"SCIENCE. DIALOGUE. TRUST. WINTER TALKS", FIRST ANNUAL EVENT OF THE VYZOV FOUNDATION, TOOK PLACE ON FEBRUARY, 6

Scientists gathered at the Baltschug Kempinski Hotel to discuss the issues of scientific cooperation and establishing relationships of trust in the international scientific community.

The event began with opening remarks from Elena Eremenko, Vice President of the VYZOV Foundation: "Representatives of more than 25 countries have gathered in this hall today. This gives us hope that our motto "Science. Dialogue. Trust" has resonated with our friends and partners, both new and long-term. I sincerely thank everyone present for their trust in the VYZOV Foundation and for fostering the scientific dialogue."

The participants and guests of the event were welcomed by Mikhail Shvydkoy, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cultural Cooperation, and Dmitry Zauers, Deputy Chairman of Gazprombank's Board (Gazprombank JSC is co-sponsor of the VYZOV Foundation). Physicist Ana Maria Cetto Kramis from the National Autonomous University of Mexico addressed the attendees through a recorded video message. She is a former council member of the Pugwash Conferences, and in 2003-2010 she served as IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation. Both of these organizations have won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Speech by Dmitry Zauers, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Gazprombank. Source: photobank of VYZOV Foundation

The event featured three discussion panels: Science moderated by Artem Oganov, Chairman of the VYZOV Prize Scientific Committee; Dialogue moderated by Elena Eremenko, Vice President of the VYZOV Foundation; and Trust moderated by Ruslan Yunusov, co-founder of the Russian Quantum Center.

The first panel focused on matters of international cooperation in tackling global challenges. The participants had a discussion regarding the borders in science and whether it makes sense to distinguish national and international science. The panel was attended by Denis Sekirinsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation; Sergey Kilin, Full Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus; Rudolf Valenta, MD, Medical University of Vienna; and Aleksey Fedorov, Head of Quantum Information Technologies research team at the Russian Quantum Center.

The second panel was dedicated to maintaining international dialogue for sustainable development. Andrey Fursenko, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation, and Mikhail Kovalchuk, President of Kurchatov Institute National Research Centre, shared their thoughts on this topic as well as Thomas Greminger, Director of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, who joined the conversation online. The pivotal issue of the discussion was the meaningful conversation between scientists and the importance of properly structured communication.

  Dialogue discussion panel. Source: photobank of VYZOV Foundation

Participants of Trust panel included Grigory Trubnikov, Director of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research; Ekaterina Solntseva, Director for Digitalization at the State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM; and Archpriest Pavel Velikanov. The panelists deliberated on the model of protected space and trust in the scientific community that was recognized as one of the most crucial components of successful cooperation. One of the main conclusions was that trust can be preserved even when people have contrasting points of view. Another important thought was that international relations, openness to cooperation, and common future cause can plant the seeds of trust between scientists from different countries.

 Trust discussion panel. Source: photobank of VYZOV Foundation

The event featured the reports from Pavlos Lagoudakis, a scientist from the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech), winner of the 2023 VYZOV Prize, and Irek Suleymanov, International Cooperation Advisor to the Director of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research.

Leonid Shlyakhover, President of the VYZOV Foundation, concluded the meeting by extending gratitude to all the participants and speaking about the purpose of the event: "Today we tried to bring together the three words that we believe are important: science, dialogue, and trust. It is up to you to judge the results, but it was the first step. I hope it was a success. In any case, I am convinced that we will continue holding these meetings. We gather a vast expert community, your opinion is important to us, we hear you and listen to you."

Last December, Moscow hosted another major event of the Foundation, the VYZOV Awards Ceremony. The Scientific Committee selected four winners in the following categories: Pavlos Lagoudakis won the Prize in Breakthrough category, Ilya Semerikov became winner in the Future category, Hamlet Khojibagiyan received the award in the Engineering Solution category, and Raul Gainetdinov was named Scientist of the Year. The Prize received the total of 218 applications, and the prize fund in 2023 amounted to 40 million rubles.