Today, on Monday, 14, the grand opening ceremony of IV St.Petersburg international cultural forum, the hand-over ceremony from the Year of Literature to the Year of Russian cinema, the plenary session, dedicated to the 70th anniversary of UNESCO, business awards ceremony "Patron of the Year", as well as other events will take place.

The main event of the first day of the Forum is the grand opening ceremony, which begins at 19 o'clock on the new stage of Mariinsky Theatre. Many well-known cultural figures from Russia and foreign countries, special guests and governmental officials will take part in it. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to come. Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky and other respected participants will participate in the Forum. The main guest of the ceremony is the Director-Gineral Irina Bokova. Witnin the frameworks of the grand opening the ceremony of hand-over from the Year of Literture to the Year of Russian Cinema will be held.

Another important event of the first day of the Forum - The plenary session devoted to the 70th anniversary of UNESCO, which will be attended by heads of the sections, leading Russian and foreign and culture and art figures as well as politics. They will make presentations on the activities of UNESCO in the field of culture, education and science in Russia and worldwide. The meeting will start at 17 pm in the Atrium of the Main Staff of the Hermitage. Company PJSC MegaFon is the telecommunications partner of IV St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

The Ethnographic Museum will host an exhibition-presentation of the landmark projects of the Ministry of Culture "Territory of Culture", the first tour will be held by the Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky.

Today will be announced the names of the best Russian patrons of 2015 - at 14 o'clock in the Russian Ethnographic Museum will be held All-Russian action "Patron of the Year" that was established last year by the Ministry of Culture. It will start with a welcoming address by the chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matviyenko.

In addition today Forum participants will be able to attend a round table "Patronage: legal regulation and development prospects in contemporary Russia" in the Ethnographic Museum, as well as the round table “Social Theatre: history, international practices, future prospects” in the General Staff of the Hermitage, where the artistic director of the Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater Andrey Moguchy will be the moderator.

Photo: culturalforum.ru