For the first time
Russia will host the International Planning History Society Conference. Through
the collaborative effort of the Russian Convention Bureau and the Concord Group
supported by the Roscongress Foundation, following the presentation of the Russia’s
bidding committee, Moscow was chosen as the venue for the IPHS 2020 conference.
The conference will take place on 1–5 July 2020. Its theme will be ‘City Space
Transformation: Renovation of The Urban Environment’.
The decision to hold the
conference in Moscow was made at the meeting of Programme Committee of the
International Society on 15 July in Yokohama (Japan). Other bidders were Lübeck
(Germany) and Oslo (Norway). The Russian presentation was held by a
representative of the International Society, Professor of Urban Planning and
Design Department at the Moscow Architectural Institute (MARKHI) Alexey
Krasheninnikov and a representative of a potential congress operator of the
event in 2020, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Concord Group Natalya
Evnevich.
As a result of the presentations,
Moscow was chosen as the venue for the International Conference in 2020. This
decision was officially announced on 19 July at the closing meeting of the
conference in Yokohama.
Moscow hosting this
event will expand the boundaries of international scientific cooperation, and
will also promote the integration of Russian experts into the global scientific
community, working on modern issues of the urban environment.
The International
Planning History Society Conference is a prestigious scientific and business
event that is held biennially in different parts of the world. Traditionally,
up to 1000 delegates from around the globe participate in the conference.
Historic landmarks
and high-tech structures define the city. Today, the modern city is an
appealing place for living with ample opportunities for personal fulfilment.
The city becomes the embodiment of the modern lifestyle and worldview with
versatile opportunities, rich social information realm and cultural integration.
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin noted: «It is clear that those cities that fail
to find a balanced development model will definitely face serious
social problems and lose the battle for people’s quality
of life, comfort and security. I am sure that the key
to the development of cities of the future lies
in harmony between the technical sphere and nature,
in freedom, in creating a wide range of opportunities
for residents and their work, recreation and sports. This would
enable them to combine their efforts and implement scientific,
creative, social and cultural projects to make the city
comfortable for everyone: children, young people, older people
and those with disabilities, so that everyone becomes a part
of a united urban community».
Shaping a
comfortable living environment and infrastructure in the historical context is
a key prerequisite for the positive attitude of the engaged city residents.
That is why hosting IPHS 2020 is an important component of the systematic urban
development effort.
According to the Adviser to the President of the Russian
Federation Anton Kobyakov: «The Association launched six months ago. As a
rule, the first two-three years foreign congress bureaus focus on their own
development and promotion to internal and external markets: uniting the
industry participants, creating own platform, shaping a development strategy
and outreach work. The Russian Convention Bureau opted for a difficult path,
starting with international associations and bids for bringing international
events to the country. Before long through joint efforts they managed to bring
such a significant event to Russia».
The Russian
Convention Bureau is busy enlisting major congress and exhibition events. Alexey Kalachev, CEO of RCB emphasized:
«As of today we have already submitted eight applications for diverse
industrial and scientific international events, more that fifty events are
already underway. We view the international events not only from the
socio-economic perspective: tax revenues to the budget, new jobs, new
assignments for all segments of meetings industry, but also as an additional
tool for developing the economy itself, primarily through knowledge,
technologies and export/import solutions».
Natalya Evnevich,
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Concord Group commented on behalf of
the official operator of the event: «I am deeply satisfied with the work done
on the preparation of the bid, follow-up and subsequent presentation at the
Council of the Association. The path that took us almost a year to travel
resulted in success. Moscow will host a high-profile international conference,
which brings together urbanists of worldwide fame to discuss the current issues
of preserving the historical urban heritage. This success became possible
through the participation of partners at various stages of the project that
brought fresh ideas and new opportunities. For example, the successful
presentation of the project at the Council of the Association was largely due
to the support of the Russian Convention Bureau. And now our task as the
operator of the Conference is to host all events at a high international level
and to present Moscow as a comfortable and modern city».
Appraising the
contribution of the scientific community to the success of the forthcoming
event, the Head of the All-Russian Science Festival Leonid Gusev noted «Moscow State University (MSU) supported
Moscow’s participation in the IPHS 2020 bid campaign from the very beginning as
we were confident in the success of this undertaking. Much has to be done; we
proposed new formats, novel ideas. For example, in addition to the original
programme of the Conference, we proposed youth programme, which would include
design projects contest and a youth forum. Expanding the horizons, we aim for
the best Conference!»
