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Think Tank 2022
International Association of Arts and Culture for Peace
Roundtable Focuses on the Arts and Values
Thursday, April 15, 2021
Moscow, Russia—UPF co-sponsored a roundtable that discussed preserving traditional values in the creative arts.
“The Era of Mercy—the Responsibility of the Creative Class in Preserving and Popularizing Traditional Values" was hosted by Moscow’s World Trade Center in partnership with the Amicability international diplomatic club, the Universal Peace Federation, and the Millennium International Business Club.
About 30 people attended the roundtable on April 15, 2021, which was held within an exhibition of Russian and foreign artists. Representatives of the creative intelligentsia, public figures, diplomats and business representatives were among the attendees.
The central part of the event was the awarding of the Ambassador for Peace certificate to two distinguished recipients:
Vakha Beshtoev, painter, member of the Union of Artists, multiple laureate of all-Russian creative competitions, and laureate of the Breakthrough of the Year contest;
Irina Kalinina, organizer of the Boomerang Kindness charity event for children, an expert on Russian television’s Channel 1.
In his congratulatory speech, Konstantin Krylov, the secretary general of UPF-Eurasia, spoke about the work of the federation's main associations and especially the recently established International Association of Arts and Culture for Peace (IAACP): “Artists are known for their creativity, visionary ideas and ability to inspire others. They bring people together and make our minds think about the possibilities for improving the life of humankind."
In response, Vakha Beshtoev said, "For many years I have dreamed of becoming an Ambassador for Peace, and I dedicate my work and cards to Allah." It should be noted that the artist Vakha Beshtoev actively maintains his pages on social networks, where he has about 400,000 subscribers. As an Ambassador for Peace, he plans to paint a canvas "99 Names of Allah," measuring 99 by 3 meters, which should be included in the Guinness World Records.
The host of the event, Dr. Sergey Dvoryanov, the founder and president of the Amicability international diplomatic club, summed up the meeting with the words: “There is an opinion that the progress of human society is not only the progress of the economy and external indicators of comfort. It is also the progress of kindness, mercy, love, spiritual self-knowledge, service to one's neighbor. These are the true, traditional values of a civilization centered on our Heavenly Creator.”