which artistic expressiveness is combined with historical accuracy, ethics, and an understanding of the public significance of the content being created. Particular importance attaches to involving talented young people in this work. A young author should be not merely a consumer of a ready-made historical narrative but its active interpreter and the creator of contemporary cultural forms, from film and animation to digital art, music, and new media.
The youth strategic session “The Creative Dimension of Historical Memory” is accordingly proposed as a venue for direct dialogue between historians, artists, filmmakers, producers, representatives of digital platforms and the creative industries, and young authors, which should result in specific creative projects and professional principles for working with historical material. -
25 September 13:45 – 15:15Cultural Heritage: Traditions and Modernity
From Object to Route: How Business and Culture Partnerships Transform Territories
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Fifth atrium
Points for discussion:
• The role of business in preserving heritage is changing, from traditional patronage towards long-term investment in territorial development. Large businesses increasingly regard support for cultural heritage not as isolated charitable projects but as part of a comprehensive strategy for developing the regions in which they operate.
• A heritage site becomes not an end point but the core of a new urban and tourism ecosystem. The greatest effect arises when the restoration of a site is accompanied by the development of public spaces, cultural infrastructure, museum programmes, services, and tourist routes.
• Investment in culture creates a multiplier effect for a territory. A site that has been preserved can generate new flows of tourists, support local businesses, create jobs, and make an area more attractive to residents and investors alike.
• The next step is the move from individual sites to cultural and tourist routes. For heritage to make a genuine contribution to a region’s development, sites, institutions, routes, events, and infrastructure must be linked into a single product that makes sense to tourists of different kinds.
• Creating such a product and achieving results at scale requires partnership between business, the state, and culture.
The experience of St. Petersburg shows that the sustained involvement of a major company can transform entire areas of a city. Gazprom’s work over many years demonstrates a shift from supporting individual cultural sites to a comprehensive approach that combines heritage preservation with the development of the cultural environment, public spaces, and tourism potential. -
25 September 13:45 – 15:15Theatre
Russian Classics in North Caucasian Theatres
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Great Lecture Hall
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25 September 13:45 – 15:15Cultural Heritage: Traditions and Modernity
Folk Artisan Craftwork Rebooted
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Red Hall
Folk arts and crafts are an inseparable part of the country’s cultural code: they embody a living link between generations and a resource for regional development. Participants in the discussion will consider practical mechanisms for preserving distinctive regional traditions and integrating them into today’s cultural and economic agenda: legal support and protection for the crafts, the development of the sector as part of the creative economy, the training of specialists, and the role of museums in studying and promoting this heritage. Particular attention will be given to the balance between authenticity and innovation: successful cases of adapting traditional techniques in design, fashion, and museum communication, engaging young people, and building a new audience. The intention is to draw up practical recommendations for government authorities and professional communities.
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25 September 13:45 – 15:15Theatre
Objectives and Plans of the Russian Union of Theatre Professionals for Promoting Russian Theatre Abroad
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Third atrium
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25 September 14:15 – 15:45Youth Programme
Culture as a Resource for Quality of Life
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, First atrium
Research in recent years has confirmed the positive impact of culture and the arts on emotional wellbeing, quality of life, cognitive health, and social engagement.
Points for discussion:
• The impact of culture on quality of life, emotional wellbeing, and social engagement;
• Interim results of the Cultural Longevity pilot project in the regions of Russia;
• Joint international initiatives to develop and scale up the project. -
25 September 14:30 – 15:30
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25 September 15:30 – 16:30Film
Russia Minus Hollywood, and Hollywood Minus Russia
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Green Hall
With the start of the special military operation, Hollywood’s major studios withdrew from the Russian market, which accelerated the development of Russian filmmaking. Who lost more, and who gained? How is work with audiences for Russian cinema taking shape in the longer term? What are the chances of Hollywood returning, and what would that lead to?
Points for discussion:
• What the Russian film industry has gained and what audiences have gained from Hollywood’s departure?
• The next steps towards fully replacing American cinema in Russia.
• An alternative to Hollywood: what the market is ready to offer, and whose films audiences are ready to watch? -
25 September 17:00 – 19:00Key Sessions
The St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum Special Event
Mariinsky II, main stage
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26 September 10:00 – 11:00
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26 September 10:00 – 12:00Special Topics Track
Musical Instrument Showcase Presented by the ‘MIR-MIO’ National Association of Music Industry Participants and Development of Musical Instruments and Equipment
St. Petersburg State Academic Capella, Concert hall
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26 September 10:00 – 11:15Special Topics Track
Modern Culture: Heritage and Technology
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Fifth atrium
The session is devoted to the role of modern technology in studying, preserving, and promoting cultural heritage, from state information resources and digital libraries to platforms that widen access to culture and engage audiences. Drawing on existing projects, participants will discuss how digital solutions are changing the work of cultural institutions while preserving the authenticity and distinctive qualities of cultural heritage. How can a balance be struck between technological development and careful stewardship of cultural values, and which practices could form the basis for cross-sector and international cooperation?
