The second International Convention will take place in St. Petersburg on July 25-27, 2018 in the Marble Palace (branch of the State Russian Museum).

The first convention was held on November 15-16, 2017 as part of the VI St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. The Conference was attended by more than 200 representatives of Russia, countries of Western Europe and Asia.

“Applying innovative technologies in the business of protecting cultural heritage will be the central focus of all the events in the section entitled “Protection of Cultural Heritage” at the 7^th St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.” The section will include a plenary session entitled “Cultural Heritage as Driver for Development,” a panel discussion entitled “Humanitarian Law Serving as Protection of Cultural Values in Armed Conflict Zones (Middle East and North Africa)” and a round-table discussion “Marketing as a Tool for Positioning and Promoting the Cultural Heritage of the Region with the Goal of Attracting the Investment Attractiveness of the Territory. The experience of Italy,” said Oleg Ryzhkov, head of the section entitled “Preservation of Cultural Heritage” at St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum, head of the Center for Studying, Protecting and Developing Historical and Cultural Territories at the Russian Institute of Strategic Research Projects.

The key themes of the Second International Conference will include the following issues:

Global challenges and trends for development of the science of cultural heritage preservation;
Precise methods in studying and doing expert assessment and attribution of works of art. Fighting counterfeit art;
Architectural heritage objects; Technologies of studying, conserving and restoring works of art;
Cutting-edge technologies of natural science research on cultural heritage sites;
Training and certification of specialists;
Cutting-edge conservation and restoration methods.

The conference program will include panel discussions with participation of leading Western and international experts in the industry. The guests and moderators of the event include Professor Roman Maev – Honorary Consul of the Russian Federation in Canada, Director of the Institute for Visual Diagnostics Studies (Canada), Princess Basma Bint Saud – an influential public figure and businesswoman of the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia, Oleg Ryzhkov – Head of the Section “Preservation of Cultural Heritage” at St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum, Professor Michel Menu – Head of the Louvre Research Center (France), Lian Kemp – Founder and General Director, Everledger Company, member of the Board of Directors of IBM Blockchain Platform and many other representatives of science, culture, business and politics.

The space of the conference will bring together scholars working on developing new methods, practicing restorers, manufacturers of innovative equipment for studying works of art and cultural heritage objects, officials responsible for forming and implementing the state policy in the sphere of cultural heritage, and specialists in digitalizing the cultural heritage.

Practical sets will constitute an important part of the conference. The exhibition area will present technological novelties in the sphere of non-destructive testing; visits will be organized to departments of technological studies at the State Russian Museum and the State Hermitage Museum, as will be a traveling session that will discuss the process of studying and restoring the Gatchina Palace.

The organizers of the Second International Convention include the State Russian Museum, the Russian Society for Non-Destructive Testing and Technical Diagnostics (RONKTD), the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT) and the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

Contacts: artspb2018@gmail.com, moblabrf@gmail.com
+7 (921) 933 43 43