News from the UNESCO Chair on Comparative Studies of Spiritual Traditions, their Specific Cultures and Interreligious Dialogue
On 24 December 2024, the International Forum ‘This is My World: Territories, Languages, Cultures in Sustainable Development’ took place in Ufa, which is the capital of Republic of Bashkortostan.
Bashkortostan is situated at the Eastern border of Europe, near to the Ural mountains and abounds in mineral resources and has quite strong industry and agriculture. Its dominant population are Bashkirs, who speak a Turkic language, and who are mostly Sunni Muslims. The cultural heritage of Bashkortostan is rich, starting from cave carvings of Shulgan-tash, dating back to Paleolithic age, and ending with Voskresensk copper factories, founded in the late 18th century (both which have recently been nominated for World Heritage List).
Intercultural dialogue between Bashkirs, Russians and people of other nations living in Bashkortostan is most active and mostly successful. In formal terms, Bashkortostan forms an integral part of the Russian Federation. The Forum was organised under the auspices of Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, and the State University of Ufa. Representatives of quite a few local universities and research centres, as well as international representatives from countries including Malaysia and Iran, took part in its work.
The Chair was represented by D. Spivak, who gave a plenary talk dedicated to Intercultural Dialogue and Sustainable Development in UNESCO Strategy. Spivak’s presentation considered problems and prospects in linking intercultural dialogue to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda of Goals of Sustainable Development. The Forum provided new insights into the best practices of dialogue, and new academic connections.