The Saint Petersburg International Museum Forum

The Saint Petersburg International Museum Forum, organized by the Union of Russian Museums with the support of the Intergovernmental Foundation for Educational, Scientific and Cultural Cooperation was held on November 1st and 2nd of 2011.

The ceremonial opening of the forum was held on November 1st at the State Hermitage Museum.

Dmitry Kozak, the Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Grigory Ivliyev, the Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Shvydkoy, the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cultural Cooperation, Georgy Poltavchenko, the Governor of Saint Petersburg, and Vadim Tyulpanov, the Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of Saint Petersburg, addressed the assembled guests at the opening of the Forum.

Mikhail Piotrovsky, the Director of the State Hermitage Museum and the President of the Union of Russian Museums, opened the first plenary session with a presentation dedicated to the latest problems of museum life.

About 300 representatives from museums in 50 regions of Russia participated in the Forum, also with museum workers from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Poland, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.

After the Forum came to an end and the concluding remarks were made, a celebratory gathering dedicated to the 10-year anniversary of the formation of the Union of Russian Museums was held.

At the opening of the Museum Forum

The Forum Participants

Dmitry Kozak, the Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation

Grigory Ivliyev, the Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation