Dear friends and colleagues, readers of the Vestnik of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO in Russia and abroad!
This year, the year of the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected all of us, has brought serious challenges in all areas of UNESCO activities. Closures of educational institutions, cultural organizations and museums, cancellation of sporting events, the need to deliver objective information about the pandemic through the media, as well as the whole range of ethical issues — these are common challenges facing each and every member state of our Organization.
The Vestnik will give a detailed account of how the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO, national cultural and educational institutions have responded to these challenges. We will provide some background to demonstrate how we tackled similar troubles in the past, because the current epidemic is not the first one in the history of mankind. As the old saying goes, “every cloud has a silver lining”. We can say these words when speaking of immortal works of art that were created during such periods. Famous self-isolation of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, known as the Boldino Autumn, is a great example that quarantine can be not only a test, but also a source of inspiration.
Staying true to its traditions, Vestnik will share the news about significant UNESCO-related events that took place in Russia and will spread the word about masterpieces of tangible and intangible heritage of our country.
What really matters is that even in such difficult times, UNESCO ideals and principles continue to bring people together. Eventually, we will leave all problems and difficulties behind. We are sure of it!
Wishing good health to you and your loved ones!
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Contents
- Executive Board
Paris hosted 209th regular session of UNESCO Executive Board - UNESCO and the Coronavirus Pandemic
UNESCO facing the new global challenge: Organization’s activities amidst the worldwide epidemic - Greatness and the Power of Culture
Award ceremony of the 2019 Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation in the field of culture - The “Eurasia Global” Youth Forum
The 5th International Youth Forum was held in the Orenburg Region under the auspices of UNESCO - Bioethics and COVID-19
The Russian Bioethics Committee discussed ethical and psychological aspects of COVID-19 - The Global Education Coalition
UNESCO launched the Global Education Coalition to support schools in the times of distance learning - A Simple Urgent Mission
100 years ago, Vladimir Lenin signed a decree “On the elimination of illiteracy in the RSFSR”, marking the start of mass teaching of reading and writing among the people - An Alphabet Book to Eradicate Illiteracy
Main alphabet books in the Soviet Russia after introduction of the new spelling rules in 1918 - The Louse and Death are Buddies
A unique collection of Russian posters of the late 19th — early 20th centuries - Home Jazz Day
The 9th International Jazz Day was held online for the first time - Where Chaliapin, Stradivari, and Vrubel Come to Meet
The Russian National Museum of Music — Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow - COVID-19 and Museums
Results of UNESCO and ICOM research on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic
on museums - Museums in Quarantine
Directors of Russian museums share their experience of forced “move to online” - Stories from the First Museums in Russia
A selection of curious museum stories that took place in the 19th and 20th centuries Russia - Museum Workers Miss Visitors
Keeping up with modern traditions: museum flashmob - Officially the First
Yangan-Tau officially included in the list of UNESCO Global Geoparks - From a Nature Reserve to a UNESCO Geopark
Criteria for inclusion in UNESCO Global Geoparks Network were discussed at the 10th International Cultural Forum - Cities with Centuries of History
- The True Pearl of Eastern Siberia
UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List: Historic Center of Irkutsk - Plague in Italian Style
Quarantine Island as the only way to combat epidemic in the past - Not for a Long Time Have I Written as Productively as I Have in Boldino
The work of the great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin during the cholera epidemic in Russia - Between Soviet Classics and French Art Nouveau
Kievskaya metro station in Moscow as Russian cultural heritage site
of regional importance - Wild Prowess Knows No Bounds
Russian hunting with hounds as part of noble life and culture - From Nowhere With Love
Joseph Brodsky, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, turned 80 - Translating is Great Joy
100-year anniversary of translator and philologist Lilianna Lungina - UNESCO Sites on Stamps and Coins