The Congress “Northern Civilization: formation, problems and perspectives”

The First Congress “Northern Civilization: formation, problems and perspectives” took place in Surgut (Western Siberia, Russia) on June 10-11, 2004. The Congress was held by the Authorities of Surgut city, Foundation of communication and development for northern cities “60 Parallel” and Surgut State University with the help of Khanty-Mansiyskiy autonomous okrug Government.

The main aim of the Congress was a support of region formative processes in the World’s North; a creation of united information base which reflects modern experience of northern territories development and formation of interregional and international communication.

More than 300 people became the participants of the Congress/ they were the representatives of the executive and legislative branches of the government and local governments, representatives of strategic research centers, representatives of institutes of higher education which are occupied with applied research and research institutions, fellows of professional and public associations, members of scientific and expert communities.

The participants came from:

Arkhangelsk, Apatity, Petrozavodsk, Novgorod Veliky, St Petersburg, Moscow, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Ekaterinburg, Tobolsk, Tyumen, Surgut, Khanty-Mansiysk, Megion, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Yakutsk, Magadan in Russia, Helsinki in Finland, Aberdeen in Great Britain, Montreal in Canada.

A. Philipenko, the governor of Khanty-Mansiysky autonomous okrug, A. Sidorov, the mayor of Surgut city, Jorn Donner, a politician, ex-member of Euroopean Parliament from Finland and Helen Lloyd, the representative of CAMBRIDGE EDUCATION GROUP said welcoming speeches at the beginning of the plenary session on June 10.

The Congress worked in the following sections:

Section 1. Northern regions in the systems of geopolitical and geo-economic balance

Section 2. Modern infrastructures of maintenance and development of the northern cities quality of life standards.

Section 3. Northern territories management models: the strategies of social partnership, modern entrepreneurship

Section 4. Interethnic relations and spiritual values of the Northern Civilization cultures.

Section 5. Science. Education. Culture. Intercultural communications and humanitarian technologies.

Section 6. Ugra and Surgut in the history of the Northern Civilization.

At the end of the sections works there was a sizing up of the plenary session and acceptance o the Congress resolution.