The 10th-anniversary conference of the Valdai Discussion Club, titled “Russia’s Diversity for the Modern World”, was held from September 16 to 19, 2013. On the shore of Lake Valdai experts discussed the different aspects of Russia’s identity and the global threats to domestic development, values, inter-faith and inter-ethnic dialogue.
More than 200 individuals assembled for the conference, which included Russian politicians, religious leaders, heads of Russian regions, foreign experts, as well as former heads of foreign states and governments.
The participants included: Romano Prodi, former Italian Prime Minister, former EU Commission President; François Fillon, former French Prime Minister; Krzysztof Zanussi, Polish cinema and theatre director, producer, and writer; Yevgeny Roizman, Mayor of Ekaterinburg; Alexey Kudrin, Chairman of the Committee of Civic Initiatives; Simon Anholt, independent political advisor, internationally renowned expert in the field of national identity and image, author of the term “national branding”; Tarek Heggy, Egyptian political scientist, liberal thinker, author of 30 books in Arabic, English, Italian and French; Wolfgang Schüssel, former Austrian Federal Chancellor; Petru Lucinschi, former President of Moldova; Dimitri Simes, President of the Center for the National Interest and publisher of The National Interest.
Experts from different regions were provided with an opportunity to exchange views within the framework of special sections dedicated to the future of Europe, Asia, Eurasia, and the Middle East.
Five sessions were held: “International Challenges to the Domestic Development of a Nation”, “Regional Pluralism”, “Inter-Faith and Inter-Ethnic Dialogue as a Reflection of Society’s Spiritual State”, “The Value Rift”, “From Ideas to Politics”.
Meetings with representatives from government ministries and the Presidential Administration were arranged for the attendees. The conference concluded with a plenary session titled “Russia’s Diversity for the Modern World”, which featured an address by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
