Conference ‘Sakharov’s Ideas Today’
Moscow, 14-15th December, 2009
PROGRAMME
The international conference ‘Sakharov’s Ideas Today’ in Moscow on 14-15th of December, 2009 commemorates 20th anniversary of Andrei Sakharov’s decease. The event is organised by the Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center with support of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe Mr. Thomas Hammarberg.
The conference will address the global agenda in promoting peace, progress and human rights. Three main sections of the conference (‘Peace’, ‘Progress’ and ‘Human Rights’) are corresponding with the title of Sakharov’s Nobel Lecture in 1975. Each session comprises a plenary with two speeches by Russian and international experts followed with two commentaries and moderated discussion. Videos and materials will be available online.
First day concludes with ‘In Memoriam: Andrei Sakharov’ event.
DAY 1
10.00–10.45 Opening session
Greetings from the Organising Committee – Sergei Lukashevsky, director of the Andrei Sakharov Museum and Public Center, head of the Conference Organising Committee
Opening remarks by co-chairs of the conference Sergei Kovalev and Thomas Hammarberg
Addresses
Address by Vladimir Lukin, Human Rights Commissioner of Russia
Address by Elena Bonner, Sakharov’s widow. Presented by Tatiana Yankelevich, the Director of the Sakharov Program on Human Rights at Harvard University
Address by Mikhail Gorbachev. Presented by Olga Zdravomyslova, Executive Director of the Gorbachev Foundation
Address by Ella Pamfilova, head of the Presidential Council on Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights
Address by Ekaterina Genieva, Director of the All-Russia State Library for Foreign Literature
Addresses by international organisations
Address by Janez Lenarčič, the Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. Presented by DouglasDouglas Wake, First Deputy Director
Address by Fernando M. Valenzuela, head of the Delegation of the European Commission
to Russia. Presented by Gavin Evans, Head of Political Section
to Russia. Presented by Gavin Evans, Head of Political Section
10.45–12.00 Session 1 (‘Peace’). Plenary
‘The New World - with Old Humanitarian Challenges?’
- Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, environmental challenges, poverty reduction and energy safety… Who’s role is to deal with these issues in ‘mono-polar’ or multi-polar or non-polar world?
- How do current international relations affect humanitarian challenges? In what ways does the credit crunch influence them?
Speakers:
Vladislav Inozemtsev, Professor of Economics, Director of Research, Centre for Post-Industrial Studies, editor-in-chief of the Svobodnaya Mysl (Free Thought) magazine
Adam Michnik, editor-in-chief of ‘Gazeta Wyborca’
Moderator – Vyacheslav Bakhmin, the Moscow Helsinki Group Member
12.00–12.30 coffee/tea break. Press Briefing starts for journalists
12.30–13.30 Session 1 (‘Peace’). Discussion
Commentators:
Teodor Shanin, Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester, founder and head of the Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences
Tatiana Vorozheikina, Professor of Latin American Studies, independent researcher
- Discussion
13.30–15.00 lunch
15.00–16.30 Session 2 («Human Rights»). Plenary
‘Human Rights: Opportunities, Prospects and Limits’
- Andrei Sakharov’s ideas in the modern human rights context.
- Human rights’ evolution since 1948 and their place in contemporary world and politics.
- The future of human rights. Has the international institutions’ potential been exhausted?
Speakers:
Sergey Kovalev, Chair of the Board of the Andrei Sakharov Foundation
Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe
Session starts with address by Maggie Nicholson, Chief, Europe and Asia Section, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Session starts with address by Maggie Nicholson, Chief, Europe and Asia Section, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Moderator – Yuri Dzhibladze, president of the Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights
16.30–17.00 coffee/tea break
17.00–18.00 Session 2 («Human Rights»). Discussion
Commentators:
Wiktor Osiatynski, Visiting Professor of Law and Human Rights, Central European University
Heidi Hautala, chairwoman of the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights
Douglas Wake, First Deputy Director, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, OSCE
- Discussion
19.00–21.30 In Memoriam Andrei Sakharov
Reception and speeches by Sakharov’s colleagues and friends. Tatiana Yankelevich, Frantisek Janouch, Pavel Litvinov, Vladimir Tolz, Boris Altshuler, Yuri Rost , etc.
Presenter – Alexey Simonov, Chair of the Glasnost Defence Foundation
DAY 2
10.00–10.30 Opening remarks
10.30–12.00 Session 3 (‘Progress’). Plenary
‘Intellectuals and Social Change’
- What are the current vulnerabilities in terms of intellectual freedom in 21st century?
- Intelligentsia and intellectuals… What’s their role in a society – provision of ‘intellectual services’ or rather maintaining ‘a world of independent thought’?
- Should intellectuals feel responsible for society’s progress and development?
Speakers:
Ivan Krastev, Chair of Board of the Centre for Liberal Strategies in Sofia
Andrei Piontkovski, writer, Senior Fellow of the Institute of Systemic Analysis, Russian Academy of Science
Moderator – Alexander Arkhangelsky, TV anchor
12.00–12.30 Coffee/tea break
12.30–13.30 Session 3 (‘Progress’). Discussion
Commentators:
Gasan Gusejnov, Professor of Classical Philology, Moscow State University
Wolfgang Eichwede, Professor of Modern History, University of Bremen
- Discussion
13.30–14.15 Closing session
Final remarks. Closing by the Organising Committee
- Reception
