Outcomes of the International Seminar on Cultural Heritage in Yaroslavl

From September 12 to 13, Yaroslavl hosted the International seminar "Historical and Cultural Heritage and Its Role in Sustainable Urban Development". This event was organized by UCLG-Eurasia jointly with the Municipality of Yaroslavl. The prime targets of the seminar were to exchange experience between city leaders and specialists, obtain new knowledge related to historical and cultural heritage and tourism.

Welcoming remarks at the seminar were made by Artyom Molchanov, Mayor of Yaroslavl, Sergei Kalinin, Chairman of the Municipality of Yaroslavl, Rasikh Sagitov, Secretary General of UCLG-Eurasia, and Vyacheslav Gavrilov, Deputy Mayor of Yaroslavl for Interaction with the Public, International Relations and Support of the City Administration.

"I would like to note that cultural heritage reflects the experience and aspirations of humanity and encourages dialogue between cultures. As the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity states: "Creation draws on the roots of cultural tradition, but flourishes in contact with other cultures," Rasikh Sagitov highlighted.

A rich business and cultural program was prepared for the participants. A number of sessions were held on the first day of the seminar. The relationship between sustainable urban development and cultural heritage, the reflection of efforts to protect and preserve world heritage in voluntary local reviews were discussed during the training "Sustainable Development and Cultural Heritage" the participants discussed. In addition, Evgeny Radchenko, Head of the 3D Graphics and Development Group of the Geoscan Group of Companies, and Anna Asmolova, editor-in-chief of the Preserved Culture project, presented innovative approaches to the preservation of architectural monuments and sites, in particular, the experience of new 3D modeling technologies for ancient Palmyra and pre-war Stalingrad. Artyom Silkin, Director of the Museum-Reserve "Island-town of Sviyazhsk", presented the experience of the World Heritage site of the Assumption Cathedral and Monastery of the island-town of Sviyazhsk. Alexander Degotkov, Deputy Director General for Science of the Yelabuga Museum-Reserve, delivered a speech about the historical and cultural drivers of the development of the territory of Yelabuga, and Rimma Valeeva-Khakimova, Associate Professor of the International Relations, World Politics and Diplomacy Department of the Institute of International Relations, History and Oriental Studies of KFU, made a report on the promotion of the KFU Astronomical Observatories to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The session was moderated by Rasikh Sagitov, Secretary General of UCLG-Eurasia.

The seminar continued with a round table discussion on the regulation of historical development and the protection of cultural heritage sites. Julia Golova, First Deputy Director of the Urban Development Department of the Municipality of Yaroslavl, moderated the segment. Presentations were made by Sergei Belov, Adviser to the Department of State Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, Julia Nazarova, First Deputy Head of the Inspectorate for the Protection of Cultural Heritage Sites of the Kostroma Region, Igor Starkin, Adviser to the Governor of the Ivanovo Region, and Elena Alipova, Acting Deputy Head of the Architecture and Urban Development Department of the Cheboksary City Administration – Chief Architect, Chief Artist of Cheboksary.

The next segment of the event was a round table discussion entitled "Heritage and the New Urban Environment". The speakers of the session were Maxim Atayants, Honored Architect of the Russian Federation, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences, Mikhail Kudryashov, Director of the Institute of Architecture and Design of the Yaroslavl State Technical University. Ramil Ziganshin, Director of the Bolgar Museum-Reserve, spoke about the potential of the historical and cultural heritage and its role in the development of Bolgar, and Ayrat. Faizov, Prefect of the special territory "Old Town" of Kazan, made a report dedicated to the "Old Tatar Settlement of Kazan: a Bridge between the Epochs". Pavel Popov, Chairman of the Committee on Education, Culture, Family and Childhood of the Krasnodar City Duma, made a report as well. The session was moderated by Mikhail Kudryashov.

The round table "Creative Practices for Revitalizing Cultural Heritage" concluded the first day of the seminar. The moderator and speaker was Andrey Maximov, Chairman of the Commission of the Public Chamber of Russia on Territorial Development and Local Self-government, editor-in-chief of the живоенаследие.рф platform and Director General of the Union of Russian Cities. The participants discussed the policies of cities in relation to their cultural heritage, focused not only on issues of preservation, but also on the creative development of heritage.

In particular, these are new approaches to territorial marketing, development of a "cultural code" of territories, and the formation of a creative economy. The session also presented successful practices for promoting traditional culture, tangible and intangible heritage of cities as a result of a creative approach to public space and the simultaneous use of modern technologies. Reports were presented by Evgeny Churkin, Minister of Regional Development of the Yaroslavl Region, Dmitry Oinas, President of the Business Club "Heritage and Economy", Director of Projects "Kolomensky Posad", Dmitry Rudakov, Mayor of Rybinsk, Ilnur Nizamiev, Head of the Department “Museum of Islamic Culture” of the Kazan Kremlin, Svetlana Shamenkova, Chief Architect of the City of Sukhum (the Republic of Abkhazia), and Galina Kolesnikova, Coordinator of UN-Habitat Projects in the Russian Federation.

It should be noted that the seminar was also attended by Fargat Mukhametov, Head of the Spassky District of the Republic of Tatarstan, Mayor of Bolgar, Talgat Tulegenov, Deputy Akim of the city of Turkestan, Olga Milchakova, Deputy Mayor of Khabarovsk for Social Issues, Lyudmila Demikhova, Executive Director of the Union of Cities of the Arctic and Far North, Yury Vasyunkin, Acting Executive Vice-President – Director General of the International Assembly of Capitals and Major Cities, Tatyana Orlova, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture of the Administration of Nizhny Novgorod, Chulpan Bessonova, Director of Neftekamsk Historical and Local History Museum, Natalya Verenich, Head of the Arts Department of the Culture Directorate of the Minsk City Executive Committee and others.

The second day of the seminar focused on the field program with the presentation of urban development experience, as well as experience in improving the city of Yaroslavl.

Thus, the participants learned about modern trends in historical and cultural heritage and sustainable urban development, studied individual experience of Eurasian cities, innovative approaches to the preservation of monuments and sites. UCLG-Eurasia hopes that the participants of the seminar will put new knowledge and gained experience in practice in their cities and make own contribution to cultural heritage and urban development!

13.09.2024

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