Rector ruminates cultural heritage during panel session

The discussion, titled ‘The role of UNESCO World Heritage in sustainable regional development’, was held on 17 May at KFU’s Emperor Ballroom as part of Russia – Islamic World KazanForum 2023.

Dr Lenar Safin greeted the participants by noting, “Tatarstan’s achievements show that we have amassed immense expertise in cultural heritage, museology, culture studies, and tourism. Kazan Federal University is one of the national leaders in professional training in these areas.”

He reminded that KFU and Tatarstan Academy of Sciences prrepare nomination dossiers to include Engelhardt Astronomical Observatory into UNESCO World Heritage Lists.

State Counsellor, ex-President of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev – who is also UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador – then took the floor. He spoke about his personal experience in cultural heritage, “65 thousand benefactors from many countries supported us in reconstructing ancient monuments of Eastern Orthodox and Muslim traditions. And we are proud to have three UNESCO World Heritage objects here in Tatarstan.” The statesman emphasized that Tatarstan always pays utmost attention to the equality of cultures and religions.

Greetings were also extended by Speaker of the State Council (Parliament) of Tatarstan Farid Mukhametshin, Chief of Staff of the Cabinet of Ministers of Tatarstan Shamil Gafarov, Director of the Department of Multilateral Humanitarian Cooperation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) Alexander Alimov, Permanent Representative of Russia at UNESCO Rinat Alyautdinov, General Secretary of the Assembly of Eurasian Peoples Andrey Belyaninov, First Vice-Rector Dmitry Tayursky, and others.

The panel discussion takes up two days and tackles issues of cultural heritage in tourism, quality of life, investment climate, and other questions. It is joined by ambassadors, UNESCO representatives, ministers, and cultural heritage executives, as well as academics in relevant fields.