Baku, September 7 (AZERTAC). September 7 marks the opening of the 2011 Yaroslavl Global Policy Forum, bringing together government officials, business representatives, scientists and journalists from more than 40 countries for two days of discussion. It is lauded as an opportunity for world leaders to contemplate solutions to major challenges facing the global community, such as international security and efficient policy-making in the global economy.

President Dmitry Medvedev and other Russian government leaders are regular attendees, while former high-profile guests have included Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, French Prime Minister François Fillon and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. Building on these successful appearances, the Yaroslavl Global Policy Forum`s objective is to establish itself as a key platform for influential and open international discussion.

Since its inception, the Yaroslavl Global Policy Forum has focused on the role of the state in ensuring safe and sustainable development. The 2009 forum analyzed the importance of national and international institutions in guaranteeing a stable global environment, and in 2010 participants discussed, among other things, how the modern state can be used to promote technological and economic modernization.

The theme of this year`s forum is “the modern state in the age of social diversity,” recognizing the increasing cultural, ethnic and economic complexity of modern societies. As a result, traditional social groups and their relationships with each other are being transformed, manifesting themselves into new organizations and communities. The forum`s various plenary sessions and panel discussions will allow participants to discuss how modern democratic countries, especially those as diverse as Russia, can take this new social diversity into consideration when designing national security, migration, political representation and social redistribution policies. Reflecting the breadth of the issues at hand, the forum will be split into the following three areas of focus:

Democratic institutions in multiethnic societies;

Key mechanisms for reducing inequalities both within nations and on a global scale; and

Ways to manage both global and local conflicts and improve security.

Being the world`s largest country and home to a variety of ethnic and cultural groups, it comes as no surprise that Russia attaches great importance to dealing with the consequences of the breadth of its own social diversity. The country also has to face the challenges posed by the social and economic inequalities created by the transition initiated in the 1990s to a market economy.

From this point of view, the Russian government`s modernization agenda can also be seen as an instrument to accommodate the impact of social diversity. It notably includes efforts at boosting economic growth by attracting foreign investment, diversifying the economy and creating new opportunities by encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship in areas like Perm and Skolkovo, and improving the infrastructure of city centers like Moscow and St. Petersburg. Other recent initiatives such as those aimed at improving Russia`s education system contribute to tackling the roots of disparity and promoting equal opportunities for all Russian citizens.