Interactive Guide
Club 2035: Valdai Discussion Club and RVC Discuss the Perceptions of Progress by Society and the Political Class
Serebryanicheskaya nab. 29, Serebryany Gorod Business Center, 4th floor
List of speakers

On February 21, 2017, at 18:00, a discussion of perceptions of technological progress by society and the political class will be held at the offices of the Russian Venture Company (Serebryanicheskaya nab. 29, Serebryany Gorod Business Center, 4th floor). This will be the first discussion to take place under the auspices of Club-2035, a joint project of the Valdai Discussion Club and RVC. The discussion will be focused on the main challenges of the future and their impact on Russian and global politics.

A recent RVC study showed that 48% of Russians could be considered as techno-optimists: they believe that with the help of science and technologies it is possible to solve social and economic problems. It is noteworthy, as this is the highest rate of confidence in science and technology in Europe.

The idea that technologies can positively influence the socio-political processes regularly appears on the agenda. For example, a surge of interest in science and technology in the 1960s coincided with the crisis of the socio-political models in the most developed countries and the emergence of a new generation, which demanded changes. Today, the world is experiencing an even more large-scale shift, at both the national and global level.

What role do technologies play in the upcoming shifts? Can they resolve or at least mitigate the accumulated contradictions? What can their role be and, on the contrary, what should we not expect from technology? Is excessive technological optimism harmful? Answers to these and other questions will be found as part of the Club-2035 project.

Main speakers:

  • Fyodor Lukyanov – Academic Director of the Valdai Discussion Club;
  • Evgeny Kuznetsov – Deputy Director General, Programme Director of RVC;
  • Victor Vakhshtayn – Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences;
  • Aleksandr Auzan – Dean of the Moscow State University Department of Economics.

    Information for media: to attend, please fill the accreditation form or call +7 915 077 97 22 – Maria Miklushevskaya; +7 926 930 77 63 – Sergei Melnikov.