Linguocultural Values in the Context of Intercultural Dialogue Discussed at Saint Petersburg UMTE Conference

On December 5 and 6, the Saint Petersburg University of Management Technologies and Economics arranged the International Scientific and Practical Conference «Languages and Cultures in an Era of Change». This conference has already become a tradition with its initiators aiming to preserve a tolerant attitude towards linguocultural values in the context of intercultural dialogue, and promoting professional and scientific cooperation at the international level.

The Saint Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Linguistic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences have been partners in hosting this significant scientific forum for many years. Anna Rumyantseva, Vice-Rector for Research and International Affairs, expressed gratitude to our partners while welcoming the conference participants, wishing them productive work and great performances. Anna Yurievna added that last year colleagues from Belarusian State University had joined the discussion on actual topics of intercultural communication resulting in a semester-long exchange program for students in Belarus.

Larisa Bondar’, Deputy Director for Science of the Saint Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, announced the offsite session «Studying Languages and Cultures in Scientific Expeditions» taking place on the second day of the conference.

The mission of linguistics is to establish relationships and communication between people, that is why the conference's theme remains highly relevant. This message was stated in the welcoming speech of Marina Priemyshova, Deputy Director for Research at the Institute of Linguistic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. She emphasised that it was especially significant at a time of great challenges, such as the development of artificial intelligence, where the formation of new ethics forces changes in scientific research approaches.

Yulianna Cheremskaya, General Director of Aurora Publishing House, a partner of UMTE – added that language demands were evolving in our current lifetime. Under today's circumstances, it is crucial to understand the significance of the Russian language as a language of national security. She also expressed gratitude to the event organisers for raising the issue of language preservation within the academic community and among students.

The conference gathered representatives from academic, professional, and student communities, including the Saint Petersburg University of Management Technologies and Economics, Saint Petersburg State University, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg State University of Economics, Belarusian State University, Military-Space Academy, Military Medical Academy, Moscow Higher Combined Arms Command School, and Novosibirsk State Research University.

The conference demonstrated not only pursuit of contemporary research trends in linguistics and translation studies but also addressed relevant issues in the professional training of linguists and translators, thus emphasising responses to challenges in the professional market.

The round table discussion «Interlingual Communication in Modern Realities» and sections «Linguistic Research of Young Scientists» and «Student Scientific Research» were also parts of the conference. Young researchers presented the results of their studies on relevant linguistic topics.

On December 6, there was an offsite session named «Studying Languages and Cultures in Scientific Expeditions», which took place at the Museum-Library «Book of Leningrad's Siege».