Russia to Host the IPHS 2020 Conference

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 Putinnoted: “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!”

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