The participants of the forum in Yalta adopted the Livadia message of peace.
Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko opened the plenary session of the 5th Livadia International Humanitarian Forum.
The Speaker highlighted the event’s importance for the preservation of the Russian language and culture. She greeted the forum participants, fellow countrymen from all over the world. Valentina Matvienko thanked the Crimean government and local residents for their hospitality and help in organising the event.
A total of over 500 people participated in the forum, while some 170 people made speeches at its panel sessions, the Speaker stated.
During forum discussions, the participants came up with many interesting ideas and proposals, Valentina Matvienko noted, adding that the work on them will continue.
Russian Education Minister Olga Vasilyeva said that a new Interdepartmental Commission for the Preservation, Protection and Development of the Russian Language had recently been established at the Education Ministry. Its agenda includes updating the legal framework concerning the Russian language and searching for new ways to increase interest in studying it around the world. The ministry is also implementing a departmental targeted programme on promoting the study of and education in the Russian language in foreign countries. In 2019, it is planning to open 11 centres in different countries, Olga Vasilyeva said. She also took note of the active work carried out within the framework of the Federation Council’s humanitarian project on sending Russian teachers to work in Tajikistan.
Lomonosov Moscow State University Rector Viktor Sadovnichy said that the forum had become not only a major humanitarian discussion platform, but also a spiritual centre for preserving the Russian language. “The Russian language must remain a language of international communication,” he said, stressing its creative force.
Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council Iliyas Umakhanov spoke on the issue of adopting the forum’s outcome documents. He also presented the Livadia Message of Peace – a document that recognises the need for every state’s strict compliance with the generally recognised principles and standards of international law, which is essential for the preservation of peace in the world. This message is addressed to heads of states, parliamentarians, international governmental and non-governmental organisations, culture and education professionals and all those who believe the preservation of peace to be the main mission of human civilisation.
It is symbolic that this document is to be adopted in Yalta, the city where the foundation of a post-war world order was laid 75 years ago, Iliyas Umakhanov added.
The session participants voted in favour of the Message unanimously, while also adopting the forum’s Resolution as the basis.
Speakers at the plenary session included Head of the Republic of Crimea Sergei Aksyonov, Chair of the State Council of the Republic of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov, Head of the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs Igor Barinov, Head of the Supervisory Board at the Russian Humanitarian Mission Yevgeny Primakov and Head of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Leonid Kalashnikov.
The list of forum participants included Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs Konstantin Kosachyov, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture Zinaida Dragunkina, Chair of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy Andrei Kutepov, Federation Council members, State Duma deputies, heads of federal authorities, representatives of international organisations as well as scientific and educational institutions, and foreign guests.