Around 30 events featured in the programme of the second day of the International Symposium "Inventing the Future" at the National Centre RUSSIA
What will a just world shaped together with Russia look like? How will the labour market and people’s daily lives transform? How will our cities and fashion evolve? These and other topics will be discussed on the second day of the International Symposium "Inventing the Future" at the National Centre RUSSIA. The event, bringing together representatives from 85 countries and all regions of Russia, is being held on 7 – 8 October with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
The Symposium includes an expert programme for professionals and an open programme for the general public. The second day will feature discussions, interactive sessions, lectures, case studies by scientists, the First Neurocontent Cup, debates between techno-optimists and techno-pessimists, presentations by the finalists of the "Successful Patent" competition, a culinary show "Food of the Future", a video workshop for teenagers, a robotics exposition, and much more. Following the expert discussions, visualisations using modern AI technologies will be prepared and presented to a wide audience.
As part of the "Society" track on 8 October, participants from various countries will discuss the cultural institutions of the future, changes in the labour market, and the style of modern Russia, as well as define the role of social trust as a key resource for social development. During the strategic session of the VCIOM Analytical Centre, a bank of demographic solutions aimed at improving the situation will be formed. Meanwhile, participants of the "New Media Workshop" will analyse the content of the future and prepare methodological recommendations for working with it effectively.
The "Society" track on the second day will also include special formats. These feature a video workshop for teenagers, where participants of the All-Russian contest "Dreams of the Future" will bring their creative ideas to life with the support of a mentor. A highlight of the day will be the First Neurocontent Cup by the presidential platform "Russia — Land of Opportunity", supporting specialists who use neural networks to create relevant content for government and commercial organisations.
Experts participating in the "Technology" track will discuss biotechnologies transforming medicine, quantum transformation, and the markets of the future. They will also analyse the technological priorities of the space industry and develop scenarios for the future of space technologies.
On 8 October, discussions within the "Global Cooperation" track will focus on a systemic assessment of humanity’s development on a global scale and on cooperation between Russia and the Global South in major international projects.
The open educational programme on 8 October will feature lectures on strategic forecasting and upcoming changes in design. Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova will speak about the evolution of public diplomacy — from traditional communication to digital storytelling.
During the open lecture series "Human of the Future Day", audiences will learn how homes, streets, transport, food, leisure, and self-expression will evolve. Speakers’ presentations will be accompanied by visualised scenarios.
The open programme will also include heated debates between techno-optimists and techno-pessimists, and between advocates of "protocol" and "creative" diplomacy. At the session "Case Studies: Projects and Innovations Changing the World", scientists will share personal stories about how a scientific idea is born and the challenges it must overcome.
The special-format event "Successful Patent. Best Presentations" will give everyone the opportunity to meet outstanding young inventors. A discussion with the finalists of the "Successful Patent" competition will focus on transferring scientific developments into the real economy, and the winners will be announced at the end.
With the support of the Artek International Children’s Centre, the quest "Bridge to Tomorrow: The Voice of a Generation" will take place, where Artek students will present their vision for the development of humanity, family, society, and the country. The participants will draft a resolution reflecting their ideas.
And of course, the culinary show "Food of the Future" will leave no one indifferent. During the show, chefs and head bartenders, using the latest equipment, will create unique drinks and dishes. All served to guests by robot waiters.
Registration for the open programme events is available on the website.
In addition, the second day of the Symposium will feature the signing of cooperation agreements aimed at implementing thematic initiatives of the Decade of Science and Technology in Russia. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation will sign a bilateral agreement with AST Publishing House LLC. A trilateral agreement will also be signed between the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia, the autonomous non-profit organisation "National Priorities", and the "Contribution to the Future" Charitable Foundation. The partners’ joint projects will focus on promoting the genres of fantasy and science fiction, popular science and applied literature, and attracting talented young people to the fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Throughout the day, visitors will be able to explore the robotics exposition, which will feature a robot artist at work, tricks by robot dogs and cats, conversations with the humanoid robot Ardi, and interactive games such as drone basketball and drone football. In the Gastronomic Rows area, Symposium participants will be treated by a robot ice-cream maker and a robot barista, while robot waiters will deliver orders directly to their tables.
The International Symposium "Inventing the Future" is organised at the instruction of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, under the aegis of the Decade of Science and Technology in Russia, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. The analytical partner of the Symposium is the VCIOM Analytical Centre, and the literary partner is the Eksmo-AST Publishing Group.
