The importance of international cooperation was discussed at the Symposium "Inventing the Future"

The final plenary discussion, held at the site of the International Symposium "Inventing the Future", brought together moderators and speakers of previous events of the symposium, and they formulated the most significant results of the joint work. The event took place at the National Center "RUSSIA" in Moscow. 

In his opening remarks, Denis Manturov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, stressed the importance of developing international cooperation in the scientific and social spheres. The most promising areas of scientific research in the modern world are the development of artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, robotics and unmanned vehicles, genetics, biopharma and personalized medicine, management of thermonuclear fusion and the development of methods to reduce man-made impacts on the biosphere of the planet, as well as introducing conditions for deep space exploration. These solutions can radically change the socio-cultural landscape, will be the key to improving life expectancy and quality, for eliminating poverty and hunger. 

"But in order to achieve all this, humanity needs to work together. The symposium, which brought together representatives from more than 100 countries, is an important step towards understanding this need. I think you will agree that no state is capable of forming the entire complex of technologies of tomorrow, it is simply impossible. We should cooperate, putting aside excessive protectionism, restrictions and unfair competition. Russia expects to become one of the key participants in such cooperation for the sake of the future, and to do this, we have experience of effective work on global scientific and social projects of the modern world," Denis Manturov said. 

The foreign guests of the Symposium spoke about the need to develop equal and fair cooperation as a fundamental principle of international relations in various fields, as well. Among them was John Molera, a lawyer and geopolitical analyst from the United States of America. 

Mr. Molera noted that the event in Moscow once again clearly demonstrated the importance of the so-called "soft power", since it succeeded in bring together such a representative composition of participants from a large number of countries around the world. It was a continuation of the trend towards the growth of independence of various countries and civilizations in the international arena, he stressed. 

"These countries are trying to do something despite the dominance of the Western countries, they play a more important role, based on history, among other things. The West’s reaction to this is quite aggressive, they don’t like that someone is building up forces. But if you look at it historically, Russia has important qualities, including courage, which has been demonstrated more than once by the Russian people. And the Chinese people have earned the status of outstanding for their abilities to self-realization. Peoples and nations as a whole are beginning to play a different, more significant role," John Molera pointed out. 

Pavlos Lagoudakis, Head of the Skoltech Hybrid Photonics Laboratory, Director of the Skoltech Center for Photonics and Photonic Technologies, Senior Vice President for Fundamental Research at Skoltech, raised an important issue of the necessity to develop a system of public control over scientific and technological developments. At the same time, in his opinion, in modern Russia, the system of interaction between the state, society and the scientific and technological community is built more effectively than in the United States, where most of this area is left to large corporations. This produces the high level of synergy that is being achieved in the Russian science.

Journalist and futurist Johann Wegmann Peña expressed similar thoughts, noting the need to develop standardization of scientific research and technological developments in order to avoid the uncontrolled use of, for example, robotics or artificial intelligence for selfish interests.

The International Symposium "Inventing the Future" is being held from November 4 to 6. Participants include scientists, researchers, futurists, science fiction writers, and representatives from government bodies from 101 countries, including Russia, India, Italy, Iran, China, the UAE, Serbia, the USA, and France. The program features over 60 sessions across four tracks: "Future of Human," "Future of Technology," "Future of Multipolar World," and "Future of Civilizations." The program and event broadcasts are available at the website future.russia.ru.

The International Symposium "Inventing the Future" is the first event of the National Centre RUSSIA, which was established on July 1, 2024, by the order of President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The Centre aims to preserve the legacy of the International RUSSIA EXPO and showcase the achievements of the country and its citizens. The work of the Centre involves federal authorities, state companies, corporations, and regions.