The Innosocium Foundation, the social platform of the Roscongress Foundation, took part in the VIII St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum on 15 November as part of the main theme ‘Cultural Codes in the Context of Globalization’ and organized two sessions on the women’s agenda and creative industries.
The first session on the Business venue was devoted to the women’s role in culture, their access, involvement and contribution. The image of women is one of the key concepts that permeate the art of various nations from antiquity to the present day. With each passing decade, women are playing a greater and stronger role, not only as creators, but also as organizers, advocates, and creators of cultural wealth. The session was moderated by Museum of Russian Impressionism Deputy Director Dmitry Barsenkov. The session participants discussed development trends in modern culture, mechanisms for creating and enhancing its accessibility, women’s role in the development of culture and preserving traditions as well as the problems related to women’s growth and professional fulfilment in cultural affairs.
The second session, which was organized jointly with the Russian Export Center, was titled ‘Culture x Economics = Creative Industries’. Creative industries owe their emergence to the ever-growing convergence of economics and culture. Their weight in the economy is on the rise, and their role in culture is becoming more and more nuanced. The list of countries that have prioritized developing creativity as one of the foundations of their economic programmes is constantly growing and includes nations with a wide variety of economic backgrounds and cultural traditions.
The session was moderated by Yevgenia Danilchenko, Director of the Creative Industries Export Department at the Russian Export Center, and Igor Namakonov, Executive Director of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs’ Committee on Intellectual Property and Creative Industries.
One of the key discussion themes was the moment of transition between culture and an actual creative industry. The participants also pointed out the main benefit of a creative economy: it allows people to create new values at the national level and achieve economic results, while also developing human capital and creating unique products, niches, and entire industries. Eliminating the conflict between the contemporary vision and national cultural traditions could be one of the bonuses of this development. The discussion participants talked about developing creative industries based on the example of programmes that have been implemented in other countries and successful cases in Russia and noted that much of the positive experience that has been gained could be applied more broadly and scaled.
“The themes covered at the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum have a lot in common with the key focuses of the Innosocium Foundation’s work, namely the development of human capital, creative industries, and programmes to involve women in the economy. It is crucial that these issues attract the attention not only of the state and public organizations, but also the art community since their involvement in creating the ideology of the future and new social values is essential and invaluable,” Marinina said.
The Roscongress Foundation is a socially oriented non-financial development institution and a major organizer of international conventions, exhibitions, and public events.
The Roscongress Foundation was established in 2007 to help develop Russia’s economic potential, promote its national interests, and strengthen the country’s image. The Foundation thoroughly studies, analyses, compiles, and covers issues on the Russian and global economic agenda. The Foundation administers and facilitates the promotion of business projects and the raising of investments and also contributes to the development of social entrepreneurship and charitable projects.
Each year, the Foundation’s events bring together participants from 208 countries and are covered by more than 15,000 media representatives. The Foundation has some 2,500 experts involved in analytical and expert work in Russia and abroad and collaborates with foreign economic partners, associations of industrialists and entrepreneurs as well as financial, trade, and business associations in 107 countries.
The social platform is a strategic initiative created by the Roscongress Foundation to establish and support a stable dialogue between business, government, and civil society. We create feedback tools at existing forums, continuously promote the social agenda, and contribute to the development of a healthy social environment and charity in Russia. The platform’s mission is to promote consolidation, build a dialogue and cooperation between those involved in the social ecosystem, provide assistance for socially significant projects, and develop a culture of social inclusion in Russia.
The Innosocium Foundation for the Promotion of Social Development was established in February 2019. The Foundation’s main objectives are to provide practical support for priority areas of social development, create and promote the social agenda at the communication platforms of the Roscongress Foundation, implement socially significant and charitable initiatives, facilitate the development and enhance the effectiveness of NGOs and corporate social responsibility in addition to international cooperation within the sustainable development agenda, and strengthen the positive image of Russia. The key focuses of Innosocium are social issues, culture, education, the environment, social communications, and women’s leadership.
One key aspect of the Innosocium Foundation’s activities is to participate in business programme events organized by the Roscongress Foundation as well as organize sessions using its own platform.
