THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY INTERNATIONAL MEDIA FORUM "DIALOGUE OF CULTURES"
Very soon, in September 2026, the Hermitage will host the 20th Anniversary International Media Forum "Dialogue of Cultures." Over 300 representatives of creative industries will once again gather in St. Petersburg to exchange experiences with colleagues from different regions of Russia and other countries.
Over two decades, the "Dialogue" has grown into a major media forum and has become a unique platform that unites young authors, allowing them to showcase their original media projects to a wide audience, receive expert evaluations from recognized masters of the creative industries, and find like-minded professionals. Each year, within this diversity of creative approaches, a genuine intercultural dialogue is born — open, inspiring, and connecting young authors from different corners of the earth.
Over two decades, the "Dialogue" has grown into a major media forum and has become a unique platform that unites young authors, allowing them to showcase their original media projects to a wide audience, receive expert evaluations from recognized masters of the creative industries, and find like-minded professionals. Each year, within this diversity of creative approaches, a genuine intercultural dialogue is born — open, inspiring, and connecting young authors from different corners of the earth.
The historic venue of the forum remains unchanged — the halls of the State Hermitage Museum. It was here, more than two and a half centuries ago, that the idea of cultural dialogue as the foundation for mutual understanding between peoples originated.
Museums, in fact, are institutions that show how to unite different cultural values, different traditional values. Because the dialogue we arrange — the dialogue of sovereign cultures, reminding them that they are all sovereign to a certain limit, but actually all non-sovereign, united before something higher — that is precisely the task of a museum.
Mikhail Piotrovsky
General Director of the State Hermitage Museum
The Forum will once again become a hub of live communication, inviting young (ages 18 to 35) journalists, photographers, directors and camera operators, bloggers, media artists, motion designers, and AI specialists from various countries to exchange experiences, collaborate, and shape future trends in media and creative industries. Students from journalism and mass communication faculties in Russia and Eurasian countries will also have the opportunity to make their first career stop at the Hermitage.
From February 20 to July 10, 2026, submissions of original works are open. The best entries will be presented at the Forum in the Hermitage and at other iconic venues in St. Petersburg. Accepted formats include cross-border media projects, longreads, photo and video projects, blogs and media art, as well as works created using AI technologies that most vividly describe the unique culture of different countries and tell the stories of the inhabitants of your country or region.
Forum Tracks
At the International Media Congress "Dialogue of Cultures in the Era of Digital Media", journalists, bloggers, and AI creators will answer the question of how the media landscape is transforming in our rapidly changing world.
The best visual projects will be presented at the International Multimedia Exhibition "Here I Live" in the General Staff Building of the Hermitage
Winning video projects will be included in the screening program of the International Video Content Festival "Here I Live" at the Hermitage Theatre
Media Congress "Intercultural Dialogue and Digital Media"
An idea space where creators use media tools to produce content that reveals the diversity and uniqueness of cultures. Young professionals (aged 18−35), representatives of the creative industries will gather here to showcase their projects and discuss new formats.
You can take part in the competition and submit works for three sessions:
• Media Landscape Today: Heroes, Platforms, and New Formats
• Storytelling Without Borders: Author-generated Content in the Blogosphere
• AI: a New Language for Intercultural Dialogue
The dialogue invites bloggers, media specialists, all those who bring new ideas to life in diverse formats: digital and multimedia projects, interactive platforms, cross-media narratives, and other innovative ways of transmitting meanings across cultures. Winners will have the opportunity to present their cross-border project at the Hermitage, attend speaker presentations, and find like-minded individuals.
Venue: Hermitage Theatre
Date: September, 2026
You can take part in the competition and submit works for three sessions:
• Media Landscape Today: Heroes, Platforms, and New Formats
• Storytelling Without Borders: Author-generated Content in the Blogosphere
• AI: a New Language for Intercultural Dialogue
The dialogue invites bloggers, media specialists, all those who bring new ideas to life in diverse formats: digital and multimedia projects, interactive platforms, cross-media narratives, and other innovative ways of transmitting meanings across cultures. Winners will have the opportunity to present their cross-border project at the Hermitage, attend speaker presentations, and find like-minded individuals.
Venue: Hermitage Theatre
Date: September, 2026
Visual projects exhibition "Here I Live"
A unique platform gathering works that reflect the unique diversity of cultures. Through the camera lens, age-old traditions, customs, and distinctive details of everyday life are revealed. Thanks to the sensitive eye of photographers, viewers get a chance to touch the cultural heritage of different countries and see the world through the eyes of other peoples.
We invite young creators aged 18−35 working with the medium of photography to participate. Portraits, documentary series, reportage — any genre and format that conveys the richness of cultural values. The best works, selected by an expert jury, will be displayed at the Hermitage’s General Staff Building.
