The "Back to the Future" conference brought together more than 1,000 participants at the National Centre RUSSIA

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As part of the 34th International Educational Christmas Readings, the conference "Back to the Future" was held at the National Centre RUSSIA. The event was organised by the All-Russian public movement "Sorok Sorokov" with the support of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and the Media. The conference brought together more than 60 leading speakers and over 1,000 participants, including members of the clergy, government officials, deputies, athletes, civic activists and experts in demography, culture and education.

The conference opened with the plenary session "Shaping the Future Based on Thousand-Year Spiritual and Moral Values". Deputy Chair of the State Duma Anna Kuznetsova took part in the session.

The moderator was Andrei Kormukhin, Coordinating Founder of the All-Russian movement "Sorok Sorokov", Chair of the "Family" movement, film director and composer: "The first ‘Back to the Future’ conference marks the beginning of a long journey. Today, Russia is beginning to search for an image of the future that would allow it to establish itself as a state-civilisation — the centre of one of the poles of a multipolar world. We believe that the main foundation of our originality and civilisational identity is the God-centred nature of thousand-year-old Russia. Our demography and morality, sovereignty and international positioning are directly correlated with the revival of traditional spiritual and moral values that have developed over many centuries."

Governor of the Vologda Region Georgy Filimonov spoke about the results of the region’s work: "Development is impossible without relying on thousand-year traditions and, at the same time, on real and effective mechanisms. That is why we launched the regional programme ‘Family — the Pillar of the Russian North’ and built an integrated system of support. Thanks to a comprehensive set of measures, last year we overcame depopulation in the Vologda region for the first time in 11 years, and the number of first births increased. We are engaged in abortion prevention and are seeing clear, tangible results."

According to Archbishop Nikanor of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and the Kuril Islands, today’s challenges in the fields of demography, education and culture can only be overcome if the moral law is restored in people’s hearts as the foundation of a social contract.

"We must offer a Christian interpretation of modern challenges, including artificial intelligence. In the 15th century there was no AI, yet today we see how it is changing life, and we must rise to these challenges. We must constantly learn and be no less competent than those who use these technologies. We cannot turn off the internet or shut down data centres; instead, we must learn to act in the new realities and teach children to know God and to struggle in an environment that is complex — more complex than the one that existed 100 years ago," said Vakhtang Kipshidze, Deputy Chair of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and the Media.

In the second half of the day, the conference continued with six thematic sections, where participants discussed practical mechanisms for implementing the ideas voiced during the plenary session.

The "Back to the Future" conference was dedicated to discussing the implementation of Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 309, drawing on Russia’s thousand-year historical and spiritual experience.