Media sphere of influence
Media sphere of influence Eurasia became the main theme of the «Dialogue of Cultures» forum
Participants of the 18th «Dialogue of Cultures» media forum, which kicked off at the State Hermitage Museum, focused on the contemporary image of people living on the largest continent on Earth. Portraits of individuals from the most remote and central areas of the continent formed the basis of both the photo exhibition and the documentary works by journalists and bloggers from the 29 countries who arrived for the forum. Read more about the conference in this report by Izvestia.
Photo: Media Congress «Commonwealth of Journalists»
Conveying your own impressions
Traditionally, the media forum was opened by the Director of the State Hermitage, Mikhail Piotrovsky, who highlighted the special atmosphere of the Hermitage Theatre, where 335 forum participants from 29 countries gathered.
The Director of the Hermitage offered young journalists and bloggers from around the world the opportunity not only to freely explore the museum's masterpieces during the forum days but also to take photographs in any of the halls of this cultural treasure trove. The idea was immediately picked up by popular Spanish blogger Manuel Grela, who has an audience of 500,000. He announced that he would film a story for his blog about the Hermitage, as well as about smelt — a favorite delicacy of St. Petersburg residents — and about boating on the rivers and canals. The charismatic blogger brought to the forum a video sketch from a Madrid café where he chatted with Russian girls living in Spain. He learned from them how to dance in a circle (khorovod) and tried to find out why they still gather in kitchens for philosophical conversations, just as they did back home.
The Director of the Hermitage offered young journalists and bloggers from around the world the opportunity not only to freely explore the museum's masterpieces during the forum days but also to take photographs in any of the halls of this cultural treasure trove. The idea was immediately picked up by popular Spanish blogger Manuel Grela, who has an audience of 500,000. He announced that he would film a story for his blog about the Hermitage, as well as about smelt — a favorite delicacy of St. Petersburg residents — and about boating on the rivers and canals. The charismatic blogger brought to the forum a video sketch from a Madrid café where he chatted with Russian girls living in Spain. He learned from them how to dance in a circle (khorovod) and tried to find out why they still gather in kitchens for philosophical conversations, just as they did back home.
The bloggers also visited the Pushkin Museum-Apartment at 12 Moika Embankment. A highlight of the plenary session on May 22, the first day of the forum, was the poet's verses about the city. They were recited by the «Young Goodwill Ambassadors of St. Petersburg» — students from School No. 210 — who also gifted those present with badges featuring the profile of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin.
Students from the Moscow State Linguistic University (MSLU) recited poems in Serbian, Armenian, Belarusian, Georgian, Spanish, Greek, Uzbek, Tajik, Kazakh, Bulgarian, Kyrgyz, and Italian. To enhance the flavor, the young people dressed in the national costumes of the peoples whose languages they are studying.
Students from the Moscow State Linguistic University (MSLU) recited poems in Serbian, Armenian, Belarusian, Georgian, Spanish, Greek, Uzbek, Tajik, Kazakh, Bulgarian, Kyrgyz, and Italian. To enhance the flavor, the young people dressed in the national costumes of the peoples whose languages they are studying.
Vladimir Kochin, Executive Director of the Russkiy Mir Foundation, which provides financial and organizational support to the forum, told Izvestia about new trends in promoting the Russian language abroad. According to him, the increase in the number of people studying Russian in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia is mainly due to Ukrainian refugees. They enroll in Russian philology departments to obtain higher education.
«We are seeing a surge of interest in the Russian language in Africa, and I noticed the highest quality of teaching in Iran, which I recently visited. Eastern Europe has become another growth area»
Vladimir Kochin
Executive Director of the Russkiy Mir Foundation
«We are seeing a surge of interest in the Russian language in Africa, and I noticed the highest quality of teaching in Iran, which I recently visited. Eastern Europe has become another growth area»
Portrait exhibition
On the second day of the forum, May 23, the organizers arranged a «White Nights Morning» photo session for guests around 6:00 a.m. so that the visiting photographers and video bloggers could capture the most flattering light for portrait photography — soft, warm, and non-contrastive.
In conversations with young bloggers on the sidelines of the forum, Vladimir Soloviev advised them to pay attention to the faces of people viewing paintings in the Hermitage. In his opinion, at such a moment a person becomes a particularly interesting subject for photography. If someone takes this advice, they could create a new interpretation of a theme already embodied by documentary film classic Pavel Kogan in his 1966 film «Look at the Face». Using a camera hidden from viewers, Kogan captured the movement of thought on the faces of Hermitage visitors in the hall housing Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, the «Madonna Litta».
In conversations with young bloggers on the sidelines of the forum, Vladimir Soloviev advised them to pay attention to the faces of people viewing paintings in the Hermitage. In his opinion, at such a moment a person becomes a particularly interesting subject for photography. If someone takes this advice, they could create a new interpretation of a theme already embodied by documentary film classic Pavel Kogan in his 1966 film «Look at the Face». Using a camera hidden from viewers, Kogan captured the movement of thought on the faces of Hermitage visitors in the hall housing Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece, the «Madonna Litta».
The finished portraits, taken by contestants from Russia, Tajikistan, Mexico, Kyrgyzstan, Greece, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Kazakhstan, China, Uzbekistan, France, Turkey, and Azerbaijan, are presented in a photo exhibition at the Hermitage's General Staff Building.
The exhibition features about 400 photographs by 50 young authors, although around 3,000 photo stories were submitted for selection. According to Ashot Dhazoyan, many photographers sent up to 50 works, leaving the choice to the organizers. He noted strong works by authors from Uzbekistan, the Donetsk People's Republic, Egypt, Italy, and Mexico. After the forum concludes, plans are in place to hold the exhibition in various cities across Russia.
The exhibition features about 400 photographs by 50 young authors, although around 3,000 photo stories were submitted for selection. According to Ashot Dhazoyan, many photographers sent up to 50 works, leaving the choice to the organizers. He noted strong works by authors from Uzbekistan, the Donetsk People's Republic, Egypt, Italy, and Mexico. After the forum concludes, plans are in place to hold the exhibition in various cities across Russia.
«This year we asked [participants] to pay attention to the ordinary person in their country. We see the faces of different people, but within the exhibition format, they are in dialogue. We managed to emphasize a new narrative — to talk more about the individual, because it is the person who is the main hero of our lives»
Ashot Dhazoyan
Chairman of the Media Congress «Commonwealth of Journalists», Secretary of the Journalists' Union of Russia
«This year we asked [participants] to pay attention to the ordinary person in their country. We see the faces of different people, but within the exhibition format, they are in dialogue. We managed to emphasize a new narrative — to talk more about the individual, because it is the person who is the main hero of our lives»
In addition to St. Petersburg, participants of the «Dialogue of Cultures» media forum will visit Klin, where the museum of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is located.
«Tchaikovsky is our everything in music, just as Pushkin is in literature»
Vladimir Soloviev
Chairman of the Journalists' Union of Russia
«Чайковский — наше все в музыке, как Пушкин в словесности»
They will also visit Tula, Leo Tolstoy's estate «Yasnaya Polyana», Tver, and Veliky Novgorod. Vladimir Soloviev, Chairman of the Journalists' Union of Russia, gave them his parting words.
«Convey your own personal impressions to your audience»
Vladimir Soloviev
Chairman of the Journalists' Union of Russia
«Convey your own personal impressions to your audience»