Venue: General Staff Building of the Hermitage
Dates: September, 2026
We invite young creators aged 18−35 working with the medium of photography to participate. Portraits, documentary series, reportage — any genre and format that conveys the richness of cultural values. The best works, selected by an expert jury, will be displayed at the Hermitage’s General Staff Building.
Venue: General Staff Building of the Hermitage
Dates: September, 2026
Video content festival
"Here I Live"
"Here I Live"
As part of the forum, a large-scale showcase of video stories will take place — from television reports to short (up to 13 minutes) animated and documentary films. The screen will come alive with stories about traditions and customs, the intertwining of cultures and the modern world, about people who lovingly create and develop their work in their native land.
Young journalists from TV channels, directors, cinematographers, documentary filmmakers, animators, bloggers, and other representatives of the video industry aged 18−35 can submit their work for the competition.
Venue: Hermitage Theatre
Dates: September, 2026
Young journalists from TV channels, directors, cinematographers, documentary filmmakers, animators, bloggers, and other representatives of the video industry aged 18−35 can submit their work for the competition.
Venue: Hermitage Theatre
Dates: September, 2026
Special category
"Dialogue of the Future"
"Dialogue of the Future"
"Dialogue of the Future" is an opportunity to look ahead and show what the world could become. Young participants will be able to express their vision through visual imagery, combining technology and creativity, personal meanings and global ideas. This is a conversation about the future where every perspective and every color matters.
Authors aged 18−35 are invited to participate: designers, illustrators, animators, and all those who can think in images and speak the language of visual art. Works in the format of posters, short animated clips, and photographs created using artificial intelligence technologies are accepted for the competition.
Venue: General Staff Building of the Hermitage
Date: September, 2026
Authors aged 18−35 are invited to participate: designers, illustrators, animators, and all those who can think in images and speak the language of visual art. Works in the format of posters, short animated clips, and photographs created using artificial intelligence technologies are accepted for the competition.
Venue: General Staff Building of the Hermitage
Date: September, 2026
The "Dialogue of Cultures" will open with the media congress "Intercultural Dialogue and Digital Media," during which participants will present their projects reflecting the cultural characteristics of their countries and regions. The media congress is divided into three sessions dedicated to media, bloggers, and artificial intelligence. In each session, authors can participate and listen to expert speeches.
The Video Content Festival "Here I Live," which will take place at the Hermitage Theatre and other venues in St. Petersburg, will showcase stories about traditions and customs, about people and the interweaving of cultures. This track will include works of various genres produced by young journalists from TV channels, directors, camera operators, and other representatives of the video industry.
The International Multimedia Exhibition "Here I Live", lasting a week in the halls of the General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum, will feature over 200 works by young participants of the Dialogue. The exposition will narrate the life of different regions of Russia and the world, their heroes and cultural features, demonstrating the authors' contemporary creative approaches.
A special section, "Dialogue of the Future," will show how young media artists of Eurasia envision the future path of dialogue. This section will include posters, animated screensavers, photographs, and other visual projects created in collaboration with artificial intelligence.
A special section, "Dialogue of the Future," will show how young media artists of Eurasia envision the future path of dialogue. This section will include posters, animated screensavers, photographs, and other visual projects created in collaboration with artificial intelligence.
At the forum, "Dialogue" participants can look forward to master classes from leading figures in the creative industries. These sessions will discuss the interaction between art and technology, and the role of local traditions in the global media space.
"Three Days in Russia" are on-location shoots that will take place as part of the "Dialogue of Cultures." Invited contest winners will create joint reports about St. Petersburg and the Hermitage, as well as about new directions. In these reports, international participants will share their creative perspective on modern Russia and craft engaging stories in their own languages.
Dialogue begins when we see not only the creativity of the new generation of the Eurasian space, but also their countries, when we start to learn their history and culture. Because the most important thing in our dialogue is that we must hear and see each other. And not talk about dialogue, but conduct it.
Ashot Dhazoyan
Organizer of the "Dialogue of Cultures" Media Forum
Over the twenty years of the forum’s existence, thousands of projects dedicated to cultural heritage, contemporary artistic practices, and strengthening mutual understanding between countries have been created within its framework.
Today, "Dialogue of Cultures" is not just an event, but a whole history, a living testament to how art and media help us speak the same language while preserving the uniqueness of each voice. Become part of this important process — contribute to intercultural dialogue.
Today, "Dialogue of Cultures" is not just an event, but a whole history, a living testament to how art and media help us speak the same language while preserving the uniqueness of each voice. Become part of this important process — contribute to intercultural dialogue.
2026. Media Congress «Commonwealth of journalists»
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