On June 17, the Valdai Discussion Club will hold a roundtable in Saint Petersburg titled “Homo Perplexus: How to Stop Fearing and Learn to Love Change”.
The roundtable will initiate a broader discussion planned by the organisers on the origins and methods of ensuring security in the modern world – first, through the individual human experience. The second part, on how individual states can ensure internal stability as the main prerequisite for their own security, will be discussed the next day during the Valdai Club session at the SPIEF site.
In the modern world, politics, economics, society, demography, culture, technology and communications are rapidly changing – all spheres of life are undergoing transformations. International relations are entering a period of imbalance and frequent unpredictable shocks. Moreover, the achievements of modern technology raise questions about human nature itself and about whether ethical limits exist to what changes are permissible. When people experience a multitude of changes simultaneously, they are plunged into confusion. The roundtable programme is designed for one day and includes an opening and three thematic sessions. All sessions will be open to the media and live broadcast.
During the sessions, experts will discuss the following issues:
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Navigating in the thickening fog: are strategies possible when everything around is changing?
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The natural limits of artificial intelligence: who will win?
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Social harmony – a goal or a utopia?
To comprehensively consider the problems of state security, the Valdai Club has invited experts from different countries and various fields in order to combine the maximum number of points of view in its discussions. Representatives of India, China and Sri Lanka, as well as researchers from Moscow and St. Petersburg, will gather to participate in the upcoming meeting. Interestingly, they will take part in both the first and second parts of the discussion, presenting their thoughts “at different levels.”
The following international guests will take part in the roundtable: Ranil Wickremesinghe, Founder of the Geopolitical Cartographer Research Foundation, President of Sri Lanka (2022-2024); Feng Wei, Vice-Chairman of the China Institutes of Innovation and Development Strategy (China); Vineet Kumar, Founder and Global President of the CyberPeace Foundation; Binod K. Chaudhary, Chairman of the Chaudhary Group, CG Corp Global, Member of Parliament of Nepal, Head of the Geopolitical Cartographer (Nepal), and others.
Russian participants will include: Ivan Safranchuk, Senior Research Fellow, MGIMO Institute of International Studies; Anastasia Likhacheva, Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, HSE University; Irina Novikova, Professor of European Studies, Dean of the Faculty of International Relations, St. Petersburg State University; Ivan Danilin, Deputy Director for Research, IMEMO RAS; Vyacheslav Rybakov, Writer, Oriental Historian, and Chief Researcher at the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, RAS; Andrey Bystritskiy, Valdai Club Chairman; Fyodor Lukyanov, Valdai Club Research Director.
Working languages: Russian, English.
Information for the media: In order to get accredited for the event, please fill out the form on our web site. If you have any questions about the event, please call +79269307763
Links to the live broadcast of the discussion will be posted on all online platforms of the Valdai Club: on the website, X (formerly Twitter), VK, Telegram.
