Discover the World, Discover Yourself: Children’s Cultural Forum hosted in Moscow

The 3rd International Children’s Cultural Forum organized by the Russian Ministry of Culture and Federal State Budgetary Institution of Culture ROSCONCERT took place in the Pioneer Palace on Sparrow Hills from August 22 to 24. It united 2665 participants from 89 regions of Russia and 14 countries: Abkhzia, Algeria, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Cuba, Egypt, India, Serbia, South Ossetia, Transnistria, Turkmenistan, Syria, and Uzbekistan. Guests included prominent figures of culture and art and the satellite children’s groups of Russian national collectives.

Gazprom-Media Holding acted as the general media partner of the forum.

Tatyana Golikova, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, gave a welcome speech at the opening ceremony, noting that the forum program included a unique number of contests and activities in a variety of areas, in which every participant could show their talents and share their ideas.

This year's forum was held under the motto “Discover the world, discover yourself!” Young musicians, artists, performers, writers, and journalists were able to meet with famous figures of Russian culture and create their own projects, attend workshops and discussions, join an art school, attend creative workshops, and take part in excursions.

One of the forum participants was Vova Solodkov, resident at the Insight People production center, part of Gazprom-Media Holding. The young blogger performed standup comedy and led the How to Make It Funny so Your Video Takes Off workshop.

Forum delegates attended workshops, creative meetings, discussions, and seminars, where prominent cultural figures spoke and presented. The key event of the forum was a presentation of finalist projects from the Children’s Initiatives Competition in the area of the development of culture and art. This year, 40 entries from 35 regions of Russia were submitted to the competition, and the committee selected four winners. The winning projects "Breakthrough Art,” “Small Motherland Through the Eyes of a Child,” “The Magic of Buryat Fairy Tales,” and “LiteraTOUR” will receive financial support from the Russian Ministry of Culture for further implementation.

The participants of the Digitalization in Culture hackathon not only competed with one another, but also with artificial intelligence. The winner of the battle was the River of Culture team from the Volga Federal District with its “Cultural Heritage” mobile game project, which helps teach new information about cultural heritage through monuments located in different regions of Russia. Much attention was paid at the forum to international cultural cooperation.

The Cultural Diplomacy session featured performances by young musicians representing their countries at international competitions. The discussion participants talked about how art has no borders and the creative power of culture to unite people with different views.

The joint “Letter to a Soldier” campaign of the Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation took place as part of the forum. Participants were able to personally communicate with Heroes of Russia and also wrote greetings to the soldiers participating in the special military operation. A total of 69 events took place over the days of the forum, with the participation of 111 speakers, 47 partners, and 9 satellite groups from Russian regions. The forum’s events were covered by more than 120 media representatives, as well as a team of 30 young correspondents from Russian regions in the Young Journalists League.

The closing ceremony was held on the street stage of the Pioneer Palace. The forum ended with a gala concert on the street stage of the Moscow Palace of Pioneers with the participation of the group Respublika.