Three days, four vectors and over a hundred essayists: how the II Open Dialogue will unfold at the National Centre RUSSIA

One of the key international events of this year — the II Open Dialogue titled "The Future of the World. A New Platform for Global Growth" — will take place from 27 to 29 April at the National Centre RUSSIA. The large-scale three-day programme will bring together expert discussions, presentations by authors of the best essays from around the world, and informal networking with experts.

Day one, 27 April

At 10:00, in the Congress Hall, Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation and Deputy Chairman of the Organising Committee of the National Centre RUSSIA, will deliver a welcome address to participants.

From 10:30 to 15:30, closed pitching sessions will take place. A total of 102 essay authors, out of 1,638, who advanced to the in-person stage will present their ideas across four key vectors: "Investment in people", "Investment in connectivity", "Investment in technology", and "Investment in the environment". Each presentation will be limited to seven minutes.

At 16:30, the results of the voting — involving both jury members and the essayists themselves — will be announced. Four best works in each vector will be selected.

The jury and expert panel, responsible for evaluating presentations and moderating discussions, includes Jian Lian, Founder and CEO of Hengce Investment Co. Ltd (China); Joseph Potvin, economist (Canada); François Ndengwe, Director of the Institute for the New Sciences of Politics (Cameroon); Sergei Ivanov, Executive Director, Board Member and co-owner of EFKO Group (Russia); Vladimir Sedov, founder of Askona company and creator of the private city Dobrograd (Russia); Younes Bennani, President of the Institute for Social and Media Research (Morocco); Matthew Maavak, independent international consultant (Malaysia), and others. Many of them are already familiar to audiences from the first Open Dialogue at the National Centre RUSSIA, while some are authors of the previous essays who received the highest number of votes in their respective vectors, thus demonstrating continuity.

Day two, 28 April

The day will be dedicated to discussing the global growth platform. At 10:00, the programme will officially open. Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation and Deputy Chairman of the Organising Committee of the National Centre RUSSIA, will present a report on global trends expected to shape the world economy in the near future.

Following this, the top essayists from day one will present their projects as part of panel discussions. The schedule is as follows:

From 12:00 to 13:30 — the "Investment in people" vector. The session will be moderated by Selina Neri, co-founder, CEO and Dean of Future Readiness Academy, and visiting professor at the Skolkovo School of Management (UAE). Semifinalists of the vector will take part in the pitching session.

From 14:00 to 15:30 — the "Investment in connectivity" vector. The session will be moderated by Rakhim Oshakbayev, Chief Economist of the Centre for Applied Research TALAP (Kazakhstan). Semifinalists will present their ideas at the pitching session.

From 16:00 to 17:30 — the "Investment in the environment" vector. The session will be moderated by James Law, Founder and CEO of Cybertecture (China). Semifinalists will take part in the pitching session.

From 16:00 to 17:30 — the "Investment in technology" vector. The session will be moderated by Alexei Shpilman, Director for AI Technology Development at T-Technologies (Russia). Semifinalists will present their projects during the pitching session.

Day three, 29 April

On this day, a student Campfire session with Maxim Oreshkin will take place, followed by the final session — the epilogue. The event will conclude with an extensive excursion programme for participants.

The Open Dialogue "The Future of the World. A New Platform for Global Growth" was initiated by the National Centre RUSSIA in 2025 in partnership with the Centre for Cross-Industry Expertise "Third Rome", with the support of the Presidential Executive Office of the Russian Federation. By decision of the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, the event has become annual. This year, following interviews, 102 authors from 43 countries advanced to the in-person stage of the Open Dialogue.