Over the millennia, the Eurasian continent has become the birthplace of almost all terrestrial civilizations. Many of them have long since sunk into oblivion, but in the 21st century, Greater Eurasia is a common home for a number of civilizations that have developed over the past centuries. It is obvious that the development of vehicles, communication technologies, the interdependence of trade and economic ties and many other processes, which are often referred to as globalization, noticeably blur the historical civilizational boundaries of the peoples of our continent, but these processes are far from uniform and not always unambiguous.

An analysis of long-standing conflict zones in the space from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean allows us to see signs of what some experts prefer to call a “clash of civilizations.” At the same time, it is noted that each such conflict can be resolved or significantly weakened through a respectful, equal inter-civilizational dialogue. Conversely, a potentially contentious situation can, alas, be quickly transferred to a phase of irreconcilable protracted confrontation.
The first of these approaches, for all its objective difficulties, usually has more visible advantages than disadvantages. A nominal approach of this kind fits into the principles of peaceful coexistence of states with different political systems, indivisibility of security (when the security of some countries should not be ensured at the expense of the security of others), non-interference from outside in the sovereign affairs of states, etc.

At the same time, such approaches are noteworthy that would help create a kind of symphony of cultures of all peoples originally living on the expanses of the Eurasian continent in the broadest sense of the word culture.

It is obvious that the inter-civilizational dialogue is multifaceted. It involves not only discussing issues of language, culture, art, and religious topics. There are features of interaction between states with different political, economic, technological structures, ethnic composition, historical traditions, etc. These features should be taken into account in one way or another within the framework of a constructive dialogue of civilizations, which does not involve boss–subordinate or teacher-student interaction. Moreover, it cannot and should not be about fitting everyone to a certain standard, established once and for all, and even in a one-sided and indisputable form.
The international conference in Perm is designed to provide an overview of existing approaches to inter-civilizational dialogue, taking into account the circumstances of a dynamically changing world, in the framework of plenary sessions, as well as sectional discussions.:

  • “Spiritual aspects of the Eurasian dialogue”;
  • “Dialogue of Civilizations: a political dimension”;
  • “Preservation of intangible heritage in the 21st century: modern challenges”;
  • “Lessons from the festival marathons “From the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean” 2014-2021″.

The latter topic relates to the long-term project of the Russian parliamentary “Eurasian Dialogue”, which is a series of international cultural events, usually held every two years under the auspices of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, with the assistance of the Russian Foreign Ministry, our foreign colleagues, including UNESCO.

The Perm Conference was planned and is being held without reference to specific current international events. Its organizers pay attention to the socio-cultural nature of the proposed discussion without unnecessarily politicizing certain aspects of the issues under discussion, since the latter requires the conduct of separate focused discussions with the participation of relevant experts and materials.

The program of the event.