An International conference on "Intercultural dialogue and cooperation in Eurasia" was held in Ufa, Bashkortostan in Russian Federation on the 28th of May 2016 in the framework of the International Arts Festival of “Heart of Eurasia”. Organized under the auspices of the National Commission of Russian Federation for UNESCO and with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russian Federation, the conference brought together representatives of Federal government of Russian Federation to Bashkortostan ( Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture of the Republic of Bashkortostan),  as well as representatives of other Russian regions, foreign governments, agencies and public organizations and experts in science and culture. The participants exchanged on a series of important issues such as the protection of historical and cultural heritage  interethnic interaction in Eurasia; national identities; religions and culture; traditional and contemporary arts and  intercultural interactions in Eurasia through the Silk Roads and UNESCO’s initiatives in this area.

The conference was officially opened by the Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Mr. Rustem Zakievich Khamitov who presented UNESCO as a reliable partner in cultural, educational and humanitarian issues and underlined the support of his government to UNESCO’s action. Moreover, he recalled the historic role of Bashkortostan in the Silk Roads and the significant contribution that this region has made to these Routes of Dialogue.  A message from Mr. Sergey Lavrov, the minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation was delivered by the Secretary General of the National Commission of the Russian federation for UNESCO highlighting the growing tensions and conflicts in Eurasia, and calling for the reinforcement of dialogue and cooperation among people to overcome these critical issues.

Subsequently, Mrs Alexandra Ochirova, the UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and the Focal Point of Russian Federation for the UNESCO Silk Road Online Platform took the floor in the opening session to underline the necessity of dialogue and cooperation among countries for common development, since no country can develop by itself in our globalized world. She also noted that the acceleration of interactions between people has resulted in tensions which need to be addressed by building common values. Mrs Ochirova then shared her own experience working on the Silk Roads initiatives and presented the Silk Roads as one of the major tools that can contribute to constructing these common values. 

Participants of the conference adopted a Declaration (Ufa Declaration) to formulate recommendations for various stakeholders including national governments, academic, social and cultural institutions, as well as grassroots communities. The Declaration recommends in particular strengthening intercultural dialogue in Eurasia and engaging effective initiatives for transmitting the diverse cultural, historic, spiritual and moral heritage of these regions to future generations. Moreover, the Declaration recommends the promotion of the Eurasian Cultural Forum as a platform of discussion and a capacity-building for intercultural dialogue and cultural cooperation in Eurasia. Through this Declaration the participants renew their support to the UNESCO’s initiatives on the intercultural dialogue and particularly the Silk Roads. 

The conference was organized in the framework of the International Arts Festival of “Heart of Eurasia” held from 25 to 29 May 2016 during which different cultural performances such as the parade of the Bashkir peoples in traditional costumes, the “UFA – Kuraifest”, Flash Mob “Bashkortsa keyenem” («Башҡортса кейенәм!») were presented. The festival gathered also traditional music group such as Turkic youth “Ural mono” and modern music bands of the Eurasia region. This festival ended with a great Gala concert featuring performances from Russian and foreign ethnic, folk and world music bands.