Russia Hosts World's First International Conference on Social Architecture
The inaugural International Scientific and Practical Conference, "Social Architecture: Theory and Practice of Social Change", took place in St. Petersburg. The event brought together 600 experts from 27 countries, including China, India, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Serbia, Iran, the US, France, Italy, South Korea, and Japan, alongside some other European states and nations from across Africa and the Middle East.
Discussions centred on the evolution of social architecture as an emerging academic and professional discipline – a field rapidly gaining ground in Russia and sparking widespread global interest.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a welcoming message to the attendees, noting that social architecture is a highly relevant field with great potential, and emphasizing its particular importance within state and local governance.
Alexander Kharichev, Head of the Presidential Directorate for Monitoring and Analysis of Social Processes, remarked that social architecture should serve as a tool for shaping the future.
"In a rapidly changing world, it is absolutely essential that we find common ground for cooperation among all civilizations," Alexander Kharichev stated. "Our people will never stop dreaming. Our job isn't to invent a dream for them, but to truly listen and give that dream structural form – through words, blueprints, and concepts. That is the true calling of a social architect."
One of the conference's highlights was the unveiling of the world's first textbook on social architecture, authored by a collaborative team of Russian political scientists, scholars, and practitioners. According to Sergey Volodenkov, a professor in the Faculty of Political Science at Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) and a co-author of the book, the textbook lays the groundwork for training a new generation of specialists equipped to shape Russia's future social development and tackle today's complex challenges.
"Social design is emerging as a new form of political thinking, where it is not just the ultimate goals that matter, but the very methods we use to build consensus and solidarity within society," Sergey Volodenkov noted.
Antonina Selezneva, an MSU professor of political science, Head of the Department of Educational Activities in Social Sciences and Humanities at the Expert Institute for Social Research (EISR), and a co-author of the textbook, linked the conference to setting the conceptual and methodological boundaries for this new profession.
"The rise of any new professional field demands rigorous academic analysis and justification. In that sense, hosting this conference is an essential, foundational step in cementing its conceptual and methodological framework," Antonina Selezneva remarked. "This event is completely unprecedented and fundamentally important for our country. It carries immense weight internationally as well, because our President – and we, following his lead – are positioning social architecture as a brand-new avenue for meaningful engagement between the state and society."
Oksana Gaman-Golutvina, President of the Russian Political Science Association, Head of the Department of Comparative Politics at MGIMO University, and Academic Supervisor of the MGIMO Centre for Social Architecture, noted that the conference served as a unique platform for discussing ways to weather the 'perfect storm' of contemporary crises.
"It is highly significant that the conference brought together roughly 600 participants from 27 countries, representing such diverse regions as Europe, North and Latin America, Asia, and Africa," Oksana Gaman-Golutvina emphasized. "The real value of this kind of representative dialogue is that it allows us to pool firsthand experiences emerging from completely different socio-economic and socio-political landscapes."
Zhang Weiwei, a prominent Chinese political scientist, journalist, and Director of the China Institute at Fudan University, highlighted the vital role of social modelling as a foundation for societal transformation. Reflecting on China's achievements over recent decades, he particularly emphasized the need to build various future scenarios and monitor emerging trends to guarantee sustainable social development.
"In today's world, living without planning is simply not an option," Zhang Weiwei noted. "We have a responsibility to plan for the future. Even though tomorrow is not predetermined, we must anticipate the dangers and challenges that lie ahead."
American economist Jeffrey D. Sachs noted that regional integration is a primary objective of social architecture.
"The importance of regions – not within individual nations, but spanning across borders – is growing, as many transformations require transnational cooperation to safeguard ecosystems. Consequently, regional integration is more critical today than ever before," Jeffrey D. Sachs stated.
Conference participants also discussed training specialists for this expanding profession. Plans are underway to launch a Master's programme in social architecture at St. Petersburg State University starting in 2026. Meanwhile, graduate-level training for future social architects is already being conducted at Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) and the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation as of 1 September 2025. Continuing education courses are also being offered at RANEPA and the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH).
"While this powerful joint state and public initiative in social architecture was only recently launched, it follows a long period of intensive preparation," noted Andrey Shutov, President of the Russian Society of Political Scientists and Dean of the Faculty of Political Science at Lomonosov Moscow State University. "We have undertaken significant intellectual groundwork and developed comprehensive methodological materials in order to establish a rigorous research agenda and get the educational process fully off the ground."
Leading experts delivered presentations on critical challenges in social development, including Russian philosopher and thinker Alexander Dugin; Pskov Region Governor Mikhail Vedernikov; St. Petersburg Vice-Governor Boris Piotrovsky; former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl; Valery Fedorov, Director General of the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM); Andrei Polosin, Vice-Rector of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA); Vardan Bagdasaryan, Dean of the Faculty of History, Political Science, and Law at the State University of Education; Vladimir Nechaev, Rector of Sevastopol State University; Igor Zadorin, Head of the ZIRCON Research Group; Andrei Betin, General Director of the Presidential Platform "Russia – Land of Opportunity"; Franklin Nyamsi, President of the African Freedom Institute; Sok Khorn, Rector of the National University of Battambang; Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Director of the Vienna International Institute for Middle East Studies; Javier Hurtado Mira, Chairman at Democrat Youth Community of Europe; and many others.
Speakers noted that a significant milestone in institutionalizing this emerging field would be the creation of an Institute of Social Architecture within the Presidential Platform "Russia – Land of Opportunity" – a strategic initiative previously announced by Alexander Kharichev.
The conference also served as a platform to announce plans to transform it into a recurring forum for international dialogue on social architecture, uniting researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and civil society representatives from around the globe.
Discussions centred on the evolution of social architecture as an emerging academic and professional discipline – a field rapidly gaining ground in Russia and sparking widespread global interest.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a welcoming message to the attendees, noting that social architecture is a highly relevant field with great potential, and emphasizing its particular importance within state and local governance.
Alexander Kharichev, Head of the Presidential Directorate for Monitoring and Analysis of Social Processes, remarked that social architecture should serve as a tool for shaping the future.
"In a rapidly changing world, it is absolutely essential that we find common ground for cooperation among all civilizations," Alexander Kharichev stated. "Our people will never stop dreaming. Our job isn't to invent a dream for them, but to truly listen and give that dream structural form – through words, blueprints, and concepts. That is the true calling of a social architect."
One of the conference's highlights was the unveiling of the world's first textbook on social architecture, authored by a collaborative team of Russian political scientists, scholars, and practitioners. According to Sergey Volodenkov, a professor in the Faculty of Political Science at Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) and a co-author of the book, the textbook lays the groundwork for training a new generation of specialists equipped to shape Russia's future social development and tackle today's complex challenges.
"Social design is emerging as a new form of political thinking, where it is not just the ultimate goals that matter, but the very methods we use to build consensus and solidarity within society," Sergey Volodenkov noted.
Antonina Selezneva, an MSU professor of political science, Head of the Department of Educational Activities in Social Sciences and Humanities at the Expert Institute for Social Research (EISR), and a co-author of the textbook, linked the conference to setting the conceptual and methodological boundaries for this new profession.
"The rise of any new professional field demands rigorous academic analysis and justification. In that sense, hosting this conference is an essential, foundational step in cementing its conceptual and methodological framework," Antonina Selezneva remarked. "This event is completely unprecedented and fundamentally important for our country. It carries immense weight internationally as well, because our President – and we, following his lead – are positioning social architecture as a brand-new avenue for meaningful engagement between the state and society."
Oksana Gaman-Golutvina, President of the Russian Political Science Association, Head of the Department of Comparative Politics at MGIMO University, and Academic Supervisor of the MGIMO Centre for Social Architecture, noted that the conference served as a unique platform for discussing ways to weather the 'perfect storm' of contemporary crises.
"It is highly significant that the conference brought together roughly 600 participants from 27 countries, representing such diverse regions as Europe, North and Latin America, Asia, and Africa," Oksana Gaman-Golutvina emphasized. "The real value of this kind of representative dialogue is that it allows us to pool firsthand experiences emerging from completely different socio-economic and socio-political landscapes."
Zhang Weiwei, a prominent Chinese political scientist, journalist, and Director of the China Institute at Fudan University, highlighted the vital role of social modelling as a foundation for societal transformation. Reflecting on China's achievements over recent decades, he particularly emphasized the need to build various future scenarios and monitor emerging trends to guarantee sustainable social development.
"In today's world, living without planning is simply not an option," Zhang Weiwei noted. "We have a responsibility to plan for the future. Even though tomorrow is not predetermined, we must anticipate the dangers and challenges that lie ahead."
American economist Jeffrey D. Sachs noted that regional integration is a primary objective of social architecture.
"The importance of regions – not within individual nations, but spanning across borders – is growing, as many transformations require transnational cooperation to safeguard ecosystems. Consequently, regional integration is more critical today than ever before," Jeffrey D. Sachs stated.
Conference participants also discussed training specialists for this expanding profession. Plans are underway to launch a Master's programme in social architecture at St. Petersburg State University starting in 2026. Meanwhile, graduate-level training for future social architects is already being conducted at Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) and the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation as of 1 September 2025. Continuing education courses are also being offered at RANEPA and the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH).
"While this powerful joint state and public initiative in social architecture was only recently launched, it follows a long period of intensive preparation," noted Andrey Shutov, President of the Russian Society of Political Scientists and Dean of the Faculty of Political Science at Lomonosov Moscow State University. "We have undertaken significant intellectual groundwork and developed comprehensive methodological materials in order to establish a rigorous research agenda and get the educational process fully off the ground."
Leading experts delivered presentations on critical challenges in social development, including Russian philosopher and thinker Alexander Dugin; Pskov Region Governor Mikhail Vedernikov; St. Petersburg Vice-Governor Boris Piotrovsky; former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl; Valery Fedorov, Director General of the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM); Andrei Polosin, Vice-Rector of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA); Vardan Bagdasaryan, Dean of the Faculty of History, Political Science, and Law at the State University of Education; Vladimir Nechaev, Rector of Sevastopol State University; Igor Zadorin, Head of the ZIRCON Research Group; Andrei Betin, General Director of the Presidential Platform "Russia – Land of Opportunity"; Franklin Nyamsi, President of the African Freedom Institute; Sok Khorn, Rector of the National University of Battambang; Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Director of the Vienna International Institute for Middle East Studies; Javier Hurtado Mira, Chairman at Democrat Youth Community of Europe; and many others.
Speakers noted that a significant milestone in institutionalizing this emerging field would be the creation of an Institute of Social Architecture within the Presidential Platform "Russia – Land of Opportunity" – a strategic initiative previously announced by Alexander Kharichev.
The conference also served as a platform to announce plans to transform it into a recurring forum for international dialogue on social architecture, uniting researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and civil society representatives from around the globe.