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26 September 11:30 – 13:00Key Sessions
Coordinating Council for Culture under the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Fifth atrium
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26 September 12:00 – 13:30Special Topics Track
Digital Preservation of Cultural Heritage as a Factor in Ensuring the State Sovereignty of the Russian Federation
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Great Lecture Hall
In the era of digital transformation, we can make culture even more accessible to humanity.
Modern technologies for creating digital copies can be used as a way to preserve the best examples of national heritage – original monuments of literature, fine arts, music, architecture, and other significant objects.
One tool that could help achieve this is the “Digital Repository of Cultural Heritage” – a digital platform of a single cultural and educational space that would ensure the preservation, authenticity, and accessibility of cultural objects.Aspects of the discussion:
• How can we prevent information about cultural monuments from being replaced by “fakes” given the rapid proliferation of AI-generated content?
• How can the collection and verification of data on cultural objects be consolidated? How can we transition from individual and unconnected projects to a coherent government ecosystem?
• Why is it so important to prevent the loss of cultural property? How can the centralized preservation of cultural property help strengthen historical memory and the national identity of the Russian people?
• Why is it important in an era of global challenges and threats to overcome stereotypes and build an honest dialogue of civilizations through the mutual representation of cultures? -
26 September 12:00 – 13:30Education in Culture
Academic Painting: History and Professional Prospects
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Blue Hall
The discussion concerns the issue of preserving the fundamental principles of academic training and adapting them to modern conditions. Participants will talk about how classical disciplines – drawing, anatomy, perspective, and composition – help artists master new technologies and find work in contemporary fields, from museum practice and art conservation to cinema and the gaming industry. The issue of continuity and the value of the phased professional education system (school, vocational college, and university) will also be on the agenda, as will the topic of preserving the academic school tradition as a national asset against the background of changes in the educational and cultural landscape.
A second key area of focus will be the analysis of the academic tradition as an instrument of intercultural dialogue and its promotion at the international level. Experts will discuss the prospects for international educational exchanges and, to wrap up the roundtable, define the role of professional expertise, the continuity of academic traditions, and the phased education system in expressing civic values, strengthening international ties, and shaping the modern cultural landscape. -
26 September 12:00 – 13:30Special Topics Track
Russia as a Part of Global Culture: An Integral Part vs. Cancel Culture
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Third atrium
Is Russia an integral, inseparable part of world culture – both historically and today? And is this fair from the point of view of Europe and America? How does “cancel culture” affect Russian actors and musicians and their international performances, and whether these performances even happen in the first place? What historical and cultural ties between Russia and Europe remain? What will the future of these cultural relations look like? And what can be done to actively influence them? How is this reflected in cultural ties within the emerging multipolar world – in the strong cultural relations with China, the Arab world (Oman and Lebanon in particular), and countries such as Türkiye, for example?
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26 September 13:00 – 15:00Special Topics Track
Inclusive Culture: The Culture of the Future
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Red Hall
The panel discussion entitled “Inclusive Culture, the Culture of the Future”, held as part of the 12th St. Petersburg International United Cultures Forum, is a venue for developing consolidated approaches to creating an accessible and equitable cultural environment in the Russian Federation.
Taking part are representatives of federal government authorities, the heads of leading non-profit organizations and public associations, inclusive creative laboratories from regions across the country, and experts in the field.
The focus of the discussion is the transformation of state policy on inclusion, the introduction of universal methods of working with people with disabilities, the adaptation of cultural and educational institutions, and the search for effective mechanisms of cooperation and for replicating successful regional practice.
Particular attention will be given to social and cultural rehabilitation as a means of integrating people with disabilities into society through creativity, participation in cultural events, and access to arts education, which makes it possible not only to overcome barriers of perception but also to build a full environment for personal self-realization. The dialogue is aimed at shaping a coherent model of inclusive culture as an integral element of sustainable social development and of preserving the country’s single cultural space. -
26 September 13:45 – 15:15Youth Programme
A Series of Meetings between Cultural Luminaries and Young Forum Participants
General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, Fifth atrium
A conversation with the Director General of the Hermitage about our responsibility towards cultural heritage and why art cannot be confined within the borders of a single country.
Points for discussion:
• The importance of international dialogue for the development of culture;
• A culture of mentorship, continuity between generations, and the passing on of experience;
• The indissoluble bond between the Hermitage and St Petersburg: a shared memory, aesthetic, and philosophy.
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