Congress of CIS intellectuals opening in Minsk

Belarusian capital Minsk will play host to the 8th Forum of Arts Professionals and Scientists from the Commonwealth of Independent States that is due to open here Tuesday. It will bring together delegations of ten countries of the Commonwealth. They have delegated the intellectuals working in the spheres of education, culture, healthcare, ecology, nature conservation, humanitarian activities, and mass media. This year’s topic is “2013 as the Year of Ecological Culture and Environment Protection in the CIS.” “These annual forums are notable events in the life of the whole Commonwealth,” said the Deputy Chairman of the CIS Executive Committee, Vladimir Garkun. “They are highly demanded and needed and they are always marked by the atmosphere of creativity.” “The initiatives that emerge in the framework of the forums get top-level support in the all the member-states,” he said. The itinerary of this year’s forum envisions a plenary session and numerous meetings in sections and at roundtables devoted to various aspects of humanitarian cooperation. The first forum of CIS intellectuals was held in 2006. Since then, these gatherings of experts in practically every sphere of human knowledge and culture have grown over into largest humanitarian events on the post-Soviet space. Delegates meet every year in the capitals of different countries of the Commonwealth. The previous congress was held last year in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan.