Maxim Oreshkin: "The Open Dialogue is a promising international platform for experts"

Over two years, the Open Dialogue has brought together participants from more than 100 countries and laid the groundwork for a global discussion about the future, from restructuring the financial system to transforming the economy through technology. Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of Russia, highlighted this on 12 November at the opening of the III International Symposium "Inventing the Future".

"Over the past two years, the Open Dialogue initiative has steadily gained momentum. This platform is gaining international standing year by year. In April this year, we held the Open Dialogue forum 'The Future of the World. A New Platform for Global Growth'. The discussion focused on concrete issues. What is particularly important is that this time the essay contest we run as part of the initiative received more than 1,600 entries in 20 languages from more than 100 countries. It is very important to us to create a platform where experts, businesspeople and scientists from different countries can put forward their ideas, discuss them and, in doing so, change the world around us for the better. We hold an essay contest, experts select the best entries and we invite all the authors of those entries to Moscow. This time, 102 people from 43 countries took part in the in-person stage, and all of them came to Moscow," noted Maxim Oreshkin.

He said the main achievement behind those figures was bringing together like-minded people and creating a space for open discussion about how humanity will develop in the 21st century. That means looking at how the global economy and financial system will be reshaped, what impact demographic changes around the world will have and, of course, what the technological transformation of society as a whole and the development of human capital will mean.

"All these key challenges were addressed in the final report. Drawing on the April Open Dialogue, the report was presented at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum and was available to anyone who wanted to read it in June this year. It was a genuinely high-quality report. It brought together the findings from the work we had done and provided a basis for further discussion," added Maxim Oreshkin.

The expert report on the outcomes of the Open Dialogue "The Future of the World. A New Platform for Global Growth" was presented on 24 June at the National Centre RUSSIA. Experts from the Centre for Cross-Industry Expertise "The Third Rome" prepared the report. They analysed the discussions and essays from the April event, drew key conclusions about global trends and identified promising areas for further work by experts.

The III International Symposium "Inventing the Future" is being held on 12–13 November at the National Centre RUSSIA and brings together more than 8,000 participants from 109 countries. It features three thematic tracks — "Human and Values", "Culture and the Arts" and "Progress" — as well as special formats and a youth programme. The first day of the Symposium will give particular attention to events for young people. Young audiences will find inspiration in the training sessions "Back to the Future: Habits for the Brain" and "The Art of Presence: How to Develop Empathy and Intuition, and Manage Anxiety", the public talks "Big Questions: Why Explore the Depths of the Ocean?" and "Love for Russia That Unites Us", and the visionary session "Reviving Extinct Species: The Future of Nature in the Age of De-Extinction".