On October 13, at 16:00 Moscow Time (GMT + 3), the Valdai Discussion Club will host the presentation of its latest annual report: “History, To Be Continued: The Utopia of a Diverse World”. The event will be attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and laureates of the Valdai Discussion Club Award, which recognises those who have made outstanding contributions to explaining and promoting the understanding of changes that are taking place in global politics.
Andrey Bystritskiy, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club, will open the presentation of the report. He will announce the names of the 2020 Valdai Award laureates, who will be selected by the Club Academy Council via a secret ballot: in the first category – for a significant contribution to understanding and explaining changes and trends in world politics, and in the second category – for contributions to the activities of the Valdai Club in 2020.
The presentation of the report will precede the main event of the Club this year – the 17th Annual Valdai Club Meeting.
The events of 2020 have been a shock for the whole world, there are no shortages of panic predictions. The most restrained assessment is as follows: the pandemic did not create new negative trends, but accelerated the processes of dismantling the current world order, which began long ago. As we recover from the initial shock, it becomes clear that the changes will come as a landslide, but nevertheless will be deep, lasting and transforming the life of humanity.
The Valdai Discussion Club has already released a report this spring, titled “Staying Sane in a Crumbling World” with an express analysis of the new situation. It turned out to be alarming. However, the experts of the Club did not stop there, and looked into the future, hoping for the ability of humanity to find new ways to solve problems that concern everyone. The club presents the second report this year, developing the ideas of the May report.
The new report is written in a genre unusual for the Valdai Club, the authors call it a utopia. They note that the current international agenda has exhausted itself. In the modern world, even the most influential powers fail to achieve dominance, being unable to obtain a monopoly on force or ethics. Global institutions are gradually becoming obsolete and giving way to multilateral cooperation between states. The world is on the threshold of its next stage of development, the transition to which, according to the authors of the report, is possible only through a complete rethinking of approaches. Nothing can be restored.
What makes the world of today different? What kind of world would humanity like to live in? How can we come to a balanced arrangement, avoiding further savagery and war of all against all, which alarmists increasingly predict? Like-minded people who have been actively working with the Valdai Club for many years will take part in the discussion of the conclusions of the new report.
Speakers:
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Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation;
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John Joseph Mearsheimer, Valdai Award Laureate, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago;
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Dominic Lieven, Valdai Award Laureate, British Academy Member, Professor at the University of Cambridge;
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Vitaly Naumkin, Valdai Award Laureate, Full Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academic Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences;
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Yuri Slezkine, Jane K. Sather Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley.
Moderator:
- Fyodor Lukyanov, Research Director of the Valdai Discussion Club.
Working languages: Russian, English.
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The Valdai Club Award was established in 2016. The first award ceremony took place in 2017. The prize is awarded annually for significant contributions to the understanding and explaining of changes and trends in world politics. It can be expressed in a scientific publication, a series of public speeches, research or educational projects on topical issues related to global development and international relations. The first laureate of the Valdai Club Award was academician Vitaly Naumkin, who received an award for his work on reaching an armistice in Syria. In 2018, the Valdai Club Award was received by the British historian Dominic Lieven, author of works on the history of the Russian Empire. He was awarded for his scientific contribution to the study of Russian history. In 2019, the University of Chicago professor John Joseph Mearsheimer became the laureate. The Valdai Club Academy celebrated his book: “The Great Delusion: Liberal Dreams and International Realities”.
Also, every year a special prize is awarded to one or more of the permanent participants of the Valdai meetings for their contribution to the development of the Club. Over the years, the laureates of this award have included Harvard University professor Timothy Colton, Sergey Karaganov, Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at Russia’s Higher School of Economics, Sheng Shiliang, Senior Research Fellow, Global Challenges Studies, Xinhua News Agency, British historian Richard Sakwa, Professor of Russian and European Politics at the University of Kent, Associate Fellow of Chatham House; Piotr Dutkiewicz, Professor of Political Science, Institute of European and Russian Studies, Co-Director, Centre for Governance and Public Management, Carleton University; and Feng Shaolei, Director of the Centre for Russian Studies, Director of Centre for Co-development with Neighbouring Countries, East China Normal University.
For accreditation, you need to fill out the accreditation form on our website, indicate your personal mobile number and have the WhatsApp application installed and attached to that number.
You can ask the speakers a question by sending it before the broadcast or live to press@valdaiclub.com or via WhatsApp to the number +79037262385. Be sure to include your name and position, as well as the name of the speaker to whom the question is addressed. Questions will be asked during the Q&A session.
A link to the live broadcast of the meeting will be posted on all online platforms used by the Valdai Club, including our website, Telegram, Facebook, Vkontakte, and Instagram